The following sentence is from an address that Susan B. Anthony gave in June 1873 prior to her trial for voting illegally in the November 1872 election. Read the sentence and then answer the question.

Question

Friends and Fellow-citizens: I stand before you tonight, under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last Presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote.
While reading Susan B. Anthony's address, Maria realizes that she does not understand the meaning of the sentence above.
What strategy to restore comprehension might Maria use?

Answer 1

To restore her comprehension of the sentence, Maria could use the "chunking" strategy, which involves breaking down the sentence into smaller parts to better understand its meaning. She could identify key phrases and terms, such as "indictment," "alleged crime," "voted," and "lawful right to vote," and analyze each part in context.

Additionally, Maria could rephrase the sentence in her own words or summarize it to clarify the main ideas. For example, she could think of it as: "I am here speaking because I have been accused of voting in the last Presidential election when it is claimed that I didn’t have the right to do so."

Lastly, if necessary, Maria could look up unfamiliar words or phrases to gain a more complete understanding of the sentence. By using these strategies, she would improve her comprehension and better grasp the significance of Anthony's address.