READING STRATEGIES AND SKILLS HOW TO DEAL WITH THE ‘UNSEEN’ ARTICLE
The process of reading consists of 2 stages: PREVIEWING THE ARTICLE and CLOSE READING
Here you try to get the clues to text development TO PREVIEW means: To read the TITLE and the SUBTITLE carefully Here you try to get the clues to text development
TO PREVIEW also means: To SKIM for overall idea, general impression and text structure
Finally,TO PREVIEW means: TO SCAN for outstanding and specific information
You have got familiar with major components and concepts of the articles, therefore, while you are skimming and scanning, highlight them:
Definitions Descriptions Examples Opinions Irony and Humor Praise and Criticism Evidence and Facts Conclusions and Summary
CLOSE READING means: Intensive word for word reading for required information Here you should highlight important statements and key words to the development of the article as a whole
THE WORD LEVEL Identify the function of the word in the sentence -what PART of SPEECH the word is
THE WORD LEVEL You also identify the meaning of PREFIXES and SUFFIXES - using the form of the word as a clue to its meaning
THE WORD LEVEL You may also get the meaning of the word using the context of the article - finding DEFINITIONS and EXPLANATIONS within the text
THE WORD LEVEL You get the meaning of the unknown word with the help of a DICTIONARY
THE SENTENCE LEVEL Pay attention to the form of the VERB used in the sentence, this may help you to identify the logical structure of the whole sentence
THE SENTENCE LEVEL Divide a Compound or a Complex sentence into several Simple sentences
THE SENTENCE LEVEL Look for the following logical CONNECTIONS : Cause and Effect Addition Condition Contrast and Concession Purpose Conclusion and Summation
THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL Identify the main sentence that carries a key idea of the paragraph
THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL Try to identify a rhetorical structure , a purpose, or a function of the paragraph within the whole text: Is the paragraph an example? an opinion? a summary? etc.
THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL If you need to INFER the information from the paragraph, you should look for the contextual clues: Past-present Positive-negative
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EXAMS!