PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE STRATEGY FOR READING: ANALYSIS OF AN ARTICLE

Applying the reading strategy demonstrates that reading appropriately is a highly disciplined, complex and skilled process. The strategy will be applied to an article, ‘The European Union belongs to its citizens: three immodest proposals’ by JHH Weiler; the full text can be found at the end of this chapter. Numbers in square brackets in the article refer to the paragraph numbers mentioned in the text of this chapter.

Task

The article to be read, ‘The European Union belongs to its citizens: three immodest proposals’, is a relatively uncomplicated article in terms of language usage and concepts introduced. This makes it ideal for current purposes to provide a short demonstration of the reading strategy and enable feedback.

The first task is for you the reader to participate. You are asked to:

1 Study carefully the four stage reading strategy that has been set out above in both its narrative and diagrammatic forms. Make sure that you understand how each of the stages is interconnected. This may take any time from 20 minutes to an hour. 2 Then following each stage of the reading plan read the article. Make notes as

appropriate.

3 Compare your notes of the reading with the demonstration of the reading strategy that follows immediately after this task,

(i) Were there any major differences between your version and the version in this text?

(ii) How did this occur? Where you have any gaps go back to the text to see how you missed them.

6.4.1 The demonstration: the reading plan applied to the article

6.4.1.1 Stage 1: preparation prior to reading Reading intention

• Why am I reading this text? It can be said that there are at least two reasons:
to learn how to read texts; or

this particular legal text happens to be the one chosen (by tutor or by self)! • What do I hope to get out of it?

a strategy for competent reading;
some new knowledge from the article.

Reader prediction of use and content of text:

• this involves a consideration of what the writer is saying. This can be judged from the subject matter and the title. What does the title suggest?

It is about the European Union and is suggesting it ‘belongs to its citizens’. The last phrase of the title is a deliberate play on words. Usually, an author would say ‘I am making three modest proposals’. This author is being controversial and states ‘three

immodest proposals’. Usually, people will argue that they are only suggesting modest,

small changes. Here the suggestion is that the changes are large and perhaps outrageous. The title also sounds like a political slogan, a call to arms maybe ‘The European Union belongs to its citizens’. So the article is, or should be, about proposals relating to the concept of the Union belonging to its citizens.

6.4.1.2 Stage 2: methods of reading Skimming

Read very quickly and generally through the text noting:

• publication date: 1997. The date gives a context to the article. You could be reading it years later when changes may have occurred. You need to know this.

• headings and sub-headings:
introduction;

proposal 1: the European Legislative Ballot;

proposal 2: Lexcalibur—the European Public Square;
proposal 3: limits to growth;

• author details:

Name: JHH Weiler.

Title: Professor of Law and Jean Monnet Chair, Harvard University.
Job: Co-director, Academy of European Law, European University Institute

Florence.

Note: Jean Monnet was one of the original architects of the European Community in 1957.

• Read the first sentence of two of the paragraphs following introductions. • Look at concluding paragraphs on last page. Article does not have a signalled

conclusion as it had a signalled introduction. But it does conclude with para 30 stating:

‘The IGC has proclaimed that the European Union belongs to its citizens. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating [p 343].’ (IGC=Inter-Governmental Conference)

• Did you note the use of the figurative language?

• This activity has assisted in deciding the potential relevance of the text. • If the work in hand concerned the European citizen, enough has been gained

by the introduction, headings and last paragraph to conclude that the article is relevant.

Scanning

• Unlike the general skim through, scanning involves quickly looking for specific words, phrases or information.

• This would be used with this article if it was being scanned for potential relevancy.

Detailed reading

A detailed reading will allow attention to be given to identifying primary and secondary or subsidiary arguments properly in the text.

Here, the reading is slower and careful. Do make sure that you check out unfamiliar vocabulary. Also some words and phrases become clear as more text is read.

For example:

• what does the word ‘Lexcalibur’ mean? Where does this word come from? • what does the phrase ‘the European public square’ mean?

Neither the word ‘Lexcalibur’ nor the phrase ‘the European Public Square’ can be found in a dictionary. However, their meaning unfolds in the article.

Note the type of language used.

Thinking closely about the text the most obvious language usage is figurative. The writer uses short sentences, slogans, rhetorical questions, poetic language, metaphor, invents words. Take a look at the demonstration of this in Figure 6.3, below.

Scanning for argument: the argument was relatively well signalled by the introduction and the headings.

What is the main argument?

The following has been divided into proposition and evidence supporting it. Many readers do not differentiate the two which is a major error and leads to confusion and misunderstanding. A proposition is a statement being put forward as a point in argument construction. It can be given strength by evidence supporting it. • Proposition 1, para 2:

The Maastricht Treaty was not the remarkable diplomatic achievement it was claimed to be.

Evidence: street reaction apathetic, confused, hostile, fearful: (i) Danes voted against it;

(ii) French approved it marginally (1%);

(iii) commentators at the time said that if there had been greater scrutiny in Great Britain and Germany the outcome would have been uncertain; (iv) even those supporting it were just plain greedy.

• Proposition 2, para 3:

There was a ‘growing disillusionment with the European construct as a whole’. • Proposition 3, para 3:

The ‘moral and political legitimacy’ of the European construct is in decline. Evidence: There is ‘a sense of disempowerment of the European citizen’ which has many roots, but three stand out:

(i) democratic deficit; (ii) remoteness;

(iii) competencies of union.

• Conclusion: a package of three proposals (a limited ballot by citizens concerning legislation; internet access to European decision making; establishment of a constitutional council), taken from research, initiated by the European Parliament, can make a real difference to increase the power of the European citizen without creating a political drama.

The argument as set out in the introduction (in paras 1–3)

The Maastricht Treaty was not the diplomatic achievement it was claimed to be. The European citizen continues to be disempowered. There remains a growing disillusionment with the European construct as a whole which is suffering from a decline in its moral and political legitimacy. However, a package of three proposals (a limited ballot by citizens concerning legislation; internet access to European decision making; establishment of a constitutional council), taken from research, initiated by the European Parliament, can make a real difference to increase the power of the European citizen without creating a political drama.