2. Reading at the Highest Level

Elite reading is about evaluating and weighing, not just understanding.

• Argument logic -- separate the claim, the concession, the analogy, and the limit the author sets.
• Diction and theme -- how precise word choices ('blinded windows,' weeds with 'the confidence of an heir') build a passage's deeper meaning.
• Evaluating evidence -- in a paired set, decide which text is better supported and predict how each author would answer the other.
• Tone shifts -- track where and why a writer's attitude changes, and what triggers it.
• Layered literary devices -- personification, irony, symbol, and theme working together in one passage.