Reading Like a Writer
Francine Prose
Two: Words
Merritt Harris
Summer Reading
AP Lit
When Reading or Writing..
O “It’s essential to slow down and read every
word” (Prose 15).
O DO NOT “lose sight of the fact that words are
the raw material out of which literature is
crafted” (Prose 16).
O Being a good writer depends on the skill and
capability of choosing the right words.
O “Always ask yourself, what information is the
word trying to convey?” (Prose 16).
Authors use words..
O Authors use words to try and reduce our mind to
one simple fact, or enlarge it to think of the
whole picture simply by the word choices in a
novel.
O Example:
 “Moby Dick’s first sentence, “Call me Ishmael”
makes us feel that the author is in control, so he
chose those words to make us understand his
authority to draw us into the story quickly” (Prose
17).
Word Choices..
o Word choices make a huge difference in the
significance of a sentence.
o Example:
 If an author wrote, “She was seizing every
chance”, it would have a stronger impact on
the reader verses if the author wrote, “She
was taking every chance”, because the word
seize grabs the readers attention (Prose 18).
Author’s Style..
O Author’s style such as diction uses words to
help the reader with information on the book
such as the setting.
O When characters of a novel “cuss, have bad
grammar, or speak properly it is the author’s
attempt to describe the characters
personality or show the reader what region
the book is reflecting” (Prose 18).
Word Usage..
O Certain words used at the beginning of a
sentence are placed to assist the reader into
the next paragraph smoothly.
O Words are used to hint what “narration is
about to be used next, such as “you” or “I”
(Prose 20).
O Specific words are used in a work to strike
up emotion in the reader.
When going through a
sentence..
O Read word for word and try to break the
sentence down.
O Try to understand “why the author uses
verbs, adverbs, prepositions, etc. within the
sentence” (Prose 22).
O Ask Yourself: Why does the author choose
the word choices he does?
Spontaneous Writers? I think
not.
O REMEMBER: “Author’s are not spontaneous”
(Prose 23).
O “Author’s go through and write words, delete
words, recalculate words, and replace words
with even better words, until they feel the
paragraph is perfect” (Prose 23).
O Author’s also try to “balance out their word
choices” (Prose 25).
Things to look for..
O Look for reasons why the author choses
“plain words, or why the author looks for
complex words and what is the underlying
meaning or significance for the word choice”
(Prose 24).
O Why does the “author use dramatic words,
or blunt words” (Prose 25)?
O “Look out for the parts of speech that the
words represent” (Prose 29).
O “Look for the tone of words” (Prose 30).
Words help readers to..
O “Foresee future events in the story” (Prose
31).
O “Words will help convince you of the true
personalities and identities of the
characters by the things they say and the
tone they say it in” (Prose 32).
Lastly..
O REMEMBER: “Every page was once blank
and every word on that page did not use to
be there” (Prose 16).
O Always make sure to read every word and
“never skip or overlook the spaces between
the words” (Prose 19).
O “Individual words will give you all the
information you need” (Prose 26).
Bibliography
Prose, Francine. Reading like a Writer: A Guide for
People Who Love Books and for Those
Who Want to Write Them. New
York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.