Reading Techniques Overview

Reading Techniques

• Reading is a complex cognitive process for decoding symbols to derive meaning and share information.
• It is a means of language acquisition, communication, and idea sharing.
• Techniques are ways of doing something with specialized knowledge.
• Reading techniques focus on styles and methods for better decoding, comprehension, communication, and information sharing.
• Cognitive processes involve thinking, remembering, obtaining, and storing knowledge.
• Decoding is interpreting a symbol's meaning; translating a printed word into sound.
• Deriving means obtaining information from a source; the source could be a text, like a textbook.
• Language acquisition is a process of understanding and using language (words, phrases, and sentences).
• An example from the text is someone reading a short story and summarizing it for their partner, demonstrating comprehension and communication skills.

Skimming

• Skimming is a rapid method to cover text quickly to get the main ideas and general overview of a text.
• Skimming has three main applications:
  • Pre-reading: for a thorough preview of the text.
  • Reviewing: for overviewing already read material.
  • Reading: for faster reading when a complete understanding isn't necessary.
• Steps for skimming:
  • Read the title
  • Review introduction/lead-in paragraph
  • Read first paragraph completely
  • Investigate headings for relationships
  • Read first sentence of each further paragraph to find the main idea
  • If an author starts with a question or anecdote, often the last sentence gives a crucial idea.

Scanning

• Scanning is a faster method to locate a particular fact, piece of information, name, date, etc. within a text without reading the entire text.
• Steps for scanning:
  • Clearly understand what information you are searching for.
  • Anticipate the form (e.g., numbers, names).
  • Review organization for a starting point for scanning.

Phrase Reading

• Phrase reading is a method to read by focusing on phrases (groups of words connected in meaning).
• This technique can improve reading comprehension skills.
• Clustering words together to represent meanings is an effective exercise.
• Practice and consistency are important to cultivate this skill.

Non-Prose Reading

• Non-prose reading involves understanding illustrated visual materials such as graphs, diagrams, charts, and maps.
• Graphs use visual representations to show relationships between quantitative data.
• Diagrams show relationships between parts, elements, or steps in a process, or object features.
• Charts illustrate relationships, explain processes, or describe sets of relationships.
• Maps showcase geographical areas with defined scales and models.