ACADEMIC READING

   Here are five tips to help you improve your reading:

   1. Styles of reading
   2. Active reading
   3. A tip for speeding up your active reading
   4. Spotting authors' navigation aids
   5. Words and vocabulary

   

   1. Styles of reading

   There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations:

   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.

   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.

   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.

   2. 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. If you are a
   visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colours 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.

   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:

   put what you've read into your own words;

   skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and

   fill in any gaps.

   3. 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.

   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.

   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.

   4. Spotting authors' navigation aids

   Learn to recognise sequence signals, for example:

   "Three advantages of..." or "A number of methods are available..." leads you to expect several
   points to follow.

   The first sentence of a paragraph will often indicate a sequence: "One important cause of..."
   followed by "Another important factor..." and so on, until "The final cause of..."

   General points are often illustrated by particular examples.

   Whatever you are reading, be aware of the author's background. It is important to recognise
   the bias given to writing by a writer's political, religious, social background. Learn which
   newspapers and journals represent a particular standpoint.

   5. Words and vocabulary

   When you're a graduate, people expect you to use a vocabulary which is wider than a
   school-leaver's. To expand your vocabulary:

   Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‘compact' or ‘concise'. You want one which
   is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around 1,500 pages is a good size).

   Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by just giving synonyms.

   There are over 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary; most of them have different
   meanings, (only a small proportion are synonyms).

   Keep your dictionary at hand when you're studying. Look up unfamiliar words and work to
   understand what they mean.

   Improve your vocabulary by READING WIDELY.

   

   

   

   

   

   TASK:

   What sort of things do you read in your own language?

   What do you read in English?

   Here  are some examples of different written texts: Novel, Instructions, Textbook, Academic
   article, Advertisement, Local newspaper, Poem, Personal letter, Novel, Dictionary,  Job
   advertisements, Text (SMS) message:

   Which category do the following texts belong to?

   

   If one note is played on the keyboard and then another note is played anywhere to the right of
   it, the sound of the second note is said to be higher than that of the first. A note to the
   left of it would produce a lower sound. In the same way men's voices are said to be lower than
   those of women or young boys. The technical word referring to the height or depth of sound is
   pitch.

     o IN HARD WATER AREAS REGULAR DESCALING IS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP YOUR KETTLE IN GOOD WORKING
       ORDER.
     o If your kettle switches off before it has boiled it indicates your kettle needs descaling.
     o Descale your kettle using

          o either a proprietary kettle descaler suitable for PLASTIC kettles. Follow
            manufacturer's instructions,
          o or white vinegar

              1. Fill the kettle with  1/2 l of 8° white vinegar.
              2. Leave to soak for 1 hour without boiling.
              3. Empty your kettle and rinse it two or three times with clear water.

          o or citric acid

   It is hoped that this study will add to our knowledge about the characteristics of different
   types of text, and illuminate the way for students who find themselves lost amidst the echoes
   of the multiple voices they hear within the same text.

   Dear John,

   How are you? Everything here's fine. I'm very happy at the moment because my football team won
   last week. I went to the match with my brother Fernando, and we both enjoyed it very much. The
   score was 6 - 1.

   It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
   of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season
   of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
   despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to
   Heaven….

   Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

   Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

   Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

   And summer's lease hath all too short a date….

   NOTE:thou = you, thee =object form of thou, art = are, hath = has

   



   Below are the job openings currently available at Bethany University:

   The Head Baseball Coach is responsible for overseeing the activities of the team, planning and
   directing the training of the student athletes, and assessing students’ ability and skill
   level to determine appropriate team position.   The Head Coach assists players in reaching
   their highest spiritual and athletic potential possible through athletic training, leadership
   skills, and Christian character development….

   QUESTIONS:

   o  What is your OPINION of each text? Which of the text types do you like reading? Which of
   them do you have to read (even if you don’t like reading them)? Which do you never read? Why?

   o  Why do you usually read this kind of text? What is your usual PURPOSE when you read these
   texts?

   And lastly: How does your purpose influence how you read? What METHOD do you use?