Reading Techniques and Cognitive Processes

• Reading is the complex cognitive process of decoding symbols to construct and derive meaning, serving as a means of language acquisition, communication, and sharing information and ideas.
• Technique is a way of doing something using special knowledge or skill.
• Reading techniques involve styles, systems, or practices in decoding symbols for better comprehension, communication, and information sharing.
• Cognitive process is an operation that affects mental content, involving thinking, remembering, obtaining, and storing knowledge.
• Decoding is the act of finding or understanding the meaning of something, which involves recognizing and interpreting and translating printed words into sounds.
• To derive is to take, receive, or obtain something, especially from a specified source.
• Language acquisition is the process by which humans gain the ability to to perceive and comprehend language and produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

Skimming

• Rapidly moving eyes over text to grasp main ideas and get a general overview.
• Skimming is useful in pre-reading, being more thorough than simple previewing, and can give a more accurate picture of text to be read later.
• Skimming is helpful for reviewing text already read and quickly reading material when detailed information is not needed.

Steps in Skimming Articles

• Read the title.
• Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph.
• Read the first paragraph completely.
• Examine subheadings, seeking relationships among them.
• Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph, as this is where the main idea of most paragraphs appears.
• In remaining paragraphs, if a question or anecdote is used, the main idea may be in the last sentence.

Scanning

• Rapidly covering material.
• Scanning allows you to locate a specific fact or piece of information, such as a name, date, statistical data, or other fact without reading the entire article.

Steps in Scanning Articles

• Keep in mind what you're searching for while holding the image of the word that is more likely to appear clearer.
• Anticipate what form the information may appear in, such as numbers or proper nouns.
• Analyze the organization of content.
• Scanning is helpful when the material is familiar or relatively short.
• For lengthy or difficult material, preliminary skimming may be helpful.
• Rapidly run your eyes over several lines and read the entire sentence when you find the information.

Phrase Reading

• Focuses attention on phrases and divides sentences into chunks.
• Phrase reading helps readers read and comprehend faster.
• A phrase is a group of words that go together to mean something, often a concept.

Clustering

• Clustering is a simple exercise to improve phrase reading skills.

Non-Prose Reading

• Involves non-prose or graphic materials.
• Illustrated visual forms summarize information and ideas through words, symbols, pictures, and drawings.

Graphs

• Visual representations of quantitative information.
• Graphs instantly reveal relationships in gathered data.
• Examples of graphs include bar graphs, pie graphs, line graphs, and pictographs.

Diagrams

• Are made up of lines and symbols.
• Diagrams show interrelationships of parts or elements, steps of a process, or key features of an object or area.
• Examples of diagrams include tree charts, timelines, technical diagrams, and process diagrams.

Charts

• Visuals that summarize data, explain a process, or describe a set of relationships.
• Examples include tabular charts, outline charts, flow charts, and organizational charts.

Maps

• Flat representations of the Earth.
• Maps show geographical areas using scales and models.

Note Taking

• Involves practicing writing down and recording important points of information, integral to research processes.

Cornell Method

• Condenses and organizes notes without laborious recopying.
• Use this method in any lecture situation.
• This method includes a cue column and a summary section.
• It is organized, systematic, easy for pulling out major concepts, simple, efficient, saves time, and promotes a "do-it-right-in-the-first-place" approach.

Outlining Method

• Involves dash or indented outlining, best for most subjects except some science classes.
• General information starts on the left, with more specific facts indented to the right.
• Relationships between parts are shown by indenting.
• This method needs no numbers, letters, or Roman numerals and is useful when a lecture is presented.
• Enough time must be allotted to make organization decisions.
• Outlining is most effective when note-taking skills are well-developed.
• Advantages of outlining are clear organization if right if done right and easy review of content and relationships.
• Outlining reduces editing and helps review by turning points into questions.
• Disadvantages of outlining are the thought required to organize data during class and the limited showing of relationships and diversity needed for maximum learning.
• Outlining cannot be used if the lecture is too fast.

Mapping Method

• Uses comprehension/concentration skills and relates each fact/idea to every other.
• Mapping gives a graphic representation of lecture content.
• It maximizes active participation, affords immediate knowledge, and emphasizes critical thinking.
• The mapping method is for lecture content that is thorough and well-organized, when there is a guest lecturer, or when there is no idea how the lecture is going to be presented.
• Mapping helps visually track lectures regardless of conditions.
• Little thinking is needed, and relationships can be seen easily.
• It also easily edits notes with numbers, marks, or color coding.
• Main points can be written on cards and assembled later.
• Charting may not hear content changes from major points to facts.

Charting Method

• Format is chronological.
• Charting draws columns with appropriate headings for a table.
• To reduce editing time for test time, to help better understand a course and prepare for a paper, and when content is heavy and facts are important, use the Charting Method.
• Charting helps track conversations and dialogues where you'd normally be confused.
• It reduces the writing and provides review by study of relationships.
• To use Charting, system learning and categories need to be located.

Sentence Method

• Take down the whole sentence.
• Use when the lecture is organized, filled with quick facts, if you can hear the different points, and if the presenter discusses general ideas.
• Benefits of the note style are quick recording, more organization, and high information density, but major and minor points can't always be determined.

Outlining

• Functions as a blueprint for more complex written pieces.
• Outlining helps writers construct more unified and organized essay or composition.
• It provides a concise summary of main text features and illustrates how components within a text connect either through shared importance or subordination to the central concept.
• Outlining provides a guide to organize ideas before writing an essay.

Topic Outline

• Employs single words or phrases in the headings.

Sentence Outline

• Expands each section into full sentences.

Mixed Outline

• Presents main ideas as complete sentences but subordinates concepts in topic form.

Paragraph Outline

• Lists topic ideas of each paragraph in order.

Numeral Form and Roman Numeral Outline

• Commonly used in schools and industries.

Arabic Form or Dewey Decimal Outline

• Frequently seen in engineering, research, and technical fields.
• It has expandable advantages because it is expandable.

Alphanumeric Form Outline

• Usually utilized in government institutions.

Summarizing

• A method of concisely conveying information.
• Summaries extract the most vital information quickly.
• The strategy requires pulling out essential ideas and putting them in one's own words.
• Summaries consist of brief statements about the main and important supporting point to the original material.
• Should be written in paragraph form.
• A first sentence should clearly state the main focus or thesis.
• The subsequent sentences should highlight significant pertinent details, and any irrelevant material should be omitted.
• Shorter in length than the original content.
• Use original content, written in your own words.

Rules in Summarizing

• Divide and conquer the summary, skim text, and divide text into sections.
• Focus on headings and understand bolded terms.
• Read entirely and understand the authors tone, style, and main ideas.
• Reread, then underline topic sentences and label them.
• Refer to key summaries and identify unclear points.
• Write main points of each section in one sentence.
• Include details and avoid minor details within the section.
• Create a thesis statement to communicate to readers the original text.
• Utilize a thesis statement as an introduction and supporting sentence and maintain overall structure.
• Check for overall understanding.
• Include the author and title of the work used.
• Reread it to check key points and accurate ideas.
• Check and correctly ensure all facts cited.
• Revise for grammar and give to someone else to fact check to ensure it accurately highlights the overall text.

Assessing summaries

• Does it accurately highlight the overall passage?
• Is the idea stated in the first sentence?
• Are all the major details present?
• Is there any unwanted or repeated information?
• Are there words or phrases used for transitions?
• Is the summary in paragraph form?
• Does the summary read like a smooth transition and is all the information understandable?

Topic Vs. Main Idea

• A topic is the subject matter (word or phrase).
• A main idea is the complete statement the writer is trying to make about the topic.

Main Idea

• The overall important information throughout the passage.
• To find the main idea, find the most important central thought for the paragraph, and it allows you to understand what the author is trying to convey.
• This should be stated in one sentence to help condense the overall text.
• Look for the topic sentence or the thesis statement in the text.

Useful Places to Look for the Main Idea

• Beginning, middle, and end of paragraph.

Generalization

• A broad statement or idea about a group of people or things.
• Not entirely true due to exceptions.
• Common clue words include "all," "none," "most," "everyone," "never," "sometimes," "many," "always," "general," and "usually."

Valid Generalization

• Statement that is accurate, supported by facts, uses reasoning and logic and can be proven using several examples.

Faulty Generalization

• Poorly supported and contains keywords, such as "all," "no," "none," "everyone," "proven false," "nobody," "always," or "never."

Analyzing Generalizations

• Check if it supported by several facts and if it applies to all objects involved in the statement.
• Determine if the statement uses logic and reasoning.

Inference

• Act or process of reaching a conclusion about something with known facts or evidence based on experience.
• Actions can determine behaviors, intentions, and personal feelings.
• When wanting to find significance, it also utilizes reasoning.

Clause

• A group of words with a subject and a verb.
• Clauses are distinguishable from phrases without both a subject and verb.

Independent Clause

• Can stand alone and expresses complete thoughts.

Dependent Clause

• A subordinate clause that cannot stand alone and has no complete thoughts.

Adjective Clause

• Functions as an adjective, often introduced by relative pronouns (who/whom, whose, that, which) or adverbs (where, when, why).

Adverb Clause

• Functions as an adverb.
• Introduced by subordinating conjunction such as after, before, since, and until.

Noun Clause

• Functions as a noun.

Sentence

• Is a group of related words that espresses a complete, independent, and meaningful thought.

Declarative Sentence

• Makes a statement and ends with a period.

Imperative Sentence

• Gives a command.
• Usually ends with a period, but can use an exclamation point.

Interrogative Sentence

• Asks a question, and always ends with a question mark.

Exclamatory Sentence

• Shows strong emotion.
• Ends with an exclamation point.

Simple Sentence

• Contains one independent clause and one main idea without any subordinate clause.

Compound Sentences

• Contain at least two independent clause, no clause subordinate clause, and usually connects with a comma, or a conjunction.
• Coordinating conjunctions glue similar words together and words, or phrases, to clauses while emphasizing clauses with a comma.

Complex Sentence

• Contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
• Combines these with a subordinating conjunction.

Compound-Complex Sentence

• Two (2) or more independent clause and one (1) clause and subordinates using to statements.

Paragraphs

• From the Greek word "paragraphos" meaning "write beside" or "written beside."
• They focuses on a topic or idea.

Elements of a Paragraph

• CUE: Coherence, Unity, and Emphasis.

Testing a Students Composition

• Do all parts stick together?
• Do the parts combine in at least one thing?
• Are the parts so apportioned and placed to give the strongest appeal?

Sentence Relationships in a Paragraph

• Time of chronological relationships presents even the natural order by which they occur.
• Space relationship is effective for reporting events.
• The paragraphs provide one descriptive detail to the next from General to specific over a period of time.
• A particular paragraph presents pieces of evidence or leads to one statement.

Coherence

• Connection of sentences that are easy understandable and easy.
• Good cohesion leads to coherence.
• Logic of the ideas presented allows for one to overall understand and creates a overall paragraph for each sentence.
• Transitional phrases and words help easily connect sentences together.

Emphasis

• Highlighting and repeating important ideas.

Emphasis may be secured by

• Repetition
• Development of important ideas through great details
• Allotment More Space to the More Important
• By contrasts
• Selection of Details where irrelevant Materials are Ommitted
• Climactic Agreement
• Mechanical Devices such as Capitalization, Italics, or Symbols

Topic Sentence

• A most important sentence used in the paragraph to state the idea being developed to the reader.
• This may be written with with supporting ideas or negative statements.
• . Expressed topics can be clearly articulated.

Supporting Details

• Elaborates on the the topic sentence and supporting details and are ranged by facts, examples, and or ideas presented in specific information.
• Used for supporting the information with a descriptive or observation that can be related.

Concluding Statement

• Is the final statement given a paragraph that closes to summarize the purpose and ideas overall used.
• Common to reiterate the topic sentence rephrasing the final statements given in paragraph.
• The final statement overall emphasized the idea, the most read and most commonly found important data that allows you to see for the next paragraph.

Paragraph Structure

• Start the paragraph with a topic sentence.
• Give examples to show the importance statements used.
• Should utilize facts and have specific important information.
• Should have a length of 5 sentences to prevent not enough or two much information.
• A well stated beginning of a paragraph helps bring interest with a question being answer.
• Finish it well to have a good transition.