PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD JAVERIANA WEEK 2- A

DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS
CURSO ESTRATEGIAS PARA COMPRENSIÓN LECTORA EN INGLÉS
MAESTRÍA EN GERENCIA DE LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL Y SOSTENIBILIDAD EMPRESARIAL

Some other strategies!

 Identifying general and specific information

 Deducing the meaning of words from context
 Making inferences

STRATEGY: Identifying general and specific information

The structure of most texts in academic and professional writing in English (and many other languages) develops
from general to specific information. A long text contains an introduction that contextualizes the reader about the
content of the text (remember skimming); an essay contains a thesis statement (which is a general idea) that will
be supported in the body paragraphs by sound arguments (specific ideas); and, at paragraph level, there is a topic
sentence, which is general and is developed through supporting details. Supporting details can be presented
through explanations, examples, events, among others. Knowing this structure helps you with the task of
identifying the general-specific relationship. You have already learned to deduce the general idea of a whole text;
now, we need to work on the relationship between general and specific ideas within the text.

Study the text below which is an excerpt from a chapter in the book Leading from Within, by David Kolzow.

Notice that the first sentence in the

It should be noted that there is a difference between principles text announces the topic of the
and practices. A practice is a specific activity or action, and it paragraph, which is the differences
needs to be guided by the situation. It is therefore an action that between principles and practices. In
may work in one situation but not necessarily in another. the second sentence the writer
Principles, on the other hand, are deep fundamental and timeless defines ‘practice’ and extends the
truths that have application to any and all organizations, allowing definition in sentence 3. The next
them to make wise decisions. They will remain true and relevant sentence contains the definition of
no matter how the world changes. When these truths are principle, introduced by a discourse
internalized into behavioral habits, they become part of our marker –on the other hand. The
values and foster the creation of a wide variety of practices to writer then extends the definition,
deal with different situations. For example, the principle of states the relationship established
integrity leads to a variety of practices that demonstrate honesty between the two concepts defined,
in a range of different situations. and presents an example of that
relationship using the linker ‘for
Adapted from example’. In this case, the first
https://www.iedconline.org/clientuploads/Downloads/edrp/Leading_from_Within.pdf sentence is the topic sentence and
is the main (general) idea of the
paragraph.

© Designed by Magda Rodríguez and Pedro Chala (2018)

Being able to identify this pattern helps you recognize the main idea in a paragraph. For a reader, this strategy
becomes essential, for it makes reading a more agile process; the reader identifies general ideas as fast as possible
in order to know if the content of a specific section is worth reading or not according to his/her purpose.

Note: When analyzing texts, it is also important to be aware of the discourse markers the writer uses to state
relationships between sentences. In the paragraph above, you found on the other hand and for example. Linkers
(or connectors as many people call them) are signal words that writers use to make it obvious and explicit that
there is a logical relationship between ideas in the text. You can study those expressions in the document named
Linkers in the folder ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING MATERIALS.

Let’s practice!

Read the paragraph below and decide what the general idea is from the alternatives given (A-D).

One might hear it said that “I can’t really describe leadership, but I know it when I see it.”
In fact, some definitions of leadership do not really explain leadership; they, at best, simply
express the essence of leadership from a particular point of view. For example, in a typical
community, the term may refer to anyone in the community who has relatively high visibility,
such as elected officials. In an organization, it often is used to highlight the executive director,
president, and/or board members. However, a leader is certainly more than someone who is a
widely recognized individual or who possesses organizational authority.

Adapted from https://www.iedconline.org/clientuploads/Downloads/edrp/Leading_from_Within.pdf

A. It is a fact that leadership depends on each individual’s viewpoint about the concept.
B. It would appear that no one has really satisfactorily defined the concept of leadership.
C. Leaders can vary according to whether they manage communities or companies.
D. A leader is the one who possesses great personality and is appreciated by others.

What helps you make a decision? The structure of the paragraph is one possible clue. Notice that the writer begins
with a quotation of what leadership is. Then, he moves to the difficulty of defining the concept and then presents
two perspectives of leadership, introduced by two linkers (for example, however). You conclude that, from the
alternatives provided, the correct answer is B because it expresses the lack of a clear definition of leadership. This
is the sentence containing a general idea which is developed in the rest of the paragraph.

Now, go to week 2-B.

© Designed by Magda Rodríguez and Pedro Chala (2018)