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Preliminary:
Read the title. Define every word in the title;
look up unknown words. Think about what the title
promises for the book. Look at the table of contents.
This is your “menu” for the book.
What can you tell about its contents and structure
from the TOC? Read the foreword and introduction
(if an article, read the first paragraph or two).
Read the conclusion or epilogue if there is one
(if an article, read the last one or two paragraphs).
After all this, ask yourself what the author’s
thesis might be. How have they structured their
argument?
Read Actively and Read
for Themes:
Quickly read the first and last paragraph of each
chapter. After doing this and taking the step
outlined above, you should have a good idea of
the book’s major themes and arguments. You
are now finally ready to read in earnest. Don’t
read a history book as if you were reading a novel
for light pleasure reading. Read through the chapters
actively, taking cues as to which paragraphs are
most important from their topic sentences. (Good
topic sentences tell you what the paragraph is
about.) Not every sentence and paragraph is as
important as every other. It is up to you to judge,
based on what you know so far about the book’s
themes and arguments. If you can, highlight passages
that seem to be especially relevant.
Always take notes on
what you read; you will forget important points.
Record your thoughts about the reading rather
than simply the details and contents of the
reader. What surprised you? What seemed particularly
insightful? What seems suspect? What reinforces
or counters points made in other readings.
After reading, go back
over these notes, reformulating in your own
words the author’s argument. Ideally,
you should end up with a good set of notes and
a short summary (a “precis”) of
about half a page. Though it seems to take long,
this method actually saves you time by causing
you to read critically and selectively. With
it, you can glean important points much more
quickly than by simply reading cover to cover.
For articles, apply the same principles.
Identify Thesis:
A thesis is the controlling argument for a work
of history. Toqueville argued, for instance, that
American society in the first half of the nineteenth
century believed itself to be radically oriented
towards liberty and freedom while in fact its
innate conservatism hid under a homogeneous culture
and ideology. Often, the most difficult task when
reading a secondary is to identify the author’s
thesis. In a well-written essay, the thesis is
usually clearly stated near the beginning of the
piece. In a long article or book, the thesis is
usually diffuse. There may be in fact more than
one. As you read, constantly ask yourself, “how
could I sum up what this author is saying in one
or two sentences?” This is a difficult task;
even if you never feel you have succeeded, simply
constantly trying to answer this question will
advance your understanding of the work.
Identify themes:
Themes are issues, which recur throughout a work
of history, often in different contexts. Many
historians claim, for instance, that a widespread
belief in the values of the free, yeoman farmer
provided the basis for American political thinking
in the early national period. They trace this
theme through several different historical periods
and contexts. Themes often seem similar to theses,
but theses are specific arguments, while themes
usually provide models and ways of thinking that
buttress arguments.
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