READING AND THINKING SKILLS

Reading- the act of interpreting written or printed symbols (letters, numbers, special symbols,
punctuation marks, etc.)

Comprehension- the ability to understand or comprehend

Reading Comprehension- the ability to interpret written or printed symbols with understanding
and comprehension

- The ability to acquire correct meaning, analyze the author’s point of

view and apply what one learns from reading to real-life situations

A good reader is one who can derive meaning from a written material and go on to analyze and
apply that meaning.

READING TECHNIQUES

1. Skimming – is the reading technique used to prepare the entire selection thoroughly
 You skim to acquaint yourself with the material. While skimming, you try to detect in
advance important keys to the author’s meaning like subheadings, topic sentences, words
in bold or italics and summaries.
 You skim to decide whether or not to proceed with thorough reading; if the text is relevant
to the information you need.

 Steps in Skimming

a. Read the title and subtitle of the material.

b. Read the paragraph completely.
c. Examine each subheading within the text. Change each one into a question.
d. Seek the answer to each subheading question by reading just the first sentence of each
paragraph below it. Do not advance to the next subheading question until you find your
answer.
e. Examine all illustrations—photos, charts, maps, figures, tables, diagrams and other
illustrations—and carefully read their captions.
f. Look for highlighted words and phrases—items in boldface, italics, underlined or
capitalized letters. The author believes these words and phrases are keys to
understanding the material.
g. If your eyes catch any unfamiliar words while you are skimming, write them down on a
piece of paper. Look up the definitions of the words before you thoroughly read the
material.
h. Read the last paragraph completely. If the author has supplied questions at the end of the
material, make sure you understand each question. You will find the answers to these
questions when you do your thorough reading of the material.

2. Scanning- is the reading technique you use when you look specific information from
materials you do not intend to read from start to finish.
 You use scanning to locate significant factual data—names, dates, quotes, definitions,
formulae and anything else that you need to remember completely and accurately.
  You can also scan a material you have already read in its entirety in order to refresh
your memory of important facts.

 Steps in Scanning

a. Before you start, think about the data you want to find. You might even write down questions
for which you are seeking answers.
b. Think about how the data you are seeking are likely to look.
c. Allow your eyes to drift over the text without actually reading it. You may go from top to
bottom, bottom to top, left to right, right to left.
d. Do not forget to check graphic materials-pictures, illustrations, maps or graphs- and their
captions for the data.
e. If you fail to find out what you want after an initial scan, go back examine the table of
contents, topic sentences and highlighted words to narrow the search for your next scan.

3. Finding the Main Idea- is the reading technique you use when you want to know the
author’s point of view about a topic.

 Directly stated main idea-

 Indirectly stated or implied main idea-

 Steps in Finding the Main Idea

a. Determine the general topic of the reading material.
b. Search at the beginning of paragraph, middle of paragraphs and end of paragraphs for
the statement that presents the author’s point of view about the topic.
c. If you cannot find a main idea statement, the author wants you to infer the main idea.
That means, you must read the entire selection very carefully and figure out the author’s
implied point of view.
d. Whether you have stated or unstated the main idea, be sure to distinguish it from the
topic and the supporting details. The topic and supporting details do not express the
author’s point of view; the main idea does.
e. If you encounter difficulty in determining the main idea, you may find it helpful to put the
reading material into an outline format.

4. Identifying Supporting Details - sentences that follows the main idea which support or give
more information about it.
 After determining the main idea, identify supporting details also to add strength to the
main idea.

Prepared by:

CHARO P.BAO-ILAN, BSE

Eng 101, Instructor