Reading Skill

Previewing: Reviewing the titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the struture and content of a reading selection.

Here are the ways to preview a short passage:

1)      Read the title

2)      Look at the pictures (if there are any)

3)      Read the first new sentences in the first paragraph

4)      Read the first line ofthe other paragraphs

5)      Read the last sentence of the last paragraph

6)      Watch for names, dates, and numbers.

Predicting: Using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content.

Scanning and skimming: Using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify text structure, confirm or question predictions.

The difference between scanning and skimming:

Scanning: Reading some important words in a passage to help the readers work the passage quickly also watch for names, dates, and numbers.

Take the following steps:

1)      Decide exactly what information you are looking for and what form it is likely to take

2)      Next, decide where you need to look to find the information.

3)      Move your eyes quickly down the page until you find what you want. Read to get the information.

4)      When you find what you need, you usually stop reading.

Skimming: The readers don’t need to know and remember everything. It helps the readers to find out the writer’s point of view and general idea quickly.

The way to skim a text:

1)      Read the first few sentences at your usual speed. Ask yoursef, what is this about?

2)      Go to the next paragraph as soon as you can guess the general idea.

3)      Read only a few words in each paragraph after that.

4)      Always work quickly. Remember that details are no important.

Topic Ideas: The subject that the selection is about. The main idea can usually be located if you can determine what the topic is. To find the topic of a selection, ask the simple question, “Who or what is the selection about?”

Topic sentences are usually in the first sentence of a paragraph, but not always. They may also be located within the paragraph or at the end of a paragraph. They may even appear twice-at the beginning and at the end.

Main Ideas: The central thought or message. In contrast to the term topic, which refers to the subject under discussion, the term main idea refers to the point or thought being expressed. The difference between a topic and a main idea will become clearer to you if you imagine yourself overhearing a conversation in which your name is repeatedly mentioned. When you ask your friends what they were discussing, they say they were talking about you. At that point, you have the topic but not the main idea. Undoubtedly, you wouldn’t be satisfied until you learned what your friends were saying about this particular topic. You would probably pester them until you knew the main idea, until you knew, that is, exactly what they were saying about your personality, appearance, or behavior. The same principle applies to reading. The topic is seldom enough. You also need to discover the main idea.

            Reading Tips:

1)      As soon as you can define the topic, ask yourself “What general point does the author want to make about this topic?” Once you can answer that question, you have more than likely found the main idea.

2)      Most main ideas are stated or suggested early on in a reading; pay special attention to the first third of any passage, article, or chapter. That’s where you are likely to get the best statement or clearest expression of the main idea.

3)      Pay attention to any idea that is repeated in different ways. If an author returns to the same thought in several different sentences or paragraphs, that idea is the main or central thought under discussion.

4)      Once you feel sure you have found the main idea, test it. Ask yourself if the examples, reasons, statistics, studies, and facts included in the reading lend themselves as evidence or explanation in support of the main idea you have in mind. If they do, your comprehension is right on target. If they don’t, you might want to revise your first notion about the author’s main idea.

5)      The main idea of a passage can be expressed any number of ways. For example, you and your roommate might come up with the same main idea for a reading, but the language in which that idea is expressed would probably be different. When, however, you are asked to find the topic sentence, you are being asked to find the statement that expresses the main idea in the author’s words. Any number of people can come up with the main idea for a passage, but only the author of the passage can create the topic sentence.

6)      If you are taking a test that asks you to find the thesis or theme of a reading, don’t let the terms confuse you, you are still looking for the main idea.

Supporting Ideas: Facts, statements, examples-specifics which guide us to a full understanding of the main idea. They clarify, illuminate, explain, describe, expand, and illustrate the main idea.