"I. THE FIRST STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: **RULES FOR FINDING WHAT A BOOK IS ABOUT** 1. **Classify the book** according to kind and subject matter. 2. **State what the whole book is about** with the utmost brevity. 3. **Enumerate its major parts** in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole. 4. **Define the problem** or problems the author has tried to solve. "II. THE SECOND STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: **RULES FOR INTERPRETING A BOOK’S CONTENTS** 5. **Come to terms with the author** by interpreting his key words. 6. **Grasp the author’s leading propositions** by dealing with his most important sentences. 7. **Know the author’s arguments**, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences. 8. **Determine which of his problems the author has solved**, and which he has not; and of the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve. "III. THE THIRD STAGE OF ANALYTICAL READING: **RULES FOR CRITICIZING A BOOK AS A COMMUNICATION OF KNOWLEDGE** A. General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette 9. Do not begin criticism **until you have completed your outline** and your interpretation of the book. (Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment, until you can say “I understand.”) 10. **Do not disagree disputatiously** or contentiously. 11. **Demonstrate that you recognize the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion** by presenting good reasons for any critical judgment you make. B. Special Criteria for Points of Criticism 12. Show **wherein the author is uninformed**. 13. Show **wherein the author is misinformed**. 14. Show **wherein the author is illogical**. 15. Show **wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete**. ([Location 2387](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B004PYDAPE&location=2387)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[reading-books]], [[analytical-reading]], [[crucial-conversations]], [[conflict]] **Source** -- [[20250103084100 - B - How to Read a Book]] **See Also** -- [[202308170954 — AtN — Productive disagreement can be a superpower]] and [[202308170953 — AtN — See Arguments as opportunities for growth]]