Reading Strategies—Inferring

“What a big cat!” thought Jim.

Word choice: big

Describes the cat’s size with basic vocabulary

The cat is a regular cat that is larger than what the character is used to.

Punctuation: exclamation mark

Expresses surprise

“What a huge cat!” thought Jim.

Word choice: huge

Describes the cat’s size with richer vocabulary

The cat is a regular cat, but is much larger than what the character is used to. Possibly one of the largest he has ever seen.

Implies the cat is bigger than just the adjective big

Punctuation: exclamation mark

Expresses surprise

“That’s a really, really big cat,” thought Jim, “Really big.”

Word choice: really (adverb) + big (adjective)
Phrasing: repetition

Describes the cat’s size

The size of the cat is unsettling to the character. This is not just a cat. Something else is going on.

Implies the cat is bigger than just the adjective big

Implies the character talking is surprised by the size of the cat

2. Connect the dots

3. Draw conclusions

The cat stretched, jumped down and walked. “Hello, Jim. How do you do,” he then added.

Greetings

The cat knows and was expecting Jim.
They are meeting for the first time (“how do you do”).
The cat can talk.

This cat is special: it can talk.
The cat knowing Jim implies it has more knowledge than Jim.

Tone

Friendly
 

The cat could be an ally or setting a trap or Jim.

The cat stretched, then started licking its paw. “You are late,” he said without looking at Jim, still invested in cleaning its paw.

Greetings

The cat was expecting Jim (“you are late”).
The cat is annoyed/impatient.

Tone

Annoyed/impatient

1. Look for clues

2. Connect the dots

3. Draw conclusions

The cat cleared its throat and said:
“Such magnificence
likely unattainable
for, a cat you aren't.”

Poem → haiku format

Meaning: expresses that cats are better.

The character using a haiku poem suggests the character’s knowledge and sophistication, most likely a little superiority complex too.

The cat cleared its throat and recited:
“kingdom: Animalia
phylum: Chordata
class: Mammalia
order: Carnivora
family: Felidae
species: Felis catus
common name: cat.”

Informational text → animal classification

Meaning: provide specific information on the animal classification of the cat.

The character reciting the animal classification with Latin words suggests encyclopedic knowledge. It is likely the character has a vast array of facts memorized. It is also likely the character likes to show it off.

1. Look for clues

2. Connect the dots

3. Draw conclusions

Comfortable and welcoming

The author likely wants the reader to feel at ease. 
There is an effort to establishing a sense of wonder and hope.

Set in the future

Unknown technology presented as everyday life is likely to present challenges for the main character.

Active and lively

It could be a used for:

• conflict—man vs. machine
• comedy—fish out of water
• plot device—MacGuffin (an object driving the plot) 

Sets a creepy mood
Feels unfamiliar & uncomfortable
Seems closed off from the rest of the world

The author likely wants to destabilize the readers, wanting them to expect something bad to happen.

Looks like a primitive world, maybe set in the past

The author uses the tropes of the primitive magical world for the reader to quickly understand the surroundings.

Magic elements provide a source of power, conflict, technology stand-in