Continuum How to Read Texts: A Student Guide to Critical Approaches and Skills

How to Read Texts introduces key critical approaches to literary texts and offers a practical introduction for students developing their own critical and close-reading skills. Written in a jargon-free style, it explains critical concepts, approaches and ideas that includes debates around critical theory; the role of history and context; the links between creativity and criticism; and the relationship between author, reader and text. Chapters include Beginning from where you are-finding your critical voice; The creative critic; and Unveiling the self-conscious critic. Review 'How to Read Texts will encourage both students - and, as importantly, their teachers - to re-think the very basics of reading and analysing texts' Peter Dempsey, Department of English, University of Sunderland 'Neil McCaw's "How to Read Texts: A Student Guide to Critical Approaches and Skills "offers an invaluable and expansive introduction to the often vexing worlds of "avant-garde" critical theory and literary interpretation. Yet even more significantly, McCaw challenges us to discover our own critical voices, to seek out brave new textual frontiers of our own making, and to think creatively about the nature and direction of our reading experiences. Suitable for academic and general readers alike, "How to Read Texts "affords us with the attendant tools and historical background for unlocking and appreciating the rich texts that mark our lives.' Kenneth Womack, Penn State Altoonav, USA. 'How to Read Texts is filled with a passion for reading and for authorship. Lively and approachable, this is a great book for anyone interested in how we approach the texts we encounter in our lives.'--Sanford Lakoff "With a solid set of appendixes and an index, How to Read Texts is enthusiastically recommended for those facing a tough pile of books in their future." - James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review (Wisconsin Bookwatch), August 2008--Sanford Lakoff "How to Read Texts: A Student Guide to Critical Approaches and Skills offers high school and college-level students a fine survey of critical theory paired with exercises and checklists to help students in their own readings of primary and secondary texts. Students learn how to gain confidence in their skills and learn the methods of recognizing and challenging assumptions in this fine survey of critical thinking skills." - James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review (California Bookwatch), August 2008--Sanford Lakoff Synopsis One of the biggest problems for lecturers teaching beginning literature students is increasing their confidence in their own critical ability - this book aims to offer a solution by improving students' understanding of critical concepts and approaches and giving practice, and increased confidence, in reading critically."How to Read Texts" introduces key critical approaches to literary texts and offers a practical introduction for students developing their own critical and close-reading skills. Written in a lively, jargon-free style, it explains critical concepts, approaches and ideas including: debates around critical theory; the role of history and context; the links between creativity and criticism; and, the relationship between author, reader and text.Practical examples, readings, exercises and 'checkpoints' help students to work on their own readings of both primary and secondary texts and to explore the links between critical and creative writing. The book enables students to gain confidence in their critical readings of a variety of texts and encourages them to challenge the assumptions behind other critics' readings. "How to Read Texts" is an indispensable guide for any English student who wants to develop their reading of literary and critical texts. About the Author Neil McCaw is Senior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the University of Winchester, UK.