The active reader has a sense of the writer at work behind a text, and can explain something about how a text is constructed, based on plenty of prior reading experience.
The main shift, however, from the competent reader to the active one is that active readers have begun to understand the constructed nature of texts. They have progressed from being readers who engage with and respond to texts at face value to readers who actively recognise that the text is an artefact created by a writer in order to create an effect on the reader. They are beginning to sense the writer at work behind the text.
Secure active readers are conscious of the writer at work and see the way language and organisational features are used to manipulate and create an effect on the reader. They are actively aware of the writer's craft and the way a point of view can be developed or promoted in a text. They can recognise the way a writer chooses words and sentence structures to influence the reader. Readers at this level know that the writer and the narrator may not be one and the same and that texts are often constructed in order to put across a particular message or view of the world. In short, they are beginning to read with a writer's eye.
Active Reader Prompts
Can you explain why the writer decided to reveal that piece of information in this section rather than earlier?
Why do you think the writer decided to tell the story in this way (e.g. the perspective from which the story is told; flashbacks; build up of tension / excitement)?
Can you explain why the writer decided to use these words in that section to describe the ____________ ?
Can you explain what choices the writer has made in terms of the story’s narration / narrator (the character / voice delivering the story to the reader)?
Can you identify a phrase or sentence in the section you have just read and respond to it beginning with the phrase, ‘This makes me think that...’?
Can you identify a phrase or sentence in the section you have just read and respond to it beginning with the phrase, ‘This suggests that...’?
Can you identify a phrase or sentence in the section you have just read and respond to it beginning with the phrase, ‘This makes me feel...’?
What do you think the purpose of this text / part of the text is?
Can you explain what kind of audience you think best suits this text and why you think that?
Do you get the feeling that the writer is for or against the ideas explored in this part of the text (e.g. the use of violence by a character)?
Does the writer want us to sympathise with this character, in this section, or not?
What does the writer want us to think when she/he used that word?
Can you identify a short sentence used by the writer and explain reasons why they might have done this on purpose?
Can you identify a long, complex sentence used by the writer and explain reasons why they might have done this on purpose?
Can you explain what you like about the way the text is written?
Can you explain why you dislike about the way the text is written?
Can you identify particular words or phrases you liked or appreciated and explain your response to the writer’s choices?
Can you identify particular words or phrases you disliked or feel are less successful and explain your response to the writer’s choices?
Can you comment on the way in which the writer communicates an idea in this section of the text?
Can you comment on the way in which a choice by the writer in the section affects the reader and the way they respond to the text?
I am going to make a statement about the text (e.g. The main character is courageous) – can you select a short, well-chosen quotation from the section you have just read to support the statement?
Can you identify a word used in the section and two different ways in which the reader might interpret the meaning of the word – explaining the different interpretations?
