Reading Techniques!

Para quellos que tienen problemas con la lectura en ingles, a continuacion se presentan algunas tecnicas que les ayudaran a mejorar esta dicha área.

1. Preview

Preview the text to be read by skimming it. Skimming is the technique of allowing your eyes to travel rapidly over a page, stopping here and there to register the main idea. When skimming, you should follow the procedure below, adapting it to your purpose

• Read the title.
• Note the writer's name.
• Note the date and place of publication.
• Read the first paragraph completely.
• Read sub-headings and first sentences of remaining paragraphs.

As you read, pick up main ideas, key words

2. Question

Effective reading is active reading. To turn reading from a passive into an active exercise, always ask questions.
To do this, you must be clear about the purpose of your reading. During the preview, note as many questions as you can about the content. The object of the preview and questioning steps is to determine the writer's thesis, that is, her/his main idea and purpose in writing.
As you read, list all the words about which you are uncertain; look them up in the dictionary and write down their definitions.

3. Take notes

Some reasons for taking notes are:

• to maintain attentiveness as you read,
• to focus your attention,
• to familiarise yourself with primary and secondary material on a given subject,
• to analyse the assumptions and rhetorical strategies of the writer,
• to provide you with a summary of the material.

4. Summarise

A summary is a collation of your notes, recording the main points the writer makes. Making a summary from your notes has two main benefits.

• It allows you to test yourself on your understanding of the material you have been reading - sometimes it is only when you try to put the writer's ideas into your own words that you uncover difficulties.
• It provides you with a compact account of the text for further reference.

5. Review and reflect

• Test your understanding of the material by trying to answer your preview questions without referring to your notes.
• Write down the meaning and usefulness the material has for understanding other concepts and principles. Indicate what other ideas the material substantiates, contradicts, or amplifies.
• Evaluate the text in terms of its informativeness, soundness of argument, relevance, and so on. If you are gathering material for an essay or report, decide which points you want to use and think about how you can use them.
• Start a reading journal in which you keep all reading, review, and reflection notes