ENG 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Persuasive Writing, Begging, Hasty Generalization
Document Summary
As checkmate suggests, always scope a textbook (or journal article) out before getting stuck into it. If a book, check out both the table of contents and the index, and have a quick look at the introduction. If an article, check out the abstract ( a brief synopsis of what the article is about) if there is one. All of this will help you deduce whether it will work out for you, and, if it does look at which parts you should read. Even if it"s not what you want, look at the works sited/references/bibliography. There may be something that looks more promising. ( and, if the text does prove useful, look at the bibliographic material) When you read something critically, consider not only what it is about, and the ways in which the author has constructed the argument, but also how effectively the author has made his or her case.
