Nabokov organizes his essay like this: he corrects and then he begins to instruct. In the start of the essay he goes through these few ideas: That you should always read a book like it was something brand new (par. 3), that you can’t learn about the past by reading a book (par.4), that the writer of a book is a creator and can make and do what he wants in a book (par. 5). He corrects readers and writers and pretty much says ‘this is how things should be done. This is true and it will always be true’. After he states the truth, he gives the readers a series of questions and asks what things a reader needs to be a good reader (par 6-7). He tests them to see what they know. After that, he gives them the answer and starts instructing and discussing topics like what kind of imagination you should use when reading a book, and what kind of temperament we should have. He then goes into discussing what Literature is, and what it should be to us. He wraps up the story by talking about great writers and what a writer should try to have readers view them as. He talks about what qualities a writer needs and how they should be seen. Nabokov cleverly connects all his ideas and bounces back and forth, discussing how to be a good reader and how to be a good writer. He balances out both of his rhetorical questions and answers them in full by the end of the essay.
Nabokov, Vladimir. “Good Readers and Good Writers”. Lectures on Literatures. 1948. Lecture. PDF file.
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