Reading and Asking Questions

Reading for My Essay
I wrote a historical analysis on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem, “The Cry of the Children.” This is a copy of the steps I took to actively read my poem and find the information I needed to better understand it.  

First, I read through the poem carefully without taking notes of any kind. 
Next, I read through it again, stopping to type these questions as I read. 
Then, as I read a line and a question occurred to me, I made note of it. 
When I was finished, I was left with the following questions but no answers yet.
Finally, I began my research directed toward answering these specific questions and filled in the answers as I went. I was able to learn and take note of much more than just the answers to these questions in the process of researching, but my initial questions pointed me in the right direction, and answering them enabled me to better understand exactly what the text was saying.