2. Reading Beneath the Surface

Mastery-level reading is about what a text assumes, implies, and does -- not just what it says.

• Unstated assumptions -- the belief an argument takes for granted; challenge it and the argument may fall.
• Unreliable narration -- when the narrator's account is shaped by bias, memory, or desire, read past them to the real picture.
• Synthesis -- combine two passages into a single, fair conclusion that honors both.
• Satire and irony -- when the literal words mock the very thing they pretend to praise.
• Extended metaphor -- one comparison carried across a passage to shape its whole meaning.