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Understanding Historic Context Is Key to Analysis and Interpretation
Historical context when interpreting gesture and words
Historical context is important when interpreting behavior and speech.
For example: "Sally hid her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers before she answered." It sounds innocent on its own. However, reading it as a statement from a transcript during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials will make you realize that she was a candidate for the gallows.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Understanding a text
We often forget that our interpretation of a text is influenced by our preexisting beliefs, knowledge and expectations.
Hermeneutics theory describes the method and interpretation o...
The hermeneutic circle
Interpreting a text doesn't happen out of context. The concept of the hermeneutic circle is to understand the whole by seeing how the parts interact with each other, and how they interact with the whole.
When we first read a text, we gain an initial understanding. As we move through the text, we keep on updating our understanding based on the new knowledge. In turn, the new context will inform the way we interpret the text.
Consider the context
When practising critical reading, it is crucial to be aware of the context of the text.
Before reading a text, ask :
- What do you want to gain from reading this topic?
- What are your existing beliefs?
- What do you think you know about the topic already?
- What philosophical movement does the author belong to?
- How does this text fit within their main work?
- Take into account the historical and cultural context of the text, the author, and yourself.
It is not practical to go through this process every time you read, but keeping these questions in mind will help you to understand the text.
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Key Ideas
The sentence
If we think of a book as an individual house, each sentence becomes a tiny part of the house. Some are mostly functional, while others are the details we remember and take away.
The great sentence
A great sentence makes you want to think it over slowly while considering it. The sentence must have a certain distinction of style and order that is unique to the author.
Great sentences in moderation
Some writers bestow greatness in every sentence without tiring their readers while others can become wearisome with the unrelenting sequence of such sentences. Great minimalist sentences may be enjoyed for longer.
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Key Ideas
It’s up to you
It's up to you to become a good writer and you probably already know everything else you need to know, somewhere underneath the noise and the anxiety and the outside instructions.
Write
There is no substitute for writing.
Start small. Write a good sentence, then a good paragraph. Write a lot. You might not be great from the start, but it is the road to good writing.
Writing is not typing
Writing is about thinking, researching, contemplating, outlining, composing, then maybe some typing with revisions as you go, deletions, additions, reflections, setting aside and returning afresh.
Typing is what you do in the middle of the two vast thoughtful processes.