Assigned Readings

Elizabeth Wardle & Doug Downs, "Finding Existing Conversations Using Databases and Search Engines"
Andrea Lunsford, "12 Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes" (entire section)
Andrea Lunsford “13 Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism”
MLA/APA pages in Easy Writer

Many people find the C.R.A.P. test useful in evaluating information too.

Evaluating information: the C.R.A.P. test

Reading Complex Texts

One skill you need to develop to be successful here in ENC1102 is the ability to read complex texts. You already started doing this in Unit One when you posted in the Scholarly Conversation Discussion and we are going to continue to work on it this week because it is a skill that you will need long after you leave this class. While here at UCF, you are going to continue to encounter scholarly articles, scientific journals, and even complicated textbook language that you may not immediately understand or grasp with the first read. It's a problem we all deal with, especially when we begin learning about a new subject.

Below are a series of steps and questions to ask yourself to help you tackle a complicated text. Whenever you find yourself struggling, return here to see if these strategies help you make sense of the document.

Who is the audience?

Was this piece written for a college student? Or was it written for other scholars who are considered experts? While most textbooks are written for college students, the articles you find on the UCF library database are frequently not written with you in mind. Naturally, that means that those are probably going to be a bit more complicated and difficult to understand.

If you are not the intended audience, who is? Understanding who that audience is can help you get a better idea of what kind of knowledge the writer expects you to enter the conversation with. You may need to then spend some time on Google looking up terms you aren't familiar with so that you can start reading the piece again from the beginning with some more context.

What is the article about?

Rather than start by reading the piece from beginning to end, begin by looking at the title, abstract, introduction, and conclusion. The title and abstract are meant to give you a glimpse into the purpose of the piece of writing, while the introduction and conclusion should clarify the main argument the author is making.

If you can first figure out the argument the author is trying to make, you can usually better understand the content of their paper. Once you have that argument figured out, now you can read the piece from beginning to end. Just remember that all of the body material is meant to support or lead up to that argument you just discovered, which should help you identify what evidence they are using.

How is the article organized?

Most, but not all, articles are published using an IMRAD format. This is the most popular organizational structure for research articles, with IMRAD standing for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. (You might see some Stylus articles organized this way, for instance.)

Watch the video below for the UCF Library's guide to reading scholarly articles in the IMRAD format. Captions for this video are available by clicking the "CC" button at the bottom right hand corner of the video.

Whether the article is following this structure or another one, you can usually figure out the organization by skimming the piece and looking at any bold section headings. These headings provide a roadmap for the article, and that roadmap is meant to help guide readers through the points the author is making.

Often readers will get overwhelmed or confused during the Introduction to a reading, because this is when the author is referencing a lot of other scholars. When they do this, they are trying to show you, the reader, that they are credible because they have read from other scholars who also studied the topic they are about to write about. They want to demonstrate that they are in conversation with these people, responding to their ideas and building off of their knowledge, rather than just saying whatever they want with no context.

I've read the same paragraph six times and I don't get it??

If you ever find yourself getting confused or lost while reading, mark the section and move on. I often draw a bracket around a paragraph that is tripping me up, or I put a series of question marks in the margin, and I return back to it once I've finished the section to see if it makes more sense.

The writer's job is to present their research findings and their arguments in a way that is understandable to their audience. But remember, you are not always going to be the audience they had in mind while writing it. If this was written for experts in the field who have more experience with the topic than you do, there are undoubtedly going to be sections or ideas that you may not understand from the first read, and that is okay. If you can identify the main argument they are making and you can see the evidence for their argument, you've done your job as the reader.

For further suggestions, check Andrea Lunsford's "Reading and Listening Analytically, Critically, and Respectfully (Easy Writer 42-44).