TYPES OF READING

Reading is defined as a cognitive process that involves decoding

symbols to arrive at meaning. Reading is an active process of constructing
meanings of words. Reading with a purpose helps the reader to direct
information towards a goal and focuses their attention. Although the
reasons for reading may vary, the primary purpose of reading is to
understand the text. Reading is a thinking process. It allows the reader to
use what he or she may already know, also called prior knowledge.

1. Extensive Reading

Extensive reading is reading that's for pleasure and relaxation. As a

reader, we can dive into a book and get lost in a topic that interests us or
explore a fictional world with exciting plot points and characters. With
extensive reading, there's no aim to achieve or objective to reach. It's
simply for the fun of reading.

2. Intensive Reading

Intensive reading takes a more active approach. As the name

suggests, it's more of an in-depth technique where the text is analysed on a
deeper level. This type of reading requires a careful and critical eye.

There are a few different kinds of Intensive reading, including

Scanning, Skimming and Critical Reading.

2.1 Scanning
Scanning texts helps the reader to find the particular information that
they're looking for. For example, if you're baking a cake, you might scan
the recipe to remind yourself of the amount of flour you need to weigh out.
 In school, children may use this type of reading when answering the
questions of who, what, where, when and why while reading a text. So,
scanning is the process of seeking out specific information from a text. It's
also called rapid reading because we seek out information by reading
quickly.

2.2 Skimming

Another form of rapid reading, skimming is a type of reading that

allows us to understand the main message of a piece of text without
reading the entire thing. You can skim read Titles,
Headings, Subheadings, Charts and Diagrams to get an idea of what it's
about. This will give a broad but shallow understanding of the text. This
type of reading can save time and tells you if it's worth reading the full text
in detail.

For example, children might skim-read the chapter titles of a book to

find out if it's something that they'd be interested in reading. You may
have also skim-read the headings of this Teaching Wiki to see if it's going
to provide the information you're looking for!

2.3 Critical

Critical reading is the most in-depth and Intensive type of Reading.

As the name suggests, it involves having a critical eye and essentially
holding up a metaphorical magnifying glass to the text you're reading. To
read a text critically, you have to analyse what the text is saying and how
it's saying it (such as by taking a look at the literary devices it uses). From
this, you make inferences and use your own judgement to reach a
conclusion - do you agree or disagree with what the text is saying or trying
to say? Critical reading is used to analyse various texts including novels,
poems, articles and even what we see on social media or the television.