The 4 Levels of Reading
According to "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, there are 4 Levels to reading and I want to summarize them here.
Level 1 - The fundamental skill of reading
In elementary school we learn our abc's and begin to understand how these letters make up words and how words can make sentences and how sentences make paragraphs. We learn how to make sense of it all and thus develop the fundamental skill of reading: Elementary reading. This is the first level of reading that answers the question "What do the markings on the page say?".
Elementary is the simplest level of reading and is also required if anyone desires to read any book at the higher levels. If fact it lays the foundation for reading at the second level.
Level 2: Examine the surface of a book
The second level is inspectional reading and it's unfortunately we aren't taught how to do in schools. Well at least I wasn't taught or I just can't remember 😅.
Inspectional reading answers the question " What is the book about?" and is highly valuable, especially for the last two reading levels. It contains two parts (Pre-reading and Superficial reading) that a reader can execute simultaneously.
Pre-reading
Pre-reading is very beneficial because it allows the reader to determine if and how the book should be read. It includes:
- Reviewing the title and prefaces
- Studying the table of contents and check for an index
- Read the publisher's blurb
- Read the summary of opening or closing pages
Superficial reading
Superficial reading is to read through a book without stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away. This helps the reader get a feel for the author style.
These two parts of inspectional reading allow the reader to examine the surface of the book and answer the following questions:
- What is the book about?
- What are its parts?
- What kind of book is it?
By answering these questions, the reader will know if they should proceed to the Level 3 and/or Level 4 reading.
Level 3: The activity of a demanding reader
Level 3 reading is Analytical reading and it contains 3 parts: outline, interpret and criticize. It's not passive reading or blindly accepting what the author is saying - it's the activity of a demanding reader.
A demanding reader is one who asks the rights questions in the correct order and get answers as it relates to the book they are reading.
Basic Analytical Questions
- What is the whole book about? (Outline)
- What is being said in detail and how is it being said? (Interpret)
- Is it true? What of it, what is the significance? (Criticize)
Although these questions are 'basic', a demanding reader must answer these questions precisely and accurately when reading analytically. This means much time and effort must be invested at this level.
OUTLINE - What is the whole book about?
The demanding reader uses inspection (level 2 reading) to start outlining the book but does a little more to answer the question: What is the whole book about?
The demanding reader must also identify the book's major parts - how they are ordered and related as well as defining the problem(s) that the author has attempted to solve.
INTERPRET- What is being said in detail and how is it being said?
Anyone can say they understand something but one must show they understand to prove it. To demonstrate understanding requires a level of preparation and thinking. Which is why the demanding reader will read with a pen - to take notes.
Writing is thinking, so the demanding reader makes the book their own by writing structural, conceptual and dialectical notes. This will help them to interpret the book i.e., understand deeply what the author is trying to communicate and identify which problem(s) the author solved. All of which serves as the foundation for demonstrating their own understanding.
A good rule of thumb to confirm if a demanding reader understands is if they communicate their thoughts clearly and concisely (no more than a few sentences).
CRITICIZE - Is it true? What of it, what is the significance?
To criticize a work is to make your own determination of how the book communicates knowledge and answers the last of the basic analytical questions.
The demanding reader does not answer these questions prematurely because one must demonstrate they understand before saying they agree, disagree or suspend judgement.
As for criticism, the demanding reader shows where the author is uniformed, misinformed, illogical and/or incomplete. If the demanding reader fails to do so for all of these, then the reader must agree - unless they decide to suspend judgement in light of determining the book is incomplete.
Level 4: Read Syntopically
Level four is syntopical reading and it's the most complex way to read a book. It actually involves reading through multiple books, not just one. This is because the reader uses more than one book to construct an analysis that may not be present in any of the books to answer a specific question.
The rules
- Knowing more than one book is needed to answer a particular question
- Knowing which books that will answer the question
Once the rules have been met, the reader will have a specific question they want to answer and a bibliography of books ready to reference. Now they can proceed to read syntopically.
Steps to read syntopically
- Inspect books that have been identified and find the most relevant passages
- Create a neutral terminology to bring authors to like terms
- Clarify questions that the authors explicitly and/or implicitly answer
- Analyze discussion by ordering the questions and issues that bring light to the subject
These steps help the reader to answer the question that prompted this activity and could also allow to discover new insights as it relates to the subject.
Final thoughts
I leave you with two of my favorite quotes from this book.
Therefore if we are disposed to go on learning and discovering, we must know how to make books teach us well.
Television, radio, and all the sources of amusement and information that surround us in our daily lives are also artificial props. They can give us the impression that our minds are active, because we are required to react to stimuli from outside. But the power of those external stimuli to keep us going is limited. They are like drugs. We grow used to them, and we continuously need more and more of them. Eventually, they have little or no effect. Then, if we lack resources within ourselves, we cease to grow intellectually, morally, and spiritually. And when we cease to grow, we begin to die.
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