Attention to the context. Texts don’t exist in isolation: they are in -
fluenced by and contribute to ongoing conversations, controversies, or
debates, so to understand a particular text, you need to understand its
larger context. Nussbaum opens by describing fans’ critical response to
the evolution of 30 Rock’s main character. Safire notes the source of the
phrase “of the people, by the people, for the people” and is clearly writing
in the context of the United States after 9/11.