READING SKILLS

ASKING QUESTIONS

A useful strategy to use before you read is to ask yourself questions before you read, while you are reading, and after you finish reading.

Before you read study the title and any subtitles, headings, graphs or pictures and then ask questions such as these:

• What is this reading about?
• What do I know about this topic?
• What do I want to find out about the topic?

While you are reading, ask yourself questions such as these:

• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What is the author saying here?
• What is my opinion about this topic?

After you finish reading, ask yourself questions such as these:

• What was this article or story about?
• What was the message?
• Was it interesting to me?
• What did I learn?
• Can I apply what I’ve learned to my life?

FINDING MAIN IDEAS

A paragraph is a group of sentences about some related subject.The main idea is the basic subject that a writer wants to communicate.Readers must know what the main idea of the paragraph is to understand the information they are reading.

Stated Main Idea

Sometimes the main is stated directly in a paragraph. The sentence that states the main idea is called topic sentence or topic statement and it can be located in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph.

IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

Sometimes paragraphs do not tell exactly what the basic subject is or the writer does not state the main idea in one specific sentence.Instead you must decide yourself upon the main idea or infer the main idea.In order to infer the main idea you can:

· Try to figure out what all the details in the paragraph are trying to show, not just a few of them.

· Make a topic sentence to add to the paragraph.

Example:

In 1998, after four of studies at InterAmerican University, María earned a B.A. in Computers.After she got her B.A., she stayed at InterAmerican and worked in the Language and Computers Lab.It was this time that she invented the basic languageand computers skills module.This module helpednew students improved their computer and language skills.

In this paragraph, each detail gives information about something María accomplished after she graduated from college and in a very short period of time.From this the reader might infer the following main idea.In her first years at InterAmerican, María accomplished an important thing.

MAKING INFERENCES

Inference is a process by which we use hints to gather information.Hints, suggestions, or evidence about the subject appear as we read.In reading, inference is an important skill because it helps us fill in information a writer only suggests.To build inference skills, follow these suggestions:

· Try to read beyond the words.

· Question yourself as you read.

PARAPHRASING

When you paraphrase you restate a text, that is, you put the information into your own words.This strategy is useful to remember ideas and information.

Example:

The girl wore ragged clothes all the time. (Text)

The girl was poor. (Paraphrase)

MAKING PREDICTIONS

When you predict you have to think ahead to events or ideas that might come from information the writer gives, information that forces you to predict how things come out; eventhough you might not know for sure, you have to use evidence in your reading to forecast what will happen.Remember that you make predictions based on the information provided, that is, prediction is not guessing.

During the hurricane season, meteorologists predict what the weather is going to be like or the route of a certain hurricane. When you read you can predict what the reading is going to be about.In a story you can predict what is going to happen to the characters.

PREVIEWING

A good way to look for information before reading is to preview, that is, look ahead to the content of a passage, in a number of ways.

Here is how to preview a reading selection:

• Look at the title. The title tells you what the reading is going to be about and often give the main idea of the selection. Then, you can set a purpose for your reading.
• Look for subtitles. Essays, newspaper articles, or other longer readings sometimes offer help in finding information by printing subtitles. They will appear in heavy, dark print or in italics. They suggest the kind of material you will find in a small portion of the reading.
• Look at the pictures, charts, or drawings. These will suggest beforehand what your reading will deal with.
• Look at the first sentence of each paragraph.
• Look at the first paragraph and the last paragraph and try to figure out the main ideas of the reading.
• Look for key words in different print. They call the reader’s attention to important words or ideas.
• Look for a summary. Sometimes you will find a summary at the end of a long factual piece.

READING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The first step in reading for specific information, of course, is to look for the main idea.But the main idea does not give you all the information you need.Facts and details appear within the paragraphs you read and help develop the main ideas.These factsand details may give a more complete picture, prove a point, show how the idea relates to other ideas, or give examples to help you understand the ideas better.To make the best use of these facts and details you have to be able to

• find important facts and remember them
• Separate major facts and details from minor facts and details.

If you know what you are looking for, you can focus on the limited possibilities.You can read quickly by using the strategy of scanning to look for the information.

SCANNING

“Scanning” is the term used to describe a selective reading process in which you are searching for certain facts or information.There are several levels of scanning depending on what information you are seeking and why you are looking for it.

1. Scanning to find a single word. At this level your purpose is to locate a single word (or number) such as a name, date, phone number, price, place, or other single item that can be easily identified.
2. Scanning for a particular fact. This level of scanning requires more attention because you are looking for a fact that is probably expressed in a phrase or sentence.
3. Scanning for a section to be read. This level of scanning makes more use of the general organization of a book or other source.
4. Seeking all the information on a topic. This level of scanning is often used by students who have a paper or report to write. You go to the CAI or library and scan or do a search on the computers or catalogs for books and information on the subject.

When you scan, you do the following:

• Don’t read everything. Move quickly down the page.
• When you see a word of phrase that is important to you, stop. Then, underline or highlight the information.

Scanning saves time if you are looking for specific information.

SUMMARIZING

A summary is a brief statement about something you have read.In a summary you use your own words to pinpoint the main ideas the writer makes.

Here is how to prepare a summary:

• Leave out most minor details. Include mayor details in your “main idea” statements.
• Write your summary so it develops in the way the author’s statements develop, that is, use the same sequence.
• Use vocabulary you understand.
• Don’t include your opinion of the writer’s ideas.
• A summary should not be more than a third of the original.

TAKING NOTES IN A CHART

Taking notes as you read helps you to organize and remember important information. There are different charts for taking notes.Some of them are:

Main Ideas

Details

USING CONTEXT

Each time you read information for your courses you discover new words.Sometimes it takes a lot of time to look up a word in the dictionary and that slows your reading down.

You should realice, however, that you can often figure out meanings of new words without using the dictionary.There are hints and clues about the definition appear in the sentence that uses a word you don’t know.

How to Use Sentence Hints for Word Meanings

Hint	Examples	Explanation
Some sentences tell the definition by means of punctuation.	Origami-Japanesse paper folding-is family fun. Mary felt confused, that is, really mixed up, by her brother’s actions. The puertorrican parrot, a tropical bird with a short, hooked bill and brightly colored feathers, is in danger of extinction.	Dashes-, parenthesis, (), brackets [] Words like that is, meaning, such as, or, is called Commas
Some sentences tell the opposite of what the word means.	An honest person would never steal money from others	If you are honest you donot steal.
Sometimes you can use your own experience to figure out the definition of a word.	Students who feel depressed don’t talk to others	You know that being lonelycan be a sign depression.

These and other hints like synonyms, items in a series, cause and effect, and setting provide the information necessary to get the meaning of words without looking at the dictionary.