LS100: EIGHT SKILLS OF THE EFFECTIVE LEGAL STUDIES STUDENT n Instructor: Janice Merilus, Esq. n Seminar: 8 PM n Office Hours: Tuesdays 6-8 PM CHAPTER 4

Essential TOOLS for Effective Reading The material you’re An open mind Pencils reading reading A highlighter A tablet or loose-leaf paper A dictionary Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Basic Prefixes for Reading PREFIXMEANINGEXAMPLE antiagainstanti-war, antidepressant autoselfautobiography, autocrat bitwobicycle, binoculars circumaroundcircumference, circumstantial deaway, undodeparture, demote disnotdishonest, disbar exout, formerex-wife, extraordinary innotincomprehensible, incorrect interbetweenintersection, intercourse intrawithin, inintramural, intragalactic malbad, wrongmalfunction, malnutrition misnot or wrongmiscommunication, misdiagnose monoonemonorail, monocracy Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Basic Prefixes for Reading (continued) PREFIXMEANINGEXAMPLE nonnot or nononcredit, nonsense postafterpostmortem, postpartum prebeforeprerequisite, prefix probefore, forwardprospect, profess rebackregret, regain subundersubway, submerge superabovesupernatural, superstitious teledistancetelephone, telepathy ultrabeyond, extremeultraviolet, ultrasound unnotunnecessary, ungrateful Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Basic Suffixes for Reading SUFFIXMEANINGEXAMPLE ansomeone whocomedian eesomeone whoemployee ersomeone whopreacher istsomeone whopianist orsomeone whotailor shipreferring toownership hoodreferring toneighborhood esta conditionfairest ica conditionallergic isha conditionfoolish ivea conditionfestive lessa condition worthless nessa conditionkindness ousa conditiongenerous Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Speed Not Important n Comprehension is much important than speed n Slow reading is indicative of nothing n Reading speeds vary from person to person depending on training, frequency in reading, comprehension, and the complexity of the material.

Factors that contribute to lack of speed/understanding of passage n Not concentrating on the passage n Encountering vocabulary words with which you are not familiar n Stopping too long on any given word n Not reading often enough to build your speed

Dictionary – Use it! n There will be many words and phrases that you will not understand when reading texts n Look it up! Given more than the word n Given the phonetic pronunciation, spelling, meaning, the part of speech in which the word can be used, the origin of the word & usually several definitions

Using Your DICTIONARY (From The American Heritage Dictionary, 2 nd College Edition) Using Your DICTIONARY (From The American Heritage Dictionary, 2 nd College Edition) Pronunciation The WordPart of Speech UsageMeaning Word Origin Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Dictionary – Become More Familiar with Unknown Words n Write them in the margin of the page in your text n Put the word on an index card (word on the front, definition on the back) n Put the definition in a special column when taking notes

Testing your COMPREHENSION n Level 1 KNOWLEDGE Define, List, Describe, Identify, Show, Name, Quote n Level 2 COMPREHENSION Explain, Describe, Summarize, Differentiate, Discuss, Interpret n Level 3 APPLICATION Illustrate, Use the Information, Apply, Demonstrate, Show, Solve, Classify, Discover n Level 4 ANALYSIS Break Down, Distinguish, Infer, Prioritize, Order, Justify, Classify, Arrange, Divide n Level 5 SYNTHESIS Integrate, Modify, Rearrange, Substitute, Plan, Create, Design, Invent, Incorporate, n Level 6 EVALUATION Decide, Rank, Test, Measure, Recommend, Support, Conclude, Compare, Appraise, Defend Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Improving Speed and Concentration n Whenever you are faced with having to choose between comprehension and speed, choose comprehension every time.

Improving Concentration n Speed and comprehension both require deep, mindful concentration. n Your body needs to be ready to concentrate. n You need sleep, rest, and proper nutrition. It will be nearly impossible to concentrate without them.

Tips To Increase Concentration n Reduce outside distractions such as people talking, rooms that are too hot or cold, cell phones ringing, etc. n Reduce internal distractions such as fatigue, self-talk, daydreaming, hunger, and emotions that cause you to think of other things.

Tips To Increase Concentration n Set a goal for reading “X” amount of material by “Y” time; helps you focus. n Take a short break every 20 minutes; don’t get distracted and do something else; come back to your reading in 3 to 5 minutes. n Take notes as you read. This helps reading become an active process

Building Vocabulary n The more words you have in your vocabulary, the fewer times you will need to stop. n To increase your vocabulary for active reading: n Keep those words on a list that you can review daily. n Make time to study your vocabulary list. n Work crossword puzzles or other word games.

Fixation n Fixation is when your eyes stop on a single word to read it. n Your eyes stop for only a fraction of a second, but those fractions add up over the course of a section or chapter

Fixation n To reduce your fixation time for active reading: n Practice seeing two or more words with one fixation. n As you practice, try to read in phrases

Frequency n In order to build your speed and work on your concentration, you must read as much as possible. n The more you read, the more you improve your skills; nothing helps you read better than actually reading.

Frequency n To increase your frequency for active reading: n Read every chance you get. n Read a variety of materials (magazines, newspapers, novels). n Don’t read just for learning, read for pleasure as well.

Get to the Point! n Typically, each paragraph has a main idea. It is usually called a topic sentence. n The topic statement is what the paragraph is about. n Identifying the main idea of a paragraph can greatly aid your comprehension of that paragraph and eventually the entire section or chapter.

Topic of A Paragraph n The topic is the subject of the paragraph. n You can identify the topic by answering the question, “What or who is the paragraph about?”

Topic of A Paragraph n The topic statement should be general enough to cover all of the specifics of the paragraph. n The topic statement should be specific enough to exclude other paragraphs on related topics.

Using SQ3R n Survey n Question n Read n Recite n Review Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Survey n The first step of SQ3R is to survey, or pre-read, an assigned chapter. n You begin by reading the title of the chapter, the headings, and each sub- heading. n Look carefully at the vocabulary, time lines, graphs, charts, pictures, and drawings included in each chapter.

Survey n If there is a chapter summary, read it. n Surveying also includes reading the first and last sentence in each paragraph. n Surveying is not a substitute for reading a chapter. n Reading is discussed later.

Question n The second step is to question. n There are five common questions you should ask yourself when you are reading a chapter: Who? When? What? Where? and Why?

Question n As you survey and read your chapter, try turning the information into questions and see if you can answer them. If you do not know the answers to the questions, you should find them as you read a long.

Question n Turn the major headings of each section into questions. n When you get to the end of the section, having carefully read the material, taken notes, and highlighted important information, answer the question that you posed at the beginning of the section

Read n After you survey the chapter and develop some questions to be answered from the chapter, the next step is to read the chapter. n Remember, surveying is not reading. n There is no substitute for reading in your success plan.

Read n Read slowly and carefully. n Read through each section. n Do not jump around or move ahead if you do not understand the previous section. n Take notes while reading the text will commit the information to memory.

READING THE CHAPTER n Read the Entire Paragraph Before You Mark Anything n Identify the Thesis of Each Paragraph n Highlight Key Phrases n Don’t Highlight Too Much; It Becomes Meaningless n Stop and Look Up Words You Do Not Know n Make Margin Notes Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Recite n Crucial Step n Once you have read a section, ask yourself this simple question: “What was that all about?” n Try to explain the information without looking at your notes.

Recite n If you have trouble explaining the information, you probably did not understand the section and you should go back and reread it. n If you can tell yourself exactly what you just read and what it means, you are ready to move on to the next section of the chapter.

Review n After you read the chapter, immediately go back and read it again. “What?!! I just read it!” Yes, you did.

Review n The best way to determine whether you have mastered the information is to survey the chapter once again; review marginal notes, highlighted areas, vocabulary words and determine whether you have any questions that have not been answered. n This step will help you store and retain this information in your long-term memory

Tips for Making the Most of Your Reading Time n Reduce the distractions around you. n Discover what time of day is best for you to read and concentrate on your material. n Read with a healthy snack. n Form questions about the material from headings as you are reading.

Tips for Making the Most of Your Reading Time n Read in sections. Don’t try to read an entire chapter in one sitting. Break it down and take breaks. n Never skip over words or phrases that you don’t understand. Look them up! n Allow yourself enough time to read the material effectively.

Quotations for REFLECTION “Psychologists and students have found that merely running your eyes over words does not guarantee learning.” AAP Student Service “Words are the basis of human communication and enable people to convey their thoughts and emotions to each other.”AAP Student Service “A poor vocabulary severely limits your reading comprehension and speed.”Brenda D. Smith “Active readers work hard to develop the attitude and study habits that help them get the most they can out of every reading assignment.”Carol Kanar Cornerstone: 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Cornerstone: © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Building on Your Best for Career SuccessUpper Saddle River, NJ Sherfield, Montgomery & Moody All Rights Reserved

Unit To Do List n Read Chapter 4:“Read", in your textbook, Cornerstone n Attend the Seminar n Post to the Discussion Board n Take the Quiz n Schedule your Interview!!! (If you haven’t already done so)

Questions n Please pose any questions you may have over the readings, Discussion Board or anything else for this week.