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Reading between the lines

Article  in  ELT Journal · April 1984

DOI: 10.1093/elt/38.2.121 · Source: OAI

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Beverly A Lewin
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 Reading between the lines
Beverly A. Lewin

This article1 is concerned with encouraging critical reading by advanced

students, especially those taking courses in English for specific
purposes. The author discusses specific features of expository writing
which are indicative of an author’s objectivity. She then describes
exercises for improving students’ critical faculties.

While students can sometimes answer basic comprehension questions and

even select key sentences in a passage, they often cannot penetrate beneath
the surface meaning of a text. This has been said of students reading in
their native language (Al-Rufai 1976); I believe that the non-critical
approach to the written word extends to the second language (LPI, where
the students are additionally hampered by insecurity in dealing with the
surface forms of the printed message, and ignorance of cultural
background. Perhaps critical reading should be taught at all levels, but it is
especially important in ESP (English for specific purposes), where the text is
not only a learning aid, but the students’ key to understanding the subject
matter. The following is an attempt to point out features of expositor\
writing, an awareness of which will help sensitize students to the ‘message’.’
First of all, teachers must think about their own point of view. Do we
believe that:

All books are, to a certain extent, biased, consisting of various portions

of truth, half-truths, and lies. Someone said that all polemics (including
this article) are a lie, a form of exaggeration wherein facts are marshalled
as persuasive arguments to snare the reader. (Swineford 1975:819)

A less extreme point of view might be that every text reflects (in carving
degrees) the mind of the writer.2 Accordingly, no article or book can be
absolutely objective, only relatively so. No single example of ‘subjective’
writing will have all of the characteristics to be described. Similarly, even
the most ‘objective’ material contains some element of bias, if only in the
author’s choice of subject.

Extra-textual factors Before actually reading, students should ‘pre-view’ by focusing attention
on all material preceding and following the text, as well as on sub-
headings, and the amount of text devoted to each sub-heading.

Title A provocative title, especially in the form of a question, usually indicates

that an argument is to follow. For example, ‘Are we short-changing our
children?’ or ‘Is America really a democracy?’ should leave little doubt
about the objectivity of the text to follow.

lntroductory material The role of abstracts or summaries preceding the article, in pinpointing the
author’s thesis, may be already familiar to students. However, the way in
which introduction questions may lay the groundwork for the author’s
ultimate message is more subtle. A quote from a source such as the Bible or
Freud can stamp the entire article with apparent authenticity.

ELT Journal Volume 38/2 April 1984 121

articles welcome
 Bibliography or A lengthy list of references suggests solid support for the author’s point of
references view. However, the sources should be scrutinized. Are they from popular
magazines, or from professional journals ? Do they consist of first-person
narratives, governmental statistical sources, or Ph.D. research? Does the
author rely mainly on his or her own previous works? Are the sources
impartial?

Sub-headings and Occasionally, the sub-headings and the relative weight given to each sub-
organization section convey a message that an author is trying to obscure. Most students
are misled by the mere inclusion of ‘pro’ and ‘con’ material, and it is a new
experience actually to measure the amount of space devoted to each side of
the argument. (See Methods 1.)

The author Biographical data can alert the reader to the possibility of the author’s
having vested interests. Writers may be described as the ‘project director’,
‘innovator’, etc., of the system, idea, etc., about to be delineated. While this
is indicative of the author’s competence in the field, it also suggests that he
or she has a stake in a favourable presentation. (Occasionally, the author’s
personal involvement is explicitly stated, either in a biographical note or in
the text itself.)

Publication Inferences to be made on the basis of the publication (periodical, book,

etc.) in which the text appears are culture-dependent. The connotations of
publication in The Christian Science Monitor or the Journal of the American
Medical Association may be immediate and obvious to an American, but not
to the average non-American. Thus, teachers of ESP should try to
familiarize students with the prominent periodicals or spokesmen in the
field under review. In addition, students can get a clue to the ‘leanings’ of
an unfamiliar periodical by skimming the titles in the table of contents.
The reader can be taught to differentiate between scientific and pro-
fessional journals on the one hand, and popular magazines on the other,
on the basis of linguistic style, including the complexity of sentences and
length of paragraphs. Furthermore, specialized or professional journals
often contain articles with bibliographies based on professional sources,
and statistical breakdowns such as tables and graphs. Between these
extremes are periodicals such as Encounter which are addressed to an
educated segment of the population, but are none the less journals of
opinion.
From the year of publication, the reader can not only assess the present
validity of the material, but can also place the text in context. For instance,
an article about Germany or Japan written by an American in 1943 might
reflect negative attitudes.

The body of the text The body of the text can be dealt with at three levels of abstraction,
depending upon the student’s degree of sophistication. At the most literal
level are markers along the certainty-uncertainty continuum. The prudent
scientist hedges his or her conclusions with often, possibly, assume, believe,
apparently, etc. On the other hand, the writer who is appealing to emotions
and may have little or no research data to back up the points being made
may preface his or her remarks with ‘It is a fact that...‘, ‘Of course’,
‘Obviously’, etc. Value judgements can be conveyed literally. A text
sprinkled with should, must, and other modals does not purport to be dis-

122 Beverly Lewin

articles welcome
 passionate. Furthermore, intensifiers (very, greatly, etc.) heighten the sub-
jectivity of the writing.
While judgements are implicit in most adjectives or adverbs (fat, slowly),
the comparative or superlative form makes the author’s bias explicit. (See
Methods 2.)
Discussion of results should be regarded as the author’s interpretation of
the data. Consider the following table:
Candidates supported in public opinion poll
Candidate % of positive responses
Jones 41
Smith 39
Undecided 20
Whether one reports that ‘Jones was the most popular candidate in a recent
poll’, or that ‘Fifty-nine per cent of the public did not favour Jones’ depends
entirely on one’s point of view.

Presentation The next degree of abstraction consists of the non-semantic visible features
of the text. Punctuation can be instrumental in accentuating the author’s
point of view. Exclamation marks and question marks, used liberally,
signal opinionated writing. The most obvious example is the opinion
disguised as a question. Also, students are often unaware of the use of
quotation marks to express irony. (For examples of these features, see
Methods 4.)
Teachers should also mention that material may be omitted from
quotations which, in some cases, might qualify or negate the part which is
quoted, e.g. ‘Jones is a best-selling author...' omitting ‘but his latest
book gives no indication of his talent’.
The use of boldface type, italics, underlining (and even the wording of
sub-headings) might reflect the editor’s emphasis, rather than the author’s,
but attention can be paid to them insofar as an editor may be expected to
carry out the author’s intentions. Similarly, graphic material should reflect
the author’s theme, even though it is not his or her own work.
As noted above, statistical breakdowns in the form of tables, etc. seem to
feature mainly in scientific (or the most objective) writing. However, even
extreme opinions can be dressed up as hard data.

Context By context I mean the psychological, educational, and cultural back-

ground that the reader brings to the text. The role of the teacher is to
facilitate the integration of this with skills for critical reading. At the
semantic level, students should be shown that the choice of words reflects a
point of view, and that many words have strong emotional connotations.
(See Methods 2.)

Fact selection A treatise composed exclusively of ‘facts’ is not irrefutably objective, since
authors may choose only those facts or observations which support their
arguments, and omit those which negate them.

Irony The non-native speaker tends to take quite literally statements such as
‘Women are good candidates for lobotomies’ (Levinson 1976:429). So the
other factors cited, which are more ‘literal’ or ‘objective’, are doubly
important in helping the student establish the author’s viewpoint. Thus
prepared, the student can have a healthy suspicion of statements which are
completely inconsistent with the author’s basic premise.

Reading between the lines 123

articles welcome
 Methods In the first lesson, students are presented with an article from a scientific
journal, one from a popular-professional journal (e.g. the American Journal
of Nursing), and one meant for the lay public. By ‘pre-reading’ (scanning the
extra-textual material mentioned previously), students begin to see a
continuum of objectivity in academic writing. A secondary benefit of pre-
reading is that the potential usefulness of specific texts can be assessed,
eliminating much unnecessary reading. Thereafter, with each new assign-
ment, students spend a few minutes in class evaluating the extra-textual
material. Then they are asked to hypothesize about (1) the subject matter;
and (2) the author’s approach to it.

1 Pre-reading The following are classroom or examination questions to be answered after

pre-reading ‘Death by decree’ (Turnbull 1978) for ten minutes. (The sub-
headings in the passage are: ‘The arguments for capital punishment’; ‘The
arguments against’ (eight times longer than the preceding section); ‘The
nature of capital punishment’; ‘The technology’; and ‘The alternatives’.)
Instructions: According to the author, ‘This is not an argument for or
against capital punishment.’ Do you agree or disagree? Find three
features of the sub-headings which support your view.

2 Emotional words Asking students to list completely ‘objective’ words drives the point home.
and intensifiers They quickly discover that even words like ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ may imply a
judgement, and can have pejorative connotations in certain cases.

a. If the initial reaction to an article is that it is ‘scientific’, the following

type of exercise is suggested :

Instructions: Underline all emotive and judgemental words in Paragraph

(i). Underline all words/phrases in Paragraph (ii) which show how
strongly the author feels about his argument.
(i) The recent report of possible depletion of the ozone layer enveloping
the earth and protecting it from lethal ultraviolet radiation ought to
come as a shock. This is the latest, and perhaps most serious, of a
series of disclosures concerning the technological and industrial
destruction of our natural environment. (Thayer 1975:48)
(iii As a matter of plain common sense, though, we can certainly
anticipate that the exhaust of such an arrangement will contain an
unusually wide and unpleasant variety of chemical garbage The
whole problem urgently needs scientific scrutiny (Bunker
1975:46-7)

b. Write a paragraph from the point of view of the victims or perpetrators

of the following incident:
Last night 15 (people, civilians, women and children) were (killed,
murdered, massacred) by (soldiers, terrorists, freedom fighters), and
30 others were (injured, maimed, disfigured). In the (struggle, battle)
57 (buildings, houses, homes) were destroyed. The territory was
(occupied, liberated, etc.).

3 Fact selection The importance of this point justifies starting with newspapers in the native
language, if need be, before proceeding to English. First, students should
compare reporting of the same event in newspapers with different
ideological bents. Secondly, they can select a crime story from the daily

124 Beverly Lewin

articles welcome
 paper and list all those ‘facts’ which seem to elicit sympathy for the accused
and those which elicit disapproval. The following exercise is based on an
actual case :

Instructions: Here are some facts and observations about the case of
Samuel Brown. Write an article for each of two newspapers. The first, The
Star, wants to present Brown sympathetically. The second newspaper, The
Chronicle, sees Brown as a dangerous criminal. Which facts would each
newspaper list? (Some facts might be mentioned by both newspapers.)
1 Samuel Brown was convicted last week of’ smuggling drugs (heroin
and cocaine) into the country.
2 Brown is thirty-two years old.
3 He is from X (a slum neighbourhood).
4 He is an ex-convict.
5 He co-operated with the police in naming his accomplices.
6 His blonde mother was in the courtroom, wearing an enormous
diamond ring.
7 Brown has four children, aged 1, 3, 4, and 6.
8 On hearing the sentence, Brown’s wife broke into hysterical sobbing.

More sophisticated students can write on a controversial subject from one

or two points of view. Which ‘facts’ will students favouring legalized
abortion or nuclear disarmament choose? Which will be marshalled by the
opposition?

4 Detailed analysis For a final exercise, students can examine one article in depth.

The nurse: A patient advocate?

An ambulance screeches to a halt; the wailing of its siren ceases; flashing
red lights fade; emergency room doors fly open. Nurses and physicians
rush to the scene to ‘save a life’. A voice pierces the atmosphere -‘No
resuscitation!‘. Activity is suspended momentarily as eyes are fixed,
staring at this woman, this monster who would dare utter such a
statement. I was that woman, a mother and a nurse who, in 1970, had
decided that her 7-year-old son would suffer no further indignities, no
further dehumanization, no further extraordinary measures to prolong
his life...
Are we [nurses] willing to become truly involved, to make independent
judgements and decisions, and to plead the cause of a patient at the risk
of losing our jobs? Or will we hide behind ‘institutional policies’ when
we are faced with making those independent judgements and decisions
for which we might be held accountable?...
If we are to fully develop the role of nurses as patient advocates -we
must develop uncommon nurses! (Donahue 1978)

Instructions: ‘This is a subjective article.’ Find examples of each of the

following features which support this statement.
1 Use of punctuation marks and italics
a. to express opinion
b. for dramatic effect.
2 Personal involvement of the author.
3 Irony (two examples).
4 Four words with strong emotional connotations.
5 Rhetorical questions.

Reading between the lines 125

articles welcome
 Students capable of working in a less structured way can be asked (1) to
state the author’s attitude to the subject-matter; and (2) to list five
features of the writing which reflect this attitude.

Summary While advanced students may be able to translate from L2 to L 1, they often
cannot discern the author’s purpose, his or her degree of bias or emotional
involvement, and whether the material represents facts or opinions.
Language teachers, no less than history or literature teachers, have a role in
encouraging students to question, evaluate, and criticize what they read.
This can be facilitated by encouraging ‘pre-reading’ of every text -i.e.
exploring the implications of the extra-textual material (the title, infor-
mation about the author, introductory remarks, quotation, or abstract,
sub-headings, and bibliography). Attention should also be paid to the
amount of text devoted to each sub-heading. On the basis of these points,
and knowledge about the type of periodical in which the article appears,
students can form preliminary hypotheses about what they are going to
read.
When turning to the text itself, students can be made aware of literal
features, i.e. markers of ‘certainty’, modals, and statistical breakdowns and
their interpretation. Secondly, they should be alerted to the non-semantic
features of the text like, for instance, punctuation. Finally, teachers should
point out features at the contextual level such as the use of judgemental
and emotional words, the judicious selection of facts, and the use of irony
in building an argument. •
Received July 1983

Notes
1 I am grateful to Dr Elite Olshtein of the School of Levinson, R. 1976. ‘Sexism in medicine’. American
Education and Dr Roberta Stock of the Department Journal of Nursing LXXVIII/3 :426-31.
of Foreign Languages, both of Tel Aviv University, Swineford, E. 1975. ‘The perils of reading’. Language
for their suggestions and encouragement. However, Arts LII/6:816-9, 851.
opinions stated are entirely my own. Thayer, H. S. 1975. ‘What is needed’. Current
2 For this notion, I am indebted to my colleague, CLXIX/1:48-50.
Sally Jacoby. Turnbull, C. 1978. ‘Death by decree’. Natural History
LXXXVII/2:50-67.
References
Al-Rufai, M. H. 1976. ‘Ability transfer and the
teaching of reading’. ELT Journal XXX/4 :236-4 1. The author
Bunker, D. L. 1975. ‘The ozone alert: the sky is Beverly Lewin is a co-ordinator of English in the
limited’. Current CLXIX/1:44-8. college preparatory program of the Department of
Donahue, M. P. 1978. ‘The nurse: a patient advocate?’ Foreign Languages of Tel Aviv University, where she
Nursing Forum XVII/2 : 143-51. also teaches English to Nursing students.

126 Beverly Lewin

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