COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES- I ENGLISH READING SKILLS 22. READING SKILLS: INTENSIVE READING In the previous lesson you learnt that in order to develop an interest in reading, you need to read extensively. Extensive reading involves a vast selection of books without worrying about the details. But what if you are interested in the details? Then you have to focus on a limited amount of text and understand it extremely well. We will learn more about this technique in this lesson.
22.0 Objectives By the end of this lesson you will: i) Read for details while doing Intensive Reading
22.1 Introduction Intensive reading is different from extensive reading. In this form of reading, readers read fewer materials at a level that may be more difficult for them to understand. This kind of reading is done when we want to know details. In this form, the readers need to read every word and understand the material carefully. Hence, the dictionary is frequently used.
22.2 Reading Skills The purpose of intensive reading is to know all the details. We use this kind of reading when we prepare for something important like an exam or research something before a presentation. It is not done for pleasure, rather, it has a very specific purpose. It would be appropriate at this time to go over some general reading tips before we go in-depth into the idea of intensive reading.
22.3 General Reading Tips 1. Establish your purpose. Before beginning, decide what you are trying to achieve by reading the material. If you are reading for pleasure, you can read
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at your own pace. If you are reading for a general idea of the material, you may be able to scan the reading, taking note of the central idea and topic sentences. If you are reading for details, you will need to read more slowly and may want to make notes from your reading. 2. Choose an environment conducive to reading. Do not try to read in a noisy room if you need silence and few distractions to concentrate. Choose a place with good lighting and comfortable seating. Reading in bed may only cause you to fall asleep. 3. Take short breaks between reading sessions. If you are reading a long book or chapter, consider taking a 15 or 20 minute break every 45 minutes to an hour. Short breaks can help you avoid straining your eyes and falling asleep or drifting off while reading. Get up and walk around, get a drink or snack, or just talk with friends. Let us now review some strategies that we use when we are reading.
22.4 Strategies used in reading • • • • • • • • • •
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Skim – the text before you begin to read Scan – for specific information Predict – make an educated guess on what will come next Check predictions – think about what you predicted; check if what you predicted was correct as you read the text Ask questions – as you read Underline – key words; words that you may not understand Use dictionary – when you feel you need to know the exact meaning of the word in order to understand the text Guess – meanings of unknown words and phrases Make notes – as you go along Paraphrase – say what you have understood from your reading in your own words; to stop at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text Summarize – give a gist to recap all that you have read Reread – different sections to clarify any doubts you may have Think - about the text you are reading while you are reading and after you are done reading it
22.5 Intensive Reading Before you begin with intensive reading, you need to identify the purpose for reading and then select the text you have to read to achieve your purpose. In order to do that effectively, you may use the following strategies that will help you read more quickly and effectively:
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Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify text structure, confirm or question predictions Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text, as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up. Once you have used the techniques of overview i.e., skimming and scanning to identify what you need to read, you are ready for intensive reading which is a detailed and focused ‘study’; reading of those important parts/ pages /chapters. You also need to remember to organise what you need to do into manageable segments with their own time frames.
22.6 How to Read Intensively •
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Write down bibliographic information. For a book you need author, date, title, publisher and city of publication. In the case of a journal article you need author, date, article title, journal title, volume number, issue number and page numbers of the article. (Please look at the sample Bibliographies at the end of this section) Start at the beginning. Underline any vocabulary you don’t know, but make sure you do not stop the flow of your reading. If the text is relatively easy, underline, highlight or make brief notes. If the text is difficult, read through it once or several times (depending on the level of difficulty) and then take notes. Be alert to the main ideas. Each paragraph should have a main idea, usually contained in the first sentence. If paraphrasing or copying sections for quoting, write the page number in the margin of your notes for future referencing on this material in your paper. When you have finished reading the selection, go back to the new vocabulary (that you may have marked earlier). Look it up in an ordinary or subjectspecific dictionary. Keep a new-word book or card system.
22.7 Sample Bibliographies
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For a book with one author: Robinson, Adam. What Smart Students Know. New York: Crown Paperbacks, 1993.
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An article in a magazine: Begley, Sharon. "A Healthy Dose of Laughter." Newsweek 4 Oct. 1982: 74.
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An article in a newspaper: Brody, Jane E. "Multiple Cancers Termed On Increase." New York Times 10 Oct. 1976: A37.
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An article from a CD-ROM: Settles, Gary S. "Absolute Zero." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1997.
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An article from an internet site: Bradshaw, Gary S. "Wilbur and Orville Wright." Oct. 1996 URL: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~srwright/WrBr/Wrights.html
(taken from URL: http://www.bialik.netaxis.qc.ca/homework/stylesheet2.htm )
Self-Check Questions 1. When you read for _______ it is called Intensive Reading. Fill in the blank. 2. The content used for Intensive Reading is very specific/general. Choose the correct option. 3. How would you write the bibliography for “The Practice of Management” by Peter Drucker, printed by Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. at London in the year 2000? 4. Arrange the following in the correct order – skimming and scanning, guessing, previewing, predicting. 5. In Intensive Reading, the dictionary is used to look up all of the words that are unknown. True or False.
22.8 Summing Up You have learnt how to read intensively in this lesson. It is important that you know why you need to read the text even before you begin to read it. Keeping
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the purpose of reading in mind will help you choose the appropriate strategies to complete your task. Remember: Intensive reading is what you do when you need to read for details.
22.9 Answers to Self-Check Questions 1. details 2. specific 3. Drucker, Peter. The Practice of Management. London: ButterworthHeinemann Ltd, 2000. 4. Previewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, guessing 5. True
22.10 References 1. Broukal, Milada. Weaving It Together. Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publishers A Division of Wadsworth, Inc., 1994. 2. Vacca, Richard T, and Jo Anne L Vacca. Content Area Reading. United States of America: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1999. 3. Ferreira, Linda A. Beginnings 1. United States of America: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.,1985. 4. Nagaraj, Dr. Geetha. Comprehend & Compose. New Delhi: Foundation Books, 2003. 5. Dunkel, Patricia A; Pialorsi, Frank and Kozyrev, Joann. Advanced Listening Comprehension. U.S.A: Heinle & Heinle Publishers, 1996. 6. Jones, Daniel. English Pronouncing Dictionary. Noida: Gopsons Papers Ltd. 2003.
22.11 Glossary •
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Guessing from Context:using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up Intensive Reading: reading a short text for detailed information Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make educated guesses about the content that is yet to come in the text. Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and the content of a reading selection Purpose for Reading: reason for reading Skimming and Scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify text structure, and confirm or question predictions
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