UALE1113/MPU32143 ENGLISH FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lecture 5: READING SKILLS

Prepared by Ms. Ooi Zao May

Efficient Reading Skills

Reading involves the use of the eyes and the
brain.
In order to read fast, you need to use more of
your brain. Reading fast means reading
efficiently.
This means not wasting time and using your
eyes and brain together well. In order to do this,
you need to read purposefully and
interactively.

Purposeful
Reading is purposeful.
The way you read something will depend
on your purpose.
Why do you read the newspaper?
Why do you read the novel?

Purposeful
In academic reading, you need to be flexible when
you read - you may need to read quickly to find
relevant sections, then read carefully when you
have found what you want.

Efficient reading strategies such as:

Scanning to find certain information
Skimming to get the gist
Careful reading of important passages to
understand a text well.

Interactive
Reading is an interactive process - it is a twoway process.
As a reader, you are not passive but active.
This means you construct the meaning using
your knowledge of the language and the world,
continually predicting and assessing.
(T5: para. 1 & 2)

Interpretive Framing
Interpretive framing is essential in order to
understand what you are reading.
Extratextual framing - using information outside the
text, your background knowledge and experience, to
understand texts. (T5: Para. 5)
Intratextual framing - making use of cues from the
text, such as headings and sub-headings and
referential words such as "this" and "that" to
understand texts. (T5: Para. 4, 6, 7)

Interpretive Framing
Intertextual framing - making connections
with other texts you are reading to help you to
understand your text.
Another article entitled The History of Satellites

Circumtextual framing - using information

from the cover of the book, title, abstract,
references etc. to understand the text.

Reading Strategies to Save Time

1. Previewing the text to get an overview
The title and author details
The abstract
Main headings and sub headings, chapter
summaries, any highlighted text
Examine any illustrations, graphs, tables or
diagrams and their captions
The first sentence in each paragraph

2. Skimming
Running your eye very quickly over large chunks of text.
Quickly locate relevant sections from a large quantity of
written material.
Involves the paragraph text.
Look at headings or graphic elements to gain an
overview of a text.

Allows you to pick up some of the main ideas without

paying attention to detail.
A fast process that takes only a few minutes.
Adds further information to an overview.

2. Skimming
How to skim:
Note any bold print and graphics.
Start at the beginning of the reading and glide your eyes
over the text very quickly.
Do not actually read the text in total.
You may read a few words of every paragraph, perhaps
the first and last sentences.
Always familiarise yourself with the reading material by
gaining an overview and/or skimming before reading in
detail.

Steps to Follow in Skimming for the Main Ideas

First, read the title of the chapter carefully.
Watch for key words like "causes," "results," "effects," etc.
Do not overlook signal words such as those suggesting
controversy (e.g. "versus," "pros and cons")
Look carefully at the headings and other organizational clues.
Look at boldface headings and titles which are the obvious
clues to the most important ideas.

If you concentrate on the details and ignore the main ideas,

you will have much more difficulty retaining the information
you read.

3. Scanning
Sweeping your eyes (like radar) over part of a text to
find specific pieces of information.
To quickly locate specific information from a large
quantity of written material.
Identify the section(s) of the text that you probably
need to read.
As soon as your eye catches an important word or
phrase, slow down to read the relevant section more
thoroughly.

Scanning and skimming are no

substitutes for thorough reading and

should only be used to locate material

quickly.

4. Intensive reading
When to use it:
When you have previewed an article and used the
techniques of skimming and scanning to find what you
need to concentrate on, then you can slow down and
do some intensive reading.

4. Intensive reading
Start at the beginning.
Underline any unfamiliar words or phrases, but do not
stop the flow of your reading.
Underline, highlight or make brief notes.
If the text is difficult, read it through at least once before
making notes.
Be alert to the main ideas. Each paragraph should have
a main idea, often contained in the topic sentence
(usually the first sentence) or the last sentence.

4. Intensive reading
When you have finished, go back to the unfamiliar
vocabulary.
Look it up in an ordinary or subject-specific dictionary.
If the meaning of a word or passage still evades you,
leave it and read on.

Speak to your tutor if your difficulty continues.

Write down the bibliographic information and be sure
to record page numbers

5. Critical reading
Understanding how ideas have been arrived at, and
evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
Recognising the writers purpose and underlying
values (social, cultural and historical influences).
Recognising patterns of the argument.

Linking ideas in the text to other ideas and texts.

Exploring alternatives to the stated idea.
Recognising the assumptions and underlying values
that you bring to your reading.

Skimming VS Scanning
SKIMMING : used to obtain overall
meaning of the text.
( E.g.: textbook - to decide usefulness)

SCANNING: used to obtain specific

information from a text.
( E.g.: telephone directory)

SKIMMING
IPAD 2
When you pick up iPad, it becomes an extension
of you. Thats the idea behind its innovative
design. Its just 0.34 inch thin and weighs as
little as 1.33 pounds, so it feels completely
comfortable in your hands. It makes surfing the
web, checking email, watching movies, and
reading books so natural, youll wonder why you
ever did it any other way. Two powerful cores
in one A5 chip mean iPad can do twice the
work at once.

SKIMMING
When you feel more comfortable with your online friends
than your real ones, or you cant stop yourself from playing
games, gambling, or compulsively surfing, even when it has
negative consequences in your life, then you may be using
the Internet too much. Internet addiction disorder (IAD),
covers a variety of impulse-control problems, including, Net
Compulsions such as compulsive online gaming,
gambling, stock trading, or compulsive use of online auction
sites such as eBay, often resulting in financial and jobrelated problems and Computer Addiction obsessive
playing of off-line computer games, such as Solitaire or
Minesweeper, or obsessive computer programming.

SKIMMING
Some general warning signs that your Internet use may
have become a problem are that perhaps you find
yourself working late more often because you cant
complete your work on time then staying even
longer when everyone else has gone home so you
can use the Internet freely or your social life is a
suffering because of all the time you spend online, you
neglect your family and friends and you feel like no
one in your real life even your spouse.

SKIMMING - Exercise
The extract is about :
(a) Internet addiction
(b) Types of internet addiction
(c) Signs and symptoms of internet
addiction

SCANNING
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Important Skills
Understanding Text Organization
- Recognizing structure & organization
- E.g.:
Chronological order
Compare & contrast
Outline situation
Discussion on problems
Proposing some solutions

Important Skills
Guessing Unknown Words
- Use context & own knowledge of the subject
to guess the meaning of unknown words

o First refer to the immediate context

(the sentence)
o Next refer to the wider context
(other sentences / paragraphs)

Improving Reading Skills

INTEREST
INITIATIVE
PRACTICE

Happy Reading!

Reading Myth 1: I HAVE TO

READ EVERY WORD
Many of the words used in writing grammatically
correct sentences actually convey no meaning.

Reading Myth 2:
READING ONCE IS ENOUGH
Skim to determine the main idea and to identify those parts
that need careful reading. Reread more carefully.
It is alright to reread a textbook chapter.
No self-punishing attitude.
Good reading is selective reading.
Review those sections that are still unclear or confusing
Spend more time in testing yourself, reviewing, organizing,
and relating the concepts and facts, mastering the technical
terms, formulas, etc., and thinking of applications of the
concepts
Spend your time learning ideas, not painfully processing
words visually.

Reading Myth 3: IT IS SINFUL TO SKIP

PASSAGES IN READING
What is worth spending your time on?
What can be glanced at or put aside for future perusal?
What can be relegated to the wastebasket?
No feeling of guilty
Begin to collect books, cannot keep up with their reading, and
develop guilty feelings about owning books they have not had
time to read.

Some books are used merely for reference purposes

It is nice to have them around in case you need them
Sir Francis Bacon once said that some books are
to be nibbled and tasted, some are to be
swallowed whole, and a few need to be thoroughly
chewed and digested no matter how trivial the
content.

Reading Myth 4: IF I SKIM OR READ TOO

RAPIDLY, MY COMPREHENSION WILL DROP
Research shows that there is little relationship between
rate and comprehension.
Extract and retain the important ideas. If you can do this,
you can also increase your speed.

If you try to read fast and worry about your

comprehension, your mind will be occupied with fears

Concentrate on your purpose for reading -- e.g. locating

main ideas and details
Your concern should be how quickly you can locate the
facts and ideas that you need.

Remember that authors of textbooks want you

to recognize the important concepts. They use:
Major headings and subheadings to convey major points.
Italicized words and phrases so that crucial new terms
and definitions will stand out.
Lists of points set off by numbers or paragraphs that
begin with the phrases such as "The three most important
factors . . . " etc.

Redundancy or repetition.

Reading Strategies
Reading Efficiently by Reading Intelligently
Think About What You Want to Know
Once you know your purpose, you can examine the
resource to see whether it's going to help you.

For example, with a book, look at the introduction and the

chapter headings.
Does the resource meet your needs?
Will it give you the right amount of knowledge?
If you think that the resource isn't ideal, don't waste time
reading it.

Know How Deeply to Study the Material

Where you only need the shallowest knowledge of a
subject, you can skim material.
Here you read only chapter headings, introductions, and
summaries.
If you need a moderate level of information on a
subject, then you can scan the text.
Read the chapter introductions and summaries in detail.
Speed read the contents of the chapters, picking out and
understanding key words and concepts.
Pay attention to diagrams and graphs.
Only when you need full knowledge of a subject is it
worth studying the text in detail.
Skim the material first to get an overview of the subject.
This gives you an understanding of its structure, into
which you can then fit the detail gained from a full
reading of the material.

Read Actively
Highlighting and underlining key information
Taking notes as you progress.

This emphasizes information in your mind, and helps

you to review important points later.
Helps you keep your mind focused on the material, and
stops you thinking about other things.

Tip:
If you're worried about damaging a book
by marking it up, ask yourself how much
your investment of time is worth.

Further Reading Tips

It's best to read it when you have the most energy in the
day.
Where you read is also important. Read in a place that's
comfortable, free of distractions, and that has good light.
Review the information when you've finished reading.
Write a paragraph that explains, in your own words, what
you just learned.

Before you read, establish what you

already know
Ask yourself what you already know or think about this
topic
If you have a reading list, select a source that might offer

a good starting point.

Read any related questions to the reading before doing
the reading
Identify your expectations
You will remember more if you read with questions in
your mind, rather than adopting the sponge approach simply trying to absorb everything.

Break reading into manageable

segments
Break the reading up into manageable segments

Identify your purpose and the time you have

Set yourself a goal (for example, decide to read for a set
length of time or a certain number of pages).
Reward yourself with a break when youve completed it.
The tasks and goals may be large or small, depending on
what needs to be achieved.

Keep track of what you read

Always note where information and ideas
come from
Record details of author, title, place of
publication, publisher and date
Always record page numbers with any notes
you take

Decrease speed when you find the

following:
1. An unfamiliar word not made clear by the sentence. You
may wish to underline the word so you can find it again
quickly.
2. Long and uninvolved sentence and paragraph structure.
3. Unfamiliar or abstract ideas. Look for applications or
examples which will give them meaning.

4. Detailed, technical material. This includes complicated

directions, abstract principles, materials on which you have
scant background.
5. Material on which you want detailed retention. The key
to memory is organization and recitation.

Increase speed when you find the

following:
1. Simple material with few ideas new to you. Move
rapidly over the familiar; spend most of your time on the
few unfamiliar ideas.
2. Unnecessary examples and illustrations. These are
included to clarify ideas. If not needed, move over them
rapidly.

3. Detailed explanation and elaboration which you do

not need.
4. Broad, generalized ideas. These can be rapidly
grasped, even with scan techniques.