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Reading Strategies Explanation AEUK

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17 views

Reading Strategies Explanation AEUK

Uploaded by

lamiaa atef
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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www.academic-englishuk.

com

Academic Reading Strategies


Key terms

• Predicting
• Surveying
• Text genre recognition
• Skimming
• Scanning
• Guessing unknown words
• Reading for detail
• Annotating text
• Main idea / subsidiary ideas
• Credible / Limitations / evidence
• Author’s stance
• Reader’s stance
• Summarising

Explanation of terms
• Prediction
Looking over the text title, headings, pictures and diagrams to anticipate what the text will
be about based on the reader’s prior knowledge.

• Surveying
Looking over the text to see how it is divided into sections: abstract, introduction, graphs,
data, conclusion, reference lists, and further reading.

• Text genre recognition


What type of text is it? Case study, SWOT analysis, report, argument, overview of recent and
past findings.

• Skimming
Read a text / section quickly to gain the basic idea; this can be done in a number of ways.
1. Reading the first two sentences and last sentence of each paragraph.
2. Reading 2-3 words of each line down the middle of a paragraph.
3. Reading the introduction and conclusion.
4. Reading the abstract.
5. A combination of all the above.

• Scanning
This is looking over a text for key terms / data or dates. Skimming through a text quickly to
look for the important key information.

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• Guessing unknown words


Some words can be easily guessed from context, and this means you do not have to keep
checking your dictionary. For example, ‘Thousands of people are forced into menial jobs for which
they receive very little money’. You may not understand the word ‘menial’, but from the context you
can guess that means ‘not requiring much skill, unpleasant or/and unimportant’.

• Reading for detail


This is in-depth reading - understanding exactly what the section / text is saying. Taking your
time to read, checking meaning and difficult vocabulary.

• Annotating text
Your process of making notes around a text. Some students use highlighters to mark key
points, others write notes in the margins.

• Main idea / subsidiary ideas


Quite often the main idea is expressed in the topic sentence / first sentence of a paragraph
(but not always). Then usually this will be followed by support (subsidiary ideas) and
examples. Learning how to identify main points and support is a key skill for summary writing.

• Credible / limitations / evidence


This is looking at the evidence (examples, data, research) and judging how reliable it is. Asking
questions about whether it is trustworthy. Is there bias? Could there be any limitations? See
critical reading strategies: https://www.academic-englishuk.com/critical-thinking

• Author’s stance
What side is the author arguing? Are they for or against? How do you know? Where are
examples in the text that highlight this?

• Reader’s stance
Are you convinced by what you have read? Do you agree with the writer's ideas and evidence
presented? Is there anything in your experience that you question about the text?

• Summarising
Can you verbally summarise the key points you have read? Do you understand what the main
premise and argument is?

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