READING SKILLS FOR WRITERS:EDUCATED READING, STEPS

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

LECTURE 31

READING SKILLS FOR WRITERS

Types of reading:

1. ACADEMIC READING:

Step 1: Read the questions carefully and underline the key words.

Step 2: Read the topic and then read the first and last sentences of every paragraph in the passage.

Step 2: Read the bold types inside the paragraphs. For example: bold, italic, underlined, bracketed, hyphenated,

words or information. Read any graphic representation or illustration like any pictures, graphs, charts, tables

etc.

Step 3: Now start answering the questions.

Example:

Hidden History: the beetle's secret cycle of life

The death-watch beetle is thought of as a devil's pest in churches and old houses, but in

natural habitats it infests a wide range of decaying hardwoods. It has been found in hornbeam, sweet chestnut

....and yew, but the two most commonly infested species in Britain are oak and willow. In buildings, oak timbres

are usually the focus of attack by the beetle, but alder, walnut, elm, larch and Scots pine can be affected too.

Death-watch beetles attack wood that has been decayed by fungi, so it is the damp prone parts of timbers, at

the ends and near leaking gutters and enclosed spaces that are normally attacked first.

Adult beetles emerge from holes in the timber in spring, or occasionally in autumn. They breed once

and a week or two later the females lay eggs, usually about fifty, in small cracks on the surface of the wood.

Adults depend on stored reserves; they do not feed, so the adult life span is largely determined by body size and

metabolic demands. Emergent females rarely live for more than ten weeks, and males eight or nine weeks, at a

temperature of about 20° C.

The eggs hatch after two to five weeks and the larvae then wander across the wood to find suitable

entry points through which to bore into timber. Then they take between two and ten years to complete their

development. The larvae pupate in late summer to early autumn, each individual .........the mature beetle

........emerges.......wood powder.

Questions to answer:

1. What is the subject of the passage as a whole?

2. Which paragraph contains information about the larvae?

3. Which paragraph contains information about the adult beetles?

4. Which paragraph contains information about where the beetles live?

5. The death-watch beetle is found most often in ...1... and ...2... They infest damp-porn timber which

has been affected ...3... Adults do not feed, so they survive on ...4... and live for only two or three

months. The larvae, on the other hand, live for up to ...5..., feeding on the timbers during that time.

They pupate in ...6... but the adult does not emerge until the following spring.

2. EDUCATED READING: Styles of reading are

1. Skimming (for getting the gist of something)

2. Scanning (for a specific focus)

3. Detailed reading (for extracting information accurately)

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Skimming: for getting the gist of something

The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine: you read quickly to get the main

points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to skim:

· to preview a passage before you read it in detail

to refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail.

Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is right for you.

Scanning: for a specific focus

The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the

page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing. It's useful to scan parts of

texts to see if they're going to be useful to you:

· the introduction or preface of a book

the first or last paragraphs of chapters

the concluding chapter of a book.

Detailed reading: for extracting information accurately

Where you read every word, and work to learn from the text.

In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general idea, but then go back to read in

detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you understand all the words used.

3. PURPOSE READING

Things you read:

· A reading piece

A note book

A dictionary

STEPS:

· Read a selected paragraph twice.

Underline the key words and read their meanings from your dictionary.

Read it once more

Decide about the text pattern

Find out the topic sentence, supportive details and the conclusion.

Underline the signal words

Find out the collocations

See the structural choices

Check literal and figurative use

Check any idiomatic entry.

Note these down and everyday revise them.

Rewrite the paragraph in your own words.

Exercise: Apply the above steps

Every day the factory whistle bellowed forth its shrill, roaring, trembling noises into the smoke-

begrimed and greasy atmosphere of the workingmen's suburb; and obedient to the summons of the power

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of steam, people poured out of little grey houses into the street. With sombre faces they hastened forward

like frightened roaches, their muscles stiff from insufficient sleep. In the chill morning twilight they walked

through the narrow, unpaved street to the tall stone cage that waited for them with cold assurance,

illumining their muddy road with scores of greasy, yellow, square eyes. The mud smeared under their feet

as if in mocking commiseration. Hoarse exclamations of sleepy voices were heard; irritated, peevish,

abusive language rent the air with malice; and, to welcome the people, deafening sounds floated about--the

heavy whir of machinery, the dissatisfied snort of steam. Stern and sombre, the black chimneys stretched

their huge, thick sticks high above the village.

(Excerpt from Mother by Maxim Gorky)

ACTIVE READING

When you're reading for your course, you need to make sure you're actively involved with the text. It's a waste

of your time to just passively read, the way you'd read a thriller on holiday.

Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding.

Here are four tips for active reading.

Underlining and highlighting

Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own copy of

texts

photocopies,

not

with

borrowed

books.

If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colors to highlight different aspects of what

you're reading.

Note key words

Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you don't want to mark

the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading.

Questions

Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for your reading by

noting down questions you want the material to answer. While you're reading, note down questions which the

author raises.

Summaries

Pause after you've read a section of text. Then:

1. put what you've read into your own words;

2. Skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and fill in any gaps.

A tip for speeding up your active reading

You should learn a huge amount from your reading. If you read passively, without learning, you're wasting your

time. So train your mind to learn.

Try the SQ3R technique. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recall and Review.

Survey

Gather the information you need to focus on the work and set goals:

· Read the title to help prepare for the subject

Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key points

Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is

Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose

Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter. They are all there to help

you understand and remember.

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Question

Help your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is engaged in learning when it is actively looking for

answers to questions. Try turning the boldface headings into questions you think the section should answer.

Read

Read the first section with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and make up new questions if

necessary.

Recall

After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can answer them from memory. If not,

take a look back at the text. Do this as often as you need to.

Review

Once you have finished the whole chapter, go back over all the questions from all the headings. See you if can

still answer them. If not, look back and refresh your memory.

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