Academic Reading Strategies
Academic Reading Strategies
Academic Reading Strategies
STRATEGIES
ACADEMIC READING REQUIRES A MORE
ACTIVE, PROBING AND RECURSIVE
STRATEGY THAN DOES RECREATIONAL
READING. IT IS ESSENTIAL SKILL FOR
COMPLETING A WRITTEN
ASSIGNMENT.READING STRATEGICALLY
IS INTEGRAL TO THE PROCESS OF
UNDERSTANDING YOUR TOPIC, FINDING
RESEARCH MATERIALS,AND
DEVOLOPING YOUR IDEAS.
FORMAL LANGUAGE AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULAR
CHOICES OF GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY.
SO IN THIS SENTENCES…..
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“ SKIM THE CONTENT, SCAN FOR
DETAILS,AND SUMMARIZE THE
INFORMATION.
”
THIS STRAGTEGY INVOLVES QUICKLY GOING
OVER THE TEXT TO GET A GENERAL IDEA,
LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS, AND
SUMMARIZING THE MAIN POINTS.
PURPOSES OF ACADEMIC READING
INFORMATION COMES FROM REPUTABLE SOURCES: WEB SITES
AND BLOGS CAN BE A SOURCE OF INSIGHT AND INFORMATION,BUT
NOT ALL ARE USEFULL AS ACADEMIC RESOURCE.THEY MAY BE
WRITTEN BY PEOPLE OR COMPANIES WHOSE MAIN PURPOSE IS TO
SHARE AN OPINION OR SELL YOU SOMETHING. ACADEMIC SOURCE
SUCH AS TEXTBOOKS AND SCHOLARY JOURNAL ARTICLES, ON THE
OTHER HAND, ARE USUALLY WRITTEN BY EXPERTS IN THE FIELD
AND HAVE TO STRINGENT PEER REVIEW REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER
TO GET PUBLISHED.
LEARN HOW TO FORM ARGUMENTS: IN MOST COLLEGE CLASSES
EXCEPT FOR CREATING WRITING,WHEN INSTRUCTORS ASK YOU TO
WRITE A PAPER , THEY EXPECT IT TO BE ARGUMENTATIVE IN
STYLE.THIS MEANS THAT THE GOAL OF THE PAPER IS TO RESEARCH
A TOPIC AND DEVELOP AN ARGUMENT ABOUT IT USING EVIDENCE
AND FACTS TO YOUR POSITION.
EXPOSURE TO DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS:
ONE PURPOSE OF ASSIGNED ACADEMIC READINGS
IS TO GIVE STUDENTS EXPOSURE TO DIFFERENT
VIEWPOINTS AND IDEAS.FOR EXAMPLE,IN AN
ETHICS CLASS,YOU MIGHT BE ASKED TO READ A
SERIES OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY MEDICAL
PROFFESIONALS AND RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO ARE
PRO-LIFE OR PRO-CHOICE AND CONSIDER THE
VALIDITY OF THEIR ARGUMENTS. SUCH EXPERIENCE
CAN HELP YOU WRESTLE WITH IDEAS AND BELIEFS
IN NEW WAYS AND DEVELOP A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW OTHERS’ VIEWS DIFFER
FROM YOUR OWN.
Purposes for reading
People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly
articles, textbooks, reviews) for different
reasons. Some purposes for reading might be
to scan for specific information
to skim to get an overview of the text
to relate new content to existing knowledge
to write something (often depends on a prompt)
to critique an argument
to learn something
for general comprehension
READING STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC TEXTS
PREVIEW:YOU CAN GAIN INSIGHT FROM AN ACADEMIC TEXT
BEFORE YOU EVEN BEGIN THE READING ASSIGNMENT. FOR
EXAMPLE, IF YOU ARE ASSIGNED A NONFICTIION BOOK, READ THE
TITLE, THE BACK OF THE BOOK, AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
SCANNING THIS INFORMATION CAN GIVE YOU AN INITIAL IDEA OF
WHAT YOU’LL BE READING AND SOME USEFUL CONTEXT FOR
THINKING ABOUT IT.YOU CAN ALSO START TO MAKE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN THE NEW READING AND KNOWLEDGE YOU ALREADY
HAVE, WHICH IS ANOTHER STRATEGY FOR RETAINING
INFORMATION.
READ:WHILE YOU READ AN ACDEMIC TEXT, YOU SHOULD HAVE A
PEN OR PENCIL IN HAND. CIRCLE OR HIGHLIGHT KEY CONCEPTS.
WRITE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS IN THE MARGINS OR IN A
NOTEBOOK. THIS WILL HELP YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU ARE
READING AND ALSO BUILD A PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE
SUBJECT MATTER.
SUMMARIZE: AFTER YOU AN READ ACADEMIC TEXT, IT’S WORTH
TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY- EVEN IF YOUR
ADVISER DOESN’T REQUIRE IT. THE EXERCISE OF JOTTING
DOWN A FEW SENTENCES OR A SHORT PARAGRAPH CAPTURING
THE MAIN IDEAS OF THE READING IS ENORMOUSLY
BENEFICIAL:IT NOT ONLY HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND AND ABSORB
WHAT YOU READ BUT GIVES YOU READY STUDY AND REVIEW
MATERIALS FOR EXAMS AND OTHER WRITING ASSIGNMENTS.