TOPIC THREE: READING

TECHNIQUES
Meaning and Importance of Reading
 What is reading?
• Reading is not a straight forward process of lifting
the words off the page. It is a complex process of
problem solving in which the reader works to
make sense of a text not just from the words and
sentences on the page but also from the ideas,
memories, and knowledge evoked by those
words and sentences.
• Reading is in truth active, populated by a rich mix
of voices and views – those of the author, of the
reader, and of others the reader has heard, read
about, and otherwise encountered through life.
 What is reading?
• Is an activity of someone to look and understand the
meaning of written or printed words or symbols.
Reasons for Reading
• Normally beginners are not accustomed to many types
of texts and reading assignments required at college.
• There are two basic reasons for reading:
• One reads because he enjoys reading and they feel like
reading e.g. story books, magazines.
• One also reads because he has to. That is for a specific
purpose e.g. to get a certain information or to be
tested.
 Types of Reading
• 1. Reading for Pleasure
• Reading is one of the most pleasurable as well as most
awarding pursuits in life. One can engage in leisure reading
for sheer relaxation, e.g. lunch break, in the evening, during
the weekend.
• In this case it does not matter whether we understand
what we are reading or not. Some people do leisure
reading seriously to “improve themselves” i.e. they read for
entertainment with a more serious purpose of widening
knowledge or skills e.g. buying newspapers, magazines and
journals to keep themselves updated on topical issues.
• We tend to skim over the whole text because our
understanding will not be tested.
 Types of Reading cont…
• 2. Reading for Study
• It is when we read because we have to read. In this
case whether we read individually or in groups we
know that our understanding will be tested.
• We therefore set aside time for it. We take trouble to
prepare ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally.
We create conducive environment for reading. We also
think of the purpose for reading. We should ask
ourselves, what exactly do we want out of what we are
reading. The answer then governs the reading strategy.
 Reading Strategies

• 1. Skimming/reading for general idea

• Also known as survey reading, it is a process of looking over a
text quickly to get a general idea of the text or impression of
it. We do not trouble to read all the words.
• Reader’s eyes move fast at the titles of the materials, tables of
contents, and the first and the last sentences in paragraphs.
• Students skim when reviewing for examinations, few
moments before entering in an examination room; some
people also skim newspapers before buying them, getting the
details during the presentation.
• We also skim books to see if they are relevant for our
purpose. We are advised to skim materials in libraries to see if
they are relevant for our defined purposes before we start
reading them or before we buy them for sale.
 Reading Strategies

• 2.Scanning/reading for specific information

• This occurs when one knows what he wants and where to
get it, one moves eyes quickly down the page seeking for
specific words and phrases. Usually, a reader has a specific
information or concept in mind and he/she looks it up in
the material to find its meaning and other related
information.
• We scan when we are looking for particular information in
a text. We scan over the sections, chapters, passages that
are not relevant.
• We scan in order to find the specific details we require and
which we must be remembered completely and precisely.
 Reading Strategies cont…
• Scanning is useful in:
• Locating statements; definitions; formulas;
New terms and concepts; the charts and
figures;
• Examples of scanning scenarios:
• A telephone directory;
• A conference guide;
• A train time table.
 Reading Strategies cont…

• 3.Intensive reading/study reading

• This is a type of reading in which a reader reads and thinks
about what is being read so that it is understood,
remembered and contextualized.
• It needs to be worked at, with time for reflection, thought
analysis, criticism, comparison, notes made, points
highlighted and emphasized, the whole summarized.
• Study reading is done when one is reading for assignment,
presentation, and for answering examination. Students are
advised to read intensively in order to be able to write
meaningful assignments, reports and presentation.
 Reading Strategies cont…
• 4. Extensive reading
• Involves reading many and variety of books for general
or universal meaning and pleasure.
• In extensive reading, reading is beyond reading the
school books.
• In extensive reading, one reads large quantities of
materials for global or general understanding with the
intention of obtaining pleasure from the texts.
• In this kind of reading students are allowed to choose
the books they want for reading. Students are not
restricted in class to choose the same.
 The Process of Reading
• There are a number of actions readers can take in order to
understand a word or passage. This are listed possible
remedies in the order of increasing disruptiveness to the
flow of reading. The more drastic the action taken, the
more you lose the thread of what you are reading.
• The following steps will help a reader to read the passage
carefully and get the benefit out of it:
• i. Ignore and read on. if the word or passage is not critical
to understanding, then the most effective action is to
ignore it. For example, failures within descriptions and
details usually can safely be ignored. If the reader fails to
understand a large proportion of the text, this is evidence
that the ‘ignore and read on’ strategy is not working.
 The Process of Reading cont…
• ii. Suspend judgment. these are a wait and see strategy that
should be applied when the reader thinks the failure will be
clarified later. For example, new words or general principles
are often explained in subsequent text. The structure of the
text should tell the reader when an idea is likely to be clarified
later. If it is not, it may be necessary to go back and reread.
• iii. Form a tentative hypothesis. here the reader tries to figure
out from context what a word, sentence, or passage means.
The hypothesis may be a partial hypothesis or a quite specific
hypothesis. It acts as a pending question (Collins, Brown,
Morgan, & Brewer, 1977) that the reader tests as he or she
continues reading. This is a particularly useful strategy to
apply if a statement is abstract or vague, or if an unknown
word is fairly central and there are clues to its meaning.
 The Process of Reading cont…
• iv. Reread the current sentence (s). If the reader cannot form a tentative
hypothesis, then it often helps to reread the current sentence or
sentences, looking for a revised interpretation that would clarify the
problem. This is especially useful if the reader perceives some
contradiction or several possible interpretations. But it is a fairly disruptive
remedy.
• v. Reread the previous context. jumping back to the previous context is
even more disruptive to the flow of reading. But if there is a contradiction
with some earlier piece of the text or the reader is overloaded with too
many pending questions, then jumping back and rereading is the most
effective strategy.
• vi. Going to an expert source. the most disruptive action the reader can
take is to go to an outside source, such as a teacher, parent, dictionary, or
other book. But this is sometimes required, for example when a word is
repeatedly used and the reader cannot figure out what it means, or when
a whole section of text does not make sense.
Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Reading comprehension is the understanding
of the message of a given text. It allows the
person who reads to instantly capture the
meaning of each word in the text as well as its
underlying message. It is simply not just
scanning the article being read. Instead, you
need to exert time and effort in order to
thoroughly understand what is being
conveyed.
Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Reading comprehension is like your weapon. It enables
you to formulate different meanings from the words in
the text. It also helps readers in constructing different
representations or ideas from what is being read.
• By comprehending the messages of a given text,
readers can easily answer any questions regarding the
article. Although it requires tremendous time and
effort, readers only need to understand the summary
or the primary message being conveyed. The questions
what, where, when, why and how help the readers to
answer questions through comprehension.
Reading Comprehension Strategies
• The following strategies can ensure that
students are successful on reading
comprehension tests:
• Finding main idea: a reader should read by
looking about the main idea; what a reading
passage is mostly or mainly about.
• One may also think about the best title for a
reading passage.
 Reading Comprehension Strategies
cont…
• Recalling facts and details: students/readers should
look for facts and details that have happened in a
reading passage. Paying very close attention to the
events of the story and the order in which they
happened will help with this strategy.
• Understanding Sequence: the reader should check the
sequence of certain things and events happened within
the reading passage. Scholars explain that words such
as first, second, last, before, or after appearing in the
passage may be of help to understand the sequence of
the passage.
 Reading Comprehension Strategies
cont…
• Distinguishing between facts and opinion: can
this statement be proved?’ or tells what
someone feels or think.
• Making predictions: readers should also make
predictions and guesses about what will
happen next in a reading passage. Words like
predict, probably or most likely can help a
student to predict or guess something that
follow.
 Reading Comprehension Strategies
cont…
• Interpreting figurative language: in the
passage one may find figurative languages
such as similes, metaphors and idioms.
• Recognizing cause and effect: a reader should
be able to identify the cause and effect of
something happened and why it happened.
When the text uses words such as because,
why, reason or what happened, this signals
cause and effect.
 Reading Comprehension Strategies
cont…
• Find word meaning in context: because some
words have more than one meaning, readers
need to know the meaning of a word used in a
reading passage. Try each answer meaning in the
sentence where the word appears, and choose
the one that makes the most sense in the reading
passage.
• Identifying author’s purpose: readers need to
understand the reason an author wrote a
particular passage. This should be done to the
entire passage, and/or about a specific paragraph
 Reading Comprehension Strategies
cont…
• Making inferences: when asked to make an
inference, students need to figure something out
that a reading passage does not explicitly state.
This often contains the words you can tell,
determine or conclude.
• Summarizing: a reader should be able to choose
the best summary of a reading passage. You may
not find the direct way of doing this in the
reading passage. Students will need to think
about the most important ideas to find the best
summary.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
• There is no magic formula in taking notes
when reading; you have to find out what
works best for you. Your note-taking skills will
develop with practice and as you realize the
benefits. The tips for effective note-taking,
below, should help you get started.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• 1. Be Selective and Systematic
• As you take notes from a written source, keep in
mind that not all of a text may be relevant to your
needs. Think about your purpose of reading.
• Highlight or mark the main points.
• 2. Identify the Purpose and Function of a Text
• Read the title and the abstract or preface (if there
is one)
• Read the introduction or first paragraph.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• Skim the text to read topic headings and
notice how the text is organised.
• Read graphic material and predict its purpose.
• 3. Highlighting and Emphasizing
• A quick and easy way to be active when
reading is to highlight and/or underline parts
of the text. Although the process of
highlighting is not ‘note-taking’ it is often an
important first step.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• Of course, this is not a good idea if the book or journal
does not belong to you! Highlighting key words or
phrases in text will help you to do the following:
• Focus your attention on what you are reading and
make it easy to see key points when re-reading.
• Think more carefully about what the key concepts and
ideas in the text are, the bits that are worth
highlighting.
• At a glance you will be able to see that you have
already read pages or sections on text.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• 4. Making Written notes
• Remember your main purpose for note-making is
to learn, and probably to prepare for some form
of writing. When you first start out note-taking
you may find that you take too many notes, or
not enough, or that when you revisit them they
are unclear, or which is your opinion and which is
the opinion of the author. You will need to work
on these areas - like all life skills, taking effective
notes improve with practice.
 Tips/skills for making effective
written notes
• It is important to keep your notes organized
and well-structured, so you can easily find
them later.
• The following guidelines may be of help:
• It is important to keep your notes organized
and well-structured.
• Use headings or different sheets.
• Use bright colours to highlight important
points in your notes.
 Tips/skills for making effective
written notes cont…
• Make your notes using a separate sheet of paper,
do not scribble or do markings on the textbooks.
• The made notes should be summaries of source
materials rather than direct quotations/copying.
• Leave enough space between your points for
further expansion via comments, examples etc.
• Highlight all key words so that you can later on
expand them with definitions, illustrations etc.
 Tips/skills for making effective
written notes cont…
• Organise your notes in such a way that the
content and structure of the original text is
clearly reflected.
• Always keep a record of your information
source, this is generally good practice – so you
can easily find information again in the
future. In academia it is essential to reference
your work.
 Tips/skills for making effective
written notes cont…
• Whenever you make notes from a reading text
remember to record the following:
- The name of the author
- The year of publication
- The title of the text
- The volume and issue number if it is a journal.
- The name of the publisher
- The place of publication; and
- The pages your notes come from in the case of articles
in journals or book chapters)
- This helps in reference and bibliography presentation.
 Tips/skills for making effective
written notes cont…
 When referring to internet sources,
record:
 The full URL or web address.
 The date you accessed the
information.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• 5. Identify how Information is organised
• Most texts use a range of organising principles to
develop ideas. While most good writing will have
a logical order, not all writers will use an
organising principle.
• 6. Page by page notes
• The simplest and most direct way of making
notes, but also the most detailed, is to write
page-by-page notes. At the start of your notes
write the full reference of the book/journal, etc.
that you are making notes from.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• 7. Organising your notes
• Depending on your circumstance you may find you
accumulate a lot of notes. Notes are of no use to you if
you cannot find them when you need to, and spending
a lot of time sifting through piles of papers is a waste of
time.
• 8. Include your Thoughts
• When taking notes for an assignment it is also helpful
to record your thoughts at the time. Record your
thoughts in a separate column or margin and in a
different colour to the notes you took from the text.
 Effective Steps for Note-Making
cont...
• For instance, what ideas did you have about your
assignment when you read that information?
How do you think you could use this information
in your assignment?
• 9. Summaries
• As well as page by page notes, you should
compile a summary at the end of each section or
chapter. A summary is, by definition, precise. Its
aim is to bring together the essential points and
to simplify the main argument or viewpoint of
the author.
 What not to do?
• It is important to understand that effective note-
making means writing notes on what you have read in
your own words.
• Copying what others have said is not note-taking and is
only appropriate when you want to directly quote an
author.
• It can be tempting, especially if your reading material is
online, to copy and paste straight into a document.
• If you do this then you are unlikely to learn what you
have read, as copying is not engaging with the text.
 What not to do?
• Also, and especially if you are a student,
copied text that ends up in an assignment is
plagiarism - a serious academic offence.
• Use online sources as appropriate but
summarize, re-write and/or paraphrase and
always reference.
 Importance of Note Making
• 1. Note making helps you observe and record the
crucial and finer aspects of a text or a
phenomenon.
• 2. Note making helps you to think critically about
what you are reading.
• 3. Note making helps you to figure out the
complexity of a thought, idea or situation.
• 4. It helps you recall and recapture the intensity
of an observed phenomenon and express the
same in your own words.