Topic 2 : Reading Aids (Skimming, Previewing and Scanning). Introduction.

Most experienced readers use strategies that help to simplify reading. 2.1 Skimming means to search quickly through the sentences to find facts and answers to questions you may have before you read them closely. Rapid reading for facts is in actual fact, skimming. When you skim a paragraph or a page, you are searching quickly among sentences for the answers to some questions you may have. Skimming: Make sure you know what information you are looking for. Move your eyes quickly from line to line and from sentence to sentence. When you think youve found what you are looking for, STOP. Read slowly the part of the line or sentence that tells you what you want to know.

EXERCISE: Skim this paragraph about President James A. Garfield to find out the following information: (a) the rank he held during the Civil War, (b) the classical language he knew, (c) the remarkable ability he had. Then write the sentences below. James A. Garfield, twentieth President of the United States, was, like Lincoln, born in a log cabin. But by hard work and real ability, he became the head of Hiram Institute, a major general during the Civil War, a leader in Congress, and finally Chief Executive of the United States. Like many other people, the well-educated former backwoodsman was ambidextrous. That is to say, he was capable of writing with either his left hand or his right. But Garfield was probably unique in being able to write the two classical languages-Latin and Greek-at the same time, one with his right hand, the other with his left! 1. What rank did President Garfield hold in the Civil War?

2. What classical language did he know? _________________________________

3. What remarkable ability did he have? _______________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Adapted from : Reading Skills Handbook; Harvey S. Wiener and Charles Bazerman (1988). 2.2 Previewing a selection before you read it lets you get a general idea of what youre going to be reading before you actually begin. Previewing is useful for short selections such as book chapters, stories, articles or essays. This may also include whole books and magazines. Previewing: Look at the title : title often suggest the topic or main idea. Look for subtitles : subtitles suggest the kind of materials you will find in a small portion of the reading. Look at pictures, charts, drawings. Illustrations often will give an idea of what the text will be dealing with. Look carefully at the first paragraph and absorb the information there. Look at the questions that come after the reading. Questions tell us what to expect from a passage.

EXERCISE: Before you read the following selection from a health education textbook, preview it by answering the following questions. 1. Read the title. What does it tell you about the contents of this selection? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2. Read the subtitles. On the basis of the subtitles, what do you think the selection will discuss? ________________________________________________________________ 3. What is covered in the paragraph? ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________ Figure 17.1

WHATS IN A SMOKE? We shudder at talk of chemical warfare. Yet every day millions of Americans bombard themselves and their neighbors with some of the most dangerous poisonous gases and chemicals known to humankind. ACTIVE INGREDIENTS IN TOBACCO SMOKE. The gases Concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), a major air pollutant, appear in cigarette smoke at about 400 times the safe industrial exposure. Hydrogen cyanide, a powerful poison, is found at about 160 times the safe concentration. The chemical compounds The tars in cigarette smoke are actually a sticky condensed form of more than 200 chemicals that make up the millions, even billions, of tiny particles in the particulate matter in every cubic centimeter of smoke. These chemicals, many toxics, include: At least ten hydrocarbons known to produce cancer in animals Co carcinogens that act with other chemicals to stimulate cancer growth.

Irritants that cause coughing and other respiratory distress and are probably responsible for the deterioration of lung tissue which results in emphysema. Chemicals that act to paralyze the cilia (hair like projections), which protect the respiratory tract from foreign substances.

Nicotine This oily, colorless substance, sold as an insecticide, is so powerful a poison that just one drop will kill a person in seconds. The average nicotine content of a cigarette (an average 1.1 milligrams, with a range from 0.5 to 2.5 milligrams) is well below the lethal level, but can still have many disastrous effects on the body. 2.3 Scanning is used to discover required information to complete a given task such as making a decision about what to watch on TV, or which museum to visit. Readers scan a piece of writing when they search for specific information in it. For example, a reader may scan the biography of Dr Mahathir by only looking out for significant dates. Scanning, therefore allows the reader to efficiently gather information which may be scattered throughout a long piece of writing. It encourages the reader to conduct research in a purposeful way and this avoid distractions. Scanning: Dont try to read every word. Let your eyes move quickly across the page. Use clues, such as headings and titles to help you. If you are reading for study, begin by thinking up or writing down some questions that you want to answer. Many texts use the A-Z order. Utilize this. It is found in phone books, catalogues etc. Practice scanning skills. Example, search for a plumber in the yellow page.

Finding meaning from context. Task A : Scanning race This will prepare you for the next task. Who in the class will be the first to circle or highlight all the boxed words in the following student essay? albeit attuned to a burden demography/-ic gain mutual numerous prevent rather than supplemented sustained trend

Question: It is to the benefit of society for family units, living together, to include the older generation What is your view on this matter? 4

Title: Social Benefits of Extended Families. 1. A major social trend in many countries has been for elderly people to live increasingly by themselves rather than with their children. Often they have pride in remaining independent and dont want to feel a burden on their families. However, there would be considerable advantages for society if more elderly people lived with their adult children rather than alone or in nursing homes. Clearly this wouldnt work in every case, but reasons include mutual benefit for all members of the family, and the fact that this can help society cope with the massive demographic changes predicted for the future. 2. All generations gain benefit from living in extended families. Most grandparents and great-grandparents enjoy spending time with their grandchildren- it is common to hear them say that having children around makes them feel younger. In addition, for parents, it is cheaper when children are looked after by their older relatives than in child care centres. 3. Benefits for the children are numerous, and clearly what is good for them is good for the whole family. Family care is likely to be higher quality than at a child care centre for many reasons. It will be better attuned to the childrens needs because the family members know them better and because there are fewer children to look after in a family home than in a child care centre. Further, families generally have greater emotional involvement in the childs development than people looking after the child as a job. Its also an advantage that this kind of care can strengthen family bonds due to the increased contact that family members have with each other. The experienced that grandparents and great-grandparents bring to child-rearing, from the years of raising their own children, is an additional reason. However, it must be remembered that care centres have staff with professional training which family members rarely get the opportunity to gain, and they also provide opportunities for social interaction with other children beyond those available in the family home. Child care facilities thus do have a place in childrens upbringing, but their use must be balanced against the advantages of home care. 4. A further benefit to society results from expected changes in the demography of almost every country. As health care improves, people are living longer lives. Also, in most developed countries, birth rates are decreasing. Both these trends serve to increase the proportion of older people in the population, and decrease the future proportion of working age people. The result is that government services, such as subsidized health care and nursing homes, cannot be sustained at the same level into the future. Therefore, other ways of looking after the elderly must be considered, for example, families looking after their own elderly parents. This must be supplemented, however, with some government support, albeit

reduced from the present level, to prevent people having to leave jobs or reduce their working hours to look after elderly relatives. 5. In summary, the benefits of encouraging more elderly people to live with their children or grandchildren are considerable and, overall, provide advantages for all members of the family and offer a way to deal with demographic shifts. However, some level of support services would still be necessary in many cases. Therefore, the elderly should be encouraged, where reasonable, to move in with their children while welfare services should be tailored to support this.

2.4 Paragraph Structure.

A group of related sentences that discuss one main idea.

A paragraph is marked by indenting the first word (about half an inch)

Paragraph

May be short/long, but long enough to develop the main idea clearly.

May start by itself.

Three Parts of a Paragraph. A Topic Sentence main idea of the paragraph. Supporting Sentences develops the topic sentence. Concluding Sentence signals the end of the paragraph.

2.5 Model: Paragraph Structure. Describe on a controlling idea. Explain the controlling idea. Give an example. Explain the example. Complete the paragraphs idea or transition.

GOLD Gold is a precious metal and it is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewellery, coins and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was made 25 centuries ago. Another important characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications, such as photography and dentistry. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts suits. Astronauts wear gold-plated heat shields for protection when they go outside spaceships in space. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility. Topic Sentence: Gold is a precious metal and it is prized for two important characteristics. Supporting Sentences: First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. For example, a Macedonian Coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was made 25 centuries ago. Concluding Sentence: In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility.

Writing Technique Questions. 1. What is the topic of the paragraph? 2. What 2 main points do the writer make about the topic? 3. What examples do the writer use to support each point? 2.6 Summary. Reading strategies: Skimming : to search quickly through sentences to find facts and answers to questions. Previewing : to get a general idea of what youre going to be reading before you actually begin. Scanning : to discover required information to complete a given task in making a decision/choice. Paragraphs: Unity and coherence of ideas found in sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. Length and appearance do not determine whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. Ultimately, a paragraph is a sentence or group of sentences that support one main idea. Topic Sentence: A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling idea, which is expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. Supporting Sentences: They are called supporting because they support or explain the idea that has been expressed in the topic sentence. Concluding Sentences: It summarizes the information that has been presented. This is the concluding sentence.

2.7 Exercises Read the following texts. Then complete the given chart. 1) Unlike human language, the communication dance of the bees is confined to a single subject, or thought. It is frozen and inflexible. For example, an experimenter forced a bee to walk to the food source. When the bee returned to the hive, it indicated a distance twenty-five times further away than it actually was. The bees had no way of communicating the special circumstances or taking them into account in its message. Animal - _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Communication- ________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ _

2) Talking birds, such as parrots and mynah birds are capable of flawlessly enunciating words and phrases of human language. The birds imitate what they have heard. But when a parrot says Polly wants a cracker, she may really want a ham sandwich or drink of water or nothing at all. A bird that has learnt to say hello or goodbye is as likely to use one as the other regardless of whether people are arriving or departing. Animal - _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _ ________________________________________________________________ _ ________________________________________________________________ _ ________________________________________________________________ Communication - _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

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3) Two French scientists have studied the song of the European robin. The song studied was that which signaled the robins possession of a certain territory. The scientists found that the rival robins paid attention only to the alternation between highpitched and low-pitched notes, and which came first didnt matter at all. The message varies only to the extent of expressing how strongly the robin feels about his possession and how much he is prepared to defend it and start a family in that territory.

Animal - ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Communication - _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

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Make a decision and form an opinion. One very important issue surrounding families today is the issue of the working mother. Women should not be allowed to work until their children are at least 12 years old. Discuss. Write one paragraph based on the above. Ensure that your paragraph has a topic sentence, supporting sentences and the concluding sentences. 2.8 References Foley Mark + Hall Daine. (1993) DISTINCTION English for Advanced Learners. 1st edn (Edinburgh, UK : Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd) Cox Kathy + Hill David. (2004) EAP now! English for Academic Purposes. (NSW, Australia; Pearson Education Australia)

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