Reading Comprehension

Scanning for Text Types and Logical Connectors

Conjunctions and connectors describe the relationship between two statements. These statements can be written without linking
words, but often more information can be succinctly conveyed using these words.
Conjunctions grammatically join two clauses (independent or dependent, depending on the conjunction) so that it reads as one
sentence.Connectors are used between two separate sentences.
A paragraph developed by process uses connectors to show the sequence, instruction or direction.
Connectors are also helpful in presenting ideas in a paragraph in logical order.

 Word Connectors are used to link large groups of words: phrases and sentences. You can also use them to connect
paragraphs to give them coherence.
 Sentence connectors are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and may be categorized as follows:
(https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/list-of-sentence-connectors-in-english/)

CONTRAST ADDITION CAUSE PURPOSE CONSEQUENCE ORDER EXPLICATION

however moreover because in order to as a result to start with above all
yet furthermore since so as to therefore first in short
despite in addition due to so that consequently next at least
but besides on account thus then essentially
of
instead what’s more in conclusion in particular

on the contrary on top of that lastly in general

in contrast to likewise finally more or less

The four types of texts with example each:

1. Expository – its main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-oriented in which authors focus on telling you about a given topic or subject
without voicing their personal opinions. This type of texts furnishes you with relevant facts and figure but do not include their opinion.
Example:
“I’m using the term ‘Chinese mother’ loosely. In like manner, I know some Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish and Ghanaian parents who qualify
too. Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are not Chinese mothers, by choice or
otherwise. I’m also using the term ‘Western parents’ loosely. Western parents come in all varieties. All the same, even when Western parents
think they’re being strict, they usually don’t come close to being Chinese mothers. For example, my Western friends who consider themselves
strict make their children practice their instruments 30 minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part.
It’s hours two and three that get tough.” by Amy Chua (https://literarydevices.net/narrative-essay/)
Notice the words/expressions in bold text used in the narrative text.

2. Descriptive – Its main purpose is to describe. It is a style of writing that focuses on describing a character, an event, or a place in
great detail. It can be poetic when the author takes time to be very specific in his or her description.
Example:
Taj Mahal is an immense mausoleum of white marble. It was built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
in order to remember the memory of his favorite wife. The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world's heritage. The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that
encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. The Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement
in the whole range of Indo-Islamic architecture. Moreover, its recognized architectonic beauty has a rhythmic combination of solids and voids,
concave and convex and light shadow. Furthermore, arches and domes increase the aesthetic aspect. The color combination of lush green
scape reddish pathway and blue sky over it show cases the monument in ever changing tints and moods. (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252/)

3. Persuasive – Its main purpose is to convince. Unlike expository writing, this type of text contains the opinions and biases of the author.
To convince others to agree with the author’s point of view, persuasive writing contains justifications and reasons.

Example:
“Governments today do two things that I object to in particular. First, they encourage introspection, telling us that unless men examine their
testicles, unless we keep a check on our cholesterol level, then we are not being responsible citizens. You are letting down yourself, your wife,
your kids, everybody. We are encouraged continually to worry about our health. As a consequence, public health initiatives have become, as far
as I can tell, a threat to public health. Secondly, governments promote the value of health seeking. We are meant always to be seeking health
for this or that condition. The primary effect of this, I believe, is to make us all feel more ill.”
(https://literarydevices.net/persuasive-essay/)

4. Narrative – Its main purpose is to tell a story. The author will create different characters and tell you what happens to them.

Example:
“Annie, over six feet tall, big-boned, decided that she would not go to work as a domestic and leave her “precious babes” to anyone else’s care.
There was no possibility of being hired at the town’s cotton gin or lumber mill. But maybe there was a way to make the two factories work for
her. In her words, “I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come. Since I wasn’t satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut me
a new path.” She told herself that she wasn’t a fancy cook but that she could “mix groceries well enough to scare hungry away and keep from
starving a man.” by Maya Angelou (https://literarydevices.net/narrative-essay/)

II-Skimming for Key Ideas

Skimming

This reading technique enables the reader to move quickly over the material in order to get an idea of its subject matter without having to pay
close attention to details. By skimming or quickly running thru the selection or parts of it, you can preview or survey the text, select what is
relevant and set these aside for further study . (p.14, Improving Study, Thinking, Reading and Writing Skills for College Freshmen by Cabrera,
et.al)

PROCESS ON HOW TO SKIM

1. Read the title, subtitles, subheading to find out what the text is about.
2. Look at the illustrations to give you further information about the story.
3. Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph.
4. Don’t read every word or every sentence. Let your eyes skim over the text, taking in keywords.
5. Continue to think about the meaning of the text.

Activity 1. Skim Through

Directions: Skim through the paragraph and answer the given questions below:
Passage 1
Despite the hatred that most people feel toward cockroaches, they do help humans in several ways. For example, they are perfect experimental
animals and are used for scientific research in the laboratory. Breeding them is easy, for they thrive under almost any conditions. In studies on
nutrition and food, cockroaches are good subjects because they will eat any kind of food. They can be used to study heart disease, and cancer
researchers work with roaches because they grow cancerous tumors like those that are found in humans.
(https://www.proprofs.com/discuss/q/756098/located-despite-cockroaches-experimental)
What is being talked about in the passage? _________________
What particular aspect about cockroaches is discussed in the passage?

Passage 2
Logging is one of the country’s top dollar earners. Millions of board feet of hard wood are exported yearly to Japan, the United States, Europe,
and the Middle East. As a result, millions of dollars pour into the national treasury. Many Filipino logging businessmen also get rich. However, in
the process of logging, forests are denuded. Life, property and crops are lost due to flash floods . (p.179, Improving Study, Thinking, Reading
and Writing Skills for College Freshmen by Cabrera, L., et.al)
What is being talked about in the passage? ___________
What specific aspect of the subject is discussed in the passage? ______________________________________________________

MAIN IDEA is the central, or most important idea in a paragraph or passage. It states the purpose and sets the direction of the paragraph or
passage.
 The main idea may be stated or it may be implied.
 When the main idea of a paragraph is stated, it is most often found in the first sentence of the paragraph. However, the main idea
may be found in any sentence of the paragraph.
 The main idea may be stated in the first sentence of a paragraph and then be repeated or restated at the end of the paragraph.
 The main idea may be split. The first sentence of a paragraph may present a point of view, while the last sentence presents a
contrasting or opposite view.
 To find the main idea of any paragraph or passage, ask these questions:
• Who or what is the paragraph about?
•What aspect or idea about the ‘who’ or ‘what’ is the author concerned with?
(https://www.mdc.edu/Kendall/collegeprep/documents2/MAIN%20IDEASrevised815.pdf)
Activity 2. Determine the Main Idea
Directions: Skim through the passages to determine the main idea.
Passage 1
It is often said that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but this isn’t true. Go ask the forest rangers. Rangers who spend
their summers as fire-fighters will tell you that every thundershower brings several bolts of lightning to their lookout stations.
Main idea: _______________________________________________

Passage 2
Costs were low that year and the output high. There was a good person for each job and the market remained firm. There were no
losses from fire. All in all, it was the best years in the history of the company.
Main idea: _____________________________________________

Passage 3
There are great numbers of deer around here. This whole area is a great country for hunters and fishermen. There are bears,
mountain lions, and coyotes. To the east there are streams full of trout, and there are ducks and geese.
Main idea: _____________________________________________

Activity 3: Generalization
Directions: Answer the following questions below.
1. In your own words, what is scanning and skimming?
Activity 2: Scanning for Text Type and Connectors
Directions: Scan through the following texts to find the connectors used. Then read again thoroughly to identify the text type.
Finally, complete the information below by identifying the text type and indicating the logical connectors.
Paragraph No. Text Type Logical connectors

1
2
3
4

Paragraph 1
In 1997, 175,000 volunteers picked up three million pounds of garbage along the coasts of the United States. As a result, both
people and sea animals can enjoy cleaner and safer environments. Glass bottles, lumber, and syringes are less of a threat to
barefooted beachgoers. Fewer seabirds, fish, and crabs will die entangled in plastic can holders, fishing nets, and fishing line.
People put trash in the oceans, but by volunteering their time to help clean up after themselves, people are also the solution to the
problem.(https://www.eslprintables.com/powerpoint.asp?id=69990)
Paragraph 2
Jerry was the kind of guy who love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When
someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!” Because he was a unique
manager, he had several waiters followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed him around
was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling him how to
look on the positive side of the situation. (https://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/54410/attitude-is-everything).
Paragraph 3
The iPhone 6 is unexpectedly light. While the size of its screen is bigger than those of the iPhones that came before, it is thinner,
and its smooth, rounded body is made of aluminum, stainless steel, and glass. Furthermore, its casing comes in a whitish silver,
gold, or a color the company calls ”space gray”, the color of the lead of a pencil, with darker gray accents.
(https://bvcoend.ac.in/images/upload/BVP_Vidyapeeths_Colle_of_Engineering_New_Delhi_60510613907866FILE38623UPLOAD
56435731556253485.pdf)
Paragraph 4
Immigration contributes to the overall health of the American economy. Despite the recent concerns expressed about the illegal
and some legal immigration to the United States, this country has largely benefited from the skills, talents, and ambition that
immigrants bring with them. American businesses gain from a good source of affordable labor, while towns and cities are
revitalized by immigrant families who strengthen communities through civic participation and the generation of new economic
activity. The United States must continue to welcome new arrivals and help those who are already here; otherwise, the country
will lose the advantages it has over other industrialized countries that compete against us in the global marketplace and seek to
recruit from a vast pool of unskilled and skilled global workers.
(https://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English/WL14_persuasive_parag)