MODULE 2: READING COMPREHENSION – Part I

By the end of this module, you will be able to

• Preview a text for key information

• Explain the purpose and intended audience of selected texts
• Skim a text for general ideas
• Scan a text for specific details
• Annotate a text using highlighting and marginal notes

Introduction:

Think of someone in your life who has been academically successful. Maybe
that person is a parent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, or maybe a mentor or
teacher. Ask yourself, what has made this person succeed academically?
Maybe he went to the best schools and received a high quality education.
Maybe she is a determined worker who studies hard in college and doesn’t
give up on her goals. Maybe he is passionate about his academic subject and
has taken many courses and done well on assignments and exams.

What is another common factor that has led to their success? It’s likely that
these academically successful people were active, critical readers of
academic texts. They used effective strategies to read so they could prepare
themselves to do well during tests, assignments, and exams. For them,
reading effectively led to success in school.

You’ve likely noticed that completing assigned readings is the foundation for
many tasks, assignments and tests at the college level. In fact, reading-based
questions are the second most common types of exam questions (Cuseo,
Fecas & Thompson, 2010), so teachers count on students to have good
reading skills so they can do well on tests. Also, research shows that college
students who use active reading strategies are more successful in their
college courses overall (Dowhower, 1999). Therefore, it’s important that you
develop effective active reading strategies to help you succeed in college.

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HOW TO READ ACTIVELY

Active readers

• Develop strategies that allow them to read efficiently.

• Understand why an author wrote the text and who the author is writing
for.
• Interact with the text by highlighting, circling, underlining, asking
questions and making marginal notes.

Tip 1: Read with a pen or pencil

Some college students believe that to read academically, all they need is a
quiet space to help them focus so that they can memorize important concepts
for an upcoming test.

The purpose of this module is to show you that memorization is not the goal of
academic reading. To be academically successful, reading actively is the
secret. You will need a pen or pencil. This is for making annotations so that
you can

• Make notes directly on the text, in the margins or in any blank space
you see
• Write down questions that come to your mind as you read
• Identify the organization of a text with boxes, arrows and lines
• Use marginal notes to connect your background knowledge to
concepts in a text
• Circle or underline key words
• Highlight new vocabulary so you can check them later and write the
definitions in the margin.

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Review the following example of a text paying attention to the following

annotations:

• Blue highlight—an important main idea. This is the need to know

information
• Yellow Highlight—the thesis
• Circled word—words the reader didn’t understand. The reader will look
them up later.

Not Just the Elephants, Free the Tigers and Camels, Too
By Katherine Applegate, NY Times Contributor This story
Last updated March 6, 2015 helps get
the reader
hooked. It’s
At age 8, I left my first visit to the circus with a soon-to-be-dead not an
chameleon (sold alongside the cotton candy and funny hats) and important
enough
an enduring case of coulrophobia. detail for a
summary.
But there was something else I took away from the experience: a Coulrophobia
—fear of
feeling of pity, tinged with guilt, about the tigers and elephants I’d clowns.
watched perform in an overlit circle of sawdust.
The fact
Not so long ago, I wrote a novel inspired by the true story of a that she
wrote a
western lowland gorilla named Ivan, who spent 27 years stuck in a book is
dismal cage in the middle of a shopping mall. As I researched his “nice to
bizarre saga, I was struck by our species’ tortured, glacially slow know”
not
learning curve when it comes to the care of captive wild animals. “need to
How hard was it, really, to figure out that plucking a wild animal know.”
from central Africa and depositing him in a Tacoma, Wash., mall
might not be such a hot idea?

Apparently, just about as hard as it’s been to decide that socially

complex, remarkably intelligent animals like elephants might not be all
that thrilled about the whole circus thing.
Complicit-
When I was a child, going to a circus with wild animal acts was Involved in
a rite of passage. These days, it’s an act of complicit cruelty. wrongdoing
These days, we know about the shackles, the calves torn from
their mothers, the bullhooks and the beatings. We know about
the socially complex lives of elephants: how they communicate, Ethologists
—those who
how they bond, how they even seem to grieve. We have study
ethologists in the field and activists on the ground to thank for animal
that knowledge. behaviour

As a species, we can at times be dimwitted and cruel. But we’re also

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capable of learning. As Alana Feld, executive vice president of Ringling

parent company Feld Entertainment, delicately put it, “There’s been a
mood shift among our consumers.”
There’s still plenty to do. Many more circuses and roadside attractions
continue to abuse animals in ways both shocking and all-too-familiar.
Ringling hasn’t addressed what they plan to do about the tigers,
camels and other animals they continue to exploit, nor have they
adequately explained why it will take three years to free their
performing elephants.
Phobics—
And they may never own up to the generations of clown phobics someone
with an
they’ve spawned. irrational
fear
What do we lose without wild animal acts at the circus?
Absolutely nothing, except the opportunity to be haunted and
heartbroken. THESIS
(Article adapted from Applegate, 2015 and annotations taken from WRIT 050 course pack, 2015)

Tip 2: Preview the text

(Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Movie Trailer Screenshot, 2012)

Have you ever seen a movie trailer? What is the purpose of a movie trailer? It
is there to give the audience a preview of what the movie will be about and to
generate interest in the movie. It is usually very brief - about 2 minutes long -
and it never tells the full story. It simply provides a general idea of what the
movie is about so that someone will want to watch the film later on. The photo
above is of Marilyn Monroe, a famous actress from the 1960s. Seeing her in a
trailer of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes tells us that this movie is a musical
comedy, with two women who want to marry rich men. Would you want to see
this movie after watching the trailer?

Previewing a text is similar to previewing a movie. “Pre” means before and

“view” means read, so preview means before you read. When you preview,

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make it brief. You simply want to get a general sense of what the text is about
so you can make predictions about the text and determine how much of the
text you need to read.

HOW TO PREVIEW

1. Survey for publishing information about the chapter or article. Move

your eyes quickly through the text to find specific details on the
following:

a. Title: Guess what the text is going to be about. Sometimes the

title offers clues about the author’s opinion.
b. Author: Who wrote it? Is this author well known? Does the
author write for a blog, newspaper or a magazine?
c. Source: Which source published the text? Is it a website? A
journal? A newspaper?
d. Date: When was the text published? Will the examples in the
text be current or outdated?

2. Guess the audience of the text (WHO?). Now that you know the title,
source, author and date, try to figure out with whom the author is
communicating. Here are some examples of audiences:
• College students
• Canadian adult women and men
• High school students in North America
• Liberal voters
• Small business owners
• And many more

3. Identify the purpose of the text (WHY?).

• What reason does the author have to write the article?

• What influence does the author want to have on his/her
audience?

Going back to our movie example, what purposes do movies have?

Documentaries might want to educate you, give you information about a topic,
or maybe the director wants to convince you of his or her opinion. Dramatic
movies might try to provoke you to think a different way, or action movies
might want to entertain you. It’s similar with reading too. Writers write for a
variety of purposes.

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Consider the following two types of purposes as they relate to the issue of the
global water shortage:

Purpose Explanation Example

To inform This means to explain or give A textbook that explains
detailed background information the causes of the global
about a particular subject or issue. water shortage crisis.

To persuade This means an author is trying to A blog on

change your opinion about a NationalGeographic.com
particular issue by appealing to that tries to convince you
your emotions, your sense of right to save more water in
or wrong, or your sense of logic. your everyday life to
protect the lives of your
future grandchildren.

Purpose 1: To Inform

Is the author trying to inform (explain) about a topic? If you see a lot of
descriptions, processes or explanations in a text, the author is likely trying to
inform.

For example, a chapter on meiosis and mitosis in a biology textbook is

informing you of the biological process of cell division. This is a fact-based,
instructional piece of writing. The author is not trying to convince you that you
should believe his or her opinions about cell division.

Who do you think the audience is in this textbook?

Exercise 1:

Source Chapter/Article Purpose Audience

Title
Biology “Meiosis and To inform Write your
Textbook Mitosis” answer here,
and check your
answer at the
end of the
module.

Purpose 2: To Persuade

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Is an issue being discussed in the article? Is the author trying to challenge

your beliefs and convince you of his or her opinion as it relates to that
particular issue? If so, then the author is trying to persuade you to change
your opinion about that issue.

Here’s an example. An article called “It’s Time for a Woman to Lead the
United Nations” was published on Mar. 28, 2016, in the Toronto Star
newspaper. This title suggests that the writer is trying to persuade you that
Canada should lead the campaign for the first female UN leader because the
leaders of the UN have always been men, and it’s important to advocate for
social justice and the equality of women.

March 28, 2016

Source Chapter/Article Purpose Audience

Title
Toronto Star “It’s Time for a To persuade readers General
(newspaper) Woman to Lead that the United public, adult
March 28, 2016 the United Nations should have a interested in
Nations” female leader. politics and
current
Issue: equality for events
women in the
representation of
leadership in the
United Nations.

Tip: Here are some words that could indicate persuasive writing:
• Should or shouldn’t • I believe that….
• Must or must not • I think that…
• Have to • I suggest...

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Source Chapter/Article Purpose Audience

Title
Vox.com Why You Should Write your answer Write your
An online health Take Notes by here, and check answer here,
and current Hand, Not on a your answer at the and check your
events magazine Laptop end of the module. answer at the
June, 2015 By Joseph end of the
Stromberg, module.

Exercise 2:

Here’s the title of an article published on Vox.com in June 2015. What do you
think its purpose is? To persuade or inform? Who is the intended audience?
Fill in your answer in the chart below.

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Exercise 3:

Here’s the title to an article published in The New York Times in June, 2014
by David Zirzin. What do you think its purpose is? To persuade or inform?
Who is the intended audience for this article? Fill in your answer in the chart
below.

Source Chapter/Article Purpose Audience

Title
The New “Throw FIFA Out Write your answer Write your
York Times of the Game” here, and check your answer here,
By David answer at the end of and check
Zirzin, (FIFA is the the module. your answer
June, 2014 International at the end of
Football the module.
Association)

Tip 3: Make annotations about graphics and visuals

Sometimes visual material is included in texts to make the main points easier
to understand. Charts, for example, can make statistical data easier to
understand, and they can give you an idea of research findings that highlight
conclusions made by the author.

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Exercise 4:

Here’s an example of a chart presented in the article “Why You Should Take
Notes by Hand, Not on a Laptop” by Joseph Stromberg (2015).

1. Look at the chart below. What do you think it is about?

2. Answer the following questions:

a. What two groups are being compared?

b. What types of tests did these two groups take?
c. Make predictions about the results of the study described in
this article.

Results of test scores for note-takers with laptops and by hand

Types of Tests

(Stromberg, 2015)

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Tip 4: Skimming

Skimming is a reading skill that allows you to read quickly for a

general sense of what an article or chapter is about. It helps you
read efficiently and lets you know if you should read again or not.
When you skim, your eyes move fast, skipping over words and allowing you to
take in just enough information to figure out topics and main ideas. The goal
of skimming is to concentrate but be fast.

Let’s practice. Allow your eyes to move quickly by looking at the title and first
few sentences, so you can get a sense of what it is about. Try to do it all in
less than 15 seconds. Then, answer the multiple choice question below to see
if you could skim quickly but accurately.

Exercise 5:

What is this text about? Choose the letter that best answers the question.

a) High school students are taking notes effectively.

b) College students are being distracted by laptops in class.
c) Psychologists judge students with bad behaviour in class.

[Remember: Move your eyes quickly over these paragraphs in less than 15 seconds!]

Why You Should Take Notes by Hand, Not on a Laptop

By Joseph Stromberg, June 2015

1 Walk into a college lecture these days and you'll see legions of
students sitting behind glowing screens, pecking away at keyboards.

2 Presumably, they're using the computers to take notes, so they

better remember the course material. But new research shows that if
learning is their goal, using a laptop during class is a terrible idea.

3 It's not just because Internet-connected laptops are so distracting.

It's because even if students aren't distracted, the act of taking notes
on a computer actually seems to interfere with their ability to
remember information.

4 Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer, the psychologists who

conducted the new research, believe it's because students on laptops
usually just mindlessly type everything a professor says. Those taking notes
by hand, though, have to actively listen and decide what's important —

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because they generally can't write fast enough to get everything down —
which ultimately helps them learn.

Tip 5: Scanning

How is scanning different from skimming? Scanning is reading for specific

details. When you scan, you are looking for something that will answer a
question you have in your mind.

For example, on your contact list on your mobile phone, you might scroll down
until you see your friend’s name so you can call him. This is scanning. The
goal of scanning is to concentrate and be accurate (adapted from Cicerchia,
2014).

Exercise 6:

Let’s practice. Allow your eyes to move quickly in this passage below. Try to
do it in less than 15 seconds. Use a pen or pencil to circle as you go:

• Look for the word distracted or similar meaning words

• Look for the names of the two psychologists who did the research

[Remember: Try to find the specific words in less than 15 seconds!]

Why You Should Take Notes by Hand, Not on a Laptop

By Joseph Stromberg, June 2015

1 Walk into a college lecture these days and you'll see legions of
students sitting behind glowing screens, pecking away at keyboards.

2 Presumably, they're using the computers to take notes, so they

better remember the course material. But new research shows that if
learning is their goal, using a laptop during class is a terrible idea.

3 It's not just because Internet-connected laptops are so distracting.

It's because even if students aren't distracted, the act of taking notes

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on a computer actually seems to interfere with their ability to

remember information.

4 Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer, the psychologists who

conducted the new research, believe it's because students on laptops
usually just mindlessly type everything a professor says. Those taking notes
by hand, though, have to actively listen and decide what's important —
because they generally can't write fast enough to get everything down —
which ultimately helps them learn.

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Exercise 7:

Now it’s your turn to practice reading actively by annotating an article. For
this exercise use “Why you should take notes by hand-not on a laptop” by
Joseph Stromberg (2015). The link for this article can be found in the
References section of this module.

To help you interact with the text, go through all the steps of previewing,
identifying purpose and audience, and skimming and scanning. Refer back to
the sample annotated article “Not Just the Elephants, Free the Tigers and
Camels, Too” on page 3-4 to help you. Follow these instructions to ensure
that you can read actively.

1. Grab a pen or pencil. Be prepared to circle, underline, and write notes in the
margin.

2. Preview
• Scan the title: can you guess the main point of the article?
- Write your guess in the margin.
• Scan for the author’s name: first name/last name?
• Scan for the source: what type of source is it? (i.e., magazine, blog,
newspaper, etc.)
• Scan for the date: is it a current article?
• Scan for visuals: look at charts, photos etc.
-What research results are highlighted?

3. Determine the purpose

• To inform? Persuade? Argue?
• Explain your answer.

4. Determine the audience

• Who is the intended audience of this article?
• Explain your answer.

5. Skim for general ideas

• Skim each paragraph quickly and get a sense of the topic. Write the main
idea(s) in your own words in the margin.
• Consider your own experience with note-taking during lectures. Write your
preference in the right margin.
• Write any questions you might have in the margin that may be answered
later on in the article.

6. Scan for specific details

• How many studies are mentioned in this article? Circle the studies and
underline the tests that the students completed.
• Underline the test results for each study that are mentioned in the article.

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After you finish, compare your annotations with the sample annotated article
at the end of this module in the answer key.

Checklist for Self-Evaluation:

In this module, you learned how to read actively. Check to see that you
understand and know how to apply the following:

 I can preview a text and make predictions.

 I can recognize when a writer is trying to inform and/or persuade
the reader
 I can identify whom a writer is trying to inform or persuade
 I can skim a text for general ideas
 I can scan a text for specific information
 I can annotate a text using highlighting, marginal notes

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References

Applegate, K. (2015, March 6). Not just the elephants, free the tigers and

camels, too. The New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/03/06/is-it-a-circus-

without-the-elephants/not-just-the-elephants-free-the-tigers-and-

camels-too

Chicerchia, M. (2014, April 23). Skimming and scanning: What’s the

difference? [Web log post]. Retrieved from

https://lingua.ly/blog/skimming-and-scanning-whats-the-difference/

Cuseo, J., Fecas,V. S., & Thompson, A. (2010) Thriving in College and

Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and

Personal Development. 2nd

ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Dowhower, S.L. (1999). Supporting a strategic stance in the classroom: A

comprehension framework for helping teachers help students to be

strategic. The Reading Teacher, 52, 672-688.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Movie Trailer Screenshot. (2012, September 21).

Retrieved June 10, 2016, from Wikimedia Commons:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gentlemen_Prefer_Blondes_M

ovie_Trailer_Screenshot_(16-2).jpg

It’s Time for a woman to lead the United Nations: Editorial. (2016, March 31).

The Toronto Star.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2016/03/28/its-time-for-a-

woman-to-lead-the-united-nations-editorial.html

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Stromberg, J. (2015, March 31). Why You Should Take Notes by Hand, Not

on a Laptop. Vox. Retrieved from

http://www.vox.com/2014/6/4/5776804/note-taking-by-hand-versus-

laptop

Zirzin, D. (2014, June 5). Throw FIFA Out of the Game. The New York Times.

Retrieved http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/opinion/sunday/throw-

fifa-out-of-the-game.html?_r=0

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