R&W - FIRST MONTH (2ND SEM)
➔ SYNONYMS - similar in meaning to the unknown
LESSON 1 - INTRODUCING THE READING
PROCESS AND READING STRATEGIES
READING
- cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive
meaning from a text
- interaction between the text and the reader
- skill that can be improved through consistent
practice
SUBSKILLS IN READING
● identifying the author’s purpose
● grasping the main ideas of the text
● locating important details
● using context clues to understand unfamiliar words
● answering specific questions
● analyzing the text’s points
● critiquing the text
EFFECTIVE READING STRATEGIES
PRE-READING STRATEGIES
● GETTING AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT - survey
the text as a whole before delving deeper into each
part
A. PREVIEWING
- looking at the readily visible parts of the text, like
titles and subtitles and also visual and graphs,
pictures, and charts
- allows you to make predictions about the text’s
content
to preview the text properly:
➔ identify your purpose for reading
➔ examine the titles and subtitles of the text
➔ browse the introduction and conclusion of the
text
➔ look at the visual elements of the text
B. SKIMMING AND SCANNING
- skimming means you look for the main point of
the reading and identify the ideas that develop it;
physically moving your eyes rapidly along the
page and tracing your finger along the lines of the
text; involves going through beginning and
concluding sentences of paragraphs
- scanning means looking for specific information;
to scan the text effectively, you need to have an
idea of the details you are looking for; involves
physically moving your eyes quickly along the
lines of the text; useful when doing research or
taking exam
C. RECALLING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
- as you read, you make sense of the text by
seeing how it fits with what you already know
- your background knowledge is inform
DURING READING STRATEGIES
● USING CONTEXT CLUES - context clues are
words, phrases, and sentences that surround an
unfamiliar word that can help you recognize the
meaning of an unknown word because the text
gives you information about it
TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES
word
➔ ANTONYMS - opposite meaning to the unknown
word
➔ EXAMPLES - specific details in a text that are
used to clarify the meaning of a word
➔ EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
- explanations may be given as clues to describe
an unknown term (because, that is);
- definitions may follow an unfamiliar word (is,
means, is defined as, refers to”
B. USING CONNOTATION AND DENOTATION
- two ways of describing the meaning of a word
- denotation is the basic, precise, literal meaning of
the word that can be found in a dictionary;
- connotation is the positive, negative, or neutral
feelings, attitudes, ideas, or associations with a
word
- positive connotations are generally favorable
associations toward a word
- negative connotations tend to have unfavorable
feelings or ideas toward a word
- neutral connotations bring up objective or
unbiased associations toward a word
LESSON 2 - EVALUATING WRITTEN TEXTS BY
ANALYZING CLAIMS
CRITICAL READING
- evaluate claims, seek definitions, judge information,
demand proof, question assumptions
- shows that you do not simply accept the message
on the page
TECHNIQUES IN DEVELOPING CRITICAL READING
SKILLS
● keeping a reading journal - writing your feelings
and ideas in reaction to your reading assignment;
allows you to develop your impressions of the text
● annotating the text - making notes on your copy of
reading; includes highlighting or underlining
important passages and writing notes, comments,
questions, reactions
● outlining the text - by locating the thesis
statement, claims, evidence, and then plotting
these into an outline, you can see how the writer
structures, sequences, and connects his or her
ideas
● summarizing the text - getting the main points of
the essay and important supporting details; useful
skill to better understand the reading
● questioning the text - involves asking specific
questions on points that you are skeptical about:
may be topics that do not meet your expectations or
not aligned with your personal views
EXPLICIT INFORMATION
- information that is clearly stated
- clearly written and explained in the text so the
reader will not be confused
IMPLICIT INFORMATION
- something that is implied but not stated outright in
the text
INFERENCE
- conclusion that you make based on the explicit
information and your reasoning background
knowledge
CLAIMS
- central argument or thesis statement of the text
- what the writer tries to prove in the text by providing
details, explanations, and other types of evidence
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD CLAIMS
● a claim should be argumentative and debatable
● a claim should be specific and focused
● a claim should be interesting and engaging
● a claim should be logical
QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE THE WRITER’S CLAIM
● what is the author’s main point?
● what is the author’s position regarding it?
4 COMMON TYPES OF ASSERTION
1. FACT - statement that can be proven objectively by
direct experience, testimonies of witnesses,
verified, observations, or the result of a research
2. CONVENTION - way in which something is done,
similar to traditional and norms; depend on
historical precedent laws, rules, usage, and
customs
3. OPINION - based on facts, but are difficult to
objectively verify because of the uncertainty of
producing satisfactory proofs of soundness
4. PREFERENCE - based on personal choice, are
subjective and cannot be objectively proven or
logically attacked
COUNTERCLAIMS
- claims made to rebut a previous claim
- provide a contrasting perspective to the main
argument

TYPES OF CLAIMS EVIDENCE

1. CLAIMS OF FACT - details given by the author to support his/her claim
- state a quantifiable assertion or a measurable topic - reveals ang builds on the position of the writer and
- they assert that something has existed, exists, or makes the reading more interesting
will exist based on the data - crucial in swaying the reader to your side
- answer a “what” question
2. CLAIMS OF VALUE
- assert something that can be qualified
- consists of arguments about moral, philosophical,
or aesthetic topics (topics that try to prove that
some values are more or less desirable)
- attempt to explain how problems,situations, or
issues ought to be values
3. CLAIMS OF POLICY
- posit that specific actions should be choses as
solution to a particular problem
- begin with “should”, “ought to”, or “must”
- defend actionable plans, usually answer “how”
questions

CONTEXT
- social, cultural, political, historical, and other related
circumstances that surround the text

INTERTEXTUALITY
- modeling of a text’s meaning by another text
- connections between language, image, characters,
themes, or subjects depending on their similarities

READING
- a linear process where you read from beginning
until the end

HYPERTEXT
- nonlinear way of showing information
- connects topics on a screen to related information,
graphics, videos, and music

ASSERTIONS
- primary channel for a reader to assent to a claim
- declarative sentences that claim something is true
about something else