READING SKILLS

Introduction

In this section, we shall examine reading as an important communication skill

that you as a university student will be constantly engaged in as you research,
conduct routine study as well as during revision for examinations. We shall
therefore be concerned with how you can develop effective reading skills that
you can use in your university studies and life after college.

Objectives of the topic

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

a) Define reading

b) Outline how you develop a purpose for your reading

c) Explain what the various types of reading entail

d) Expound on the effective reading and comprehension techniques

e) Discuss the skill of note taking

What is Reading?

Reading is the process of interpreting, analyzing and understanding written

messages. Reading for study at university level is an active integration of the
text involving interpretation and thinking as you read. Reading is, therefore, a
dynamic process involving the following properties:

a) Decoding or interpreting written symbols

b) It is a physical and mental activity

c) It requires attention and thought

d) It is an interaction of the language of the text and background knowledge

of the reader, such that, the written message focuses the reader on what
background knowledge (in long term memory), the reader should bring to
the interpretation of written message being read.

Developing a Purpose for Reading

Before we engage in reading we need to establish the purpose for which we
seek to read. Generally speaking, we engage in reading for the following
purposes:

a) We read to entertainment or leisure

b) To acquire information and knowledge

c) As a means of preparing for successful life i.e. as means of acquiring

useful life skill.

d) To improve quality of life.

At the university level reading is particularly more focused and rigorous and
would normally entail the following purposes:

a) To gain an overall understanding of main ideas presented in some

reading.

b) To find specific information such as a name, date or a definition of a

concept.

c) To gain understanding of material so as to recall it as presented in the

text.

d) To evaluate, critique or analyze some material.

The purpose of our reading will, to a large extent, determine the type of reading
of style we adopt as the discussion below will indicate.

Types of Reading

Types of reading refer to styles we may adopt in our reading as determined by

the purpose for which we are reading. Types of reading include:

a) Scanning – This style or technique is used when you are looking for a
name, definition or any other specific piece of information in a text like a
house in classified ads, addresses or phone in a directory, an important
concept, information for a research essay in a library catalogue, table of
content, index page etc. In using the technique you move your eye
quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are
relevant to specific information you are looking for.

While scanning, a good reader should first:

  Ensure that the text he/she is scanning is the correct text and that
he/she knows precisely what he is looking for.

 Try to determine the text structure or its style of arrangement, i.e. clues
or signals which can assist in understanding the text pattern.

 Scan with speed without reading extraneous or irrelevant material.

b) Skimming – In this technique you read quickly through a text in order to

get a grip of the main ideas or general information about the text. In
using this technique you intend to get a general grasp of ideas presented
by the author. This technique is useful when:

i) Trying to decide if a book in library is useful or right for your

studies.

ii) Previewing books or texts before detailed reading.

iii) Refreshing your understanding of a text after you have read it in

detail.

You can skim:

 Introductory paragraphs – to give the general theme

 Concluding paragraph

 Transitional paragraphs

 Subheadings

 Italicized, underlined and boldfaced items

As an efficient reading strategy, skimming is a very useful skill both for

recreational and study reading. In study reading, it is useful for the following
reasons:

 It can be used at the preliminary stages of selecting texts for research or

selecting reserved and supplementary literature. It helps determine
which texts merit more careful and thorough reading and which specific
parts of those texts are worth spending time on.

 It can be used as an exercise for improving speed and therefore

performance and for coping with high quantity work. It can enable a
reader cover a lot of material in a short time, therefore saving time.
 It is one of those skills used in the reading for the main idea only when
the supporting details or other extraneous materials are not important.

c) Active/detailed reading – This technique is used in serious study. It

calls for an active involvement in the reading process. In this type of
reading you need to interrogate or think over what you read so as to both
evaluate what you have read and facilitate recall of read material. This is
the kind of reading that is most extensively used at university during
study. As you use this type of reading the following tips are important.

i) Always make notes

ii) Pick out what you think are the important points of what you are
reading by highlighting these points.

iii) Record main headings as you read, this helps you to see the flow of
your reading and notes.

iv) As you prepare for active reading note down questions you want the
material to answer.

v) After you have read a section of text and have made a summary of
what you have read in your notes, skim through the text and check
how accurate your summary is. As you do this, fill in gaps that you
may notice in your notes.

d) Extensive reading is purposeful, organized, wide reading of long texts

such as journals, novels, magazines, periodicals etc, especially those that
relate to one’s area of study, to enrich one’s vocabulary, which is basic to
all good reading.

e) Intensive reading is a concentrated, thorough and comprehensive

reading style. It is applied when one wants to understand the contents of
the reading deeply. It is an intellectually involving affair int hat the reader
will be trying to evaluate how the ideas involved could be applied or
adapted to different situations. It is also analytical, critical and
interpretive. It could involve a paragraph, a whole passage or even a
whole book, like in the case of a literature book.

f) Light reading – this is the type of reading that we apply when reading
papers and novels for leisure. This does not involve any critical
assessment or appraisal of the material one is reading. It is fast and
superficial.
 g) Word by word reading – this is the style used by beginners when they
are reading for the first time and in an attempt to understand each word
or phrase at a time. It is also applicable when one is reading scientific or
mathematics process or formula.

EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT READING STRATEGIES

To read effectively means to be able to comprehend, evaluate and utilize that

which one has read, while reading efficiently means reading effectively with the
least amount of physical (psycho-motor) effort and time. To attain efficiency,
one has to:

1. Reduce certain poor reading habits

2. Utilize better psycho-motor reading strategies

Common poor reading habits

a) Vocalization (sounding out)

This is reading aloud (the tendency to register the sound of the words as you
read), which wastes time and creates a sub-process as follows:

According to Pearson (1981), the reading process involves a) visual perception,

b) response to visual stimuli, c) transmission to brain, d) decoding (giving
meaning), e) vocalizing, f) response to mental stimuli (understanding or not). As
a result, vocalization slows down this reading process. Henry Pearson (1981)
observed that reading aloud takes at least twice as long as reading silently and
yet it is not any more effective.

b) Sub-vocalization

This is where the reader makes a conscious effort not to move his/her lips
when reading but his/her internal speech organs, larynx or vocal cords are
mechanically working. That is, the tendency to internally acknowledge or
pronounce the sound of the words in your head.

c) Finger reading, pointing at words and head movement

These habits not only affect the rate of reading but also affect the
comprehension, since they prevent the reader from grasping full phrases and
clauses, therefore hindering him/her from understanding the ideas expressed
fully.

d) Narrow recognition span and poor rhythmic eye movement

Recognition span is the number of words a reader can recognize while eyes are
fixed at one point.

Fixations are the stops a reader takes to take in a word or phrase and then
move on to the next.

A narrow recognition span wastes time and energy and therefore affects one’s
rate and comprehension. Efficient readers take in several words per fixation,
which should be at least a phrase. Thus, rhythmically, eyes should move
systematically from the middle of one phrase to another.

e) Regression (backtracking while reading)

This is glancing back and re-reading words, phrases and sentences that have
already been read. It is a characteristic of lacking concentration and poor
reading. It affects comprehension because it interrupts the reading process
(though process). An efficient reader should move forward at all times.

NB: Regression is different from review, which is done after, for clarification.

Effective Reading and Comprehension Skills

One important technique that has been developed for effective reading and
comprehension is summed up as SQ3R, which stand for:

S – Survey

Q – Question

R – Read

R – Recall

R – Review

a) Survey – stands for a rapid preview of material in order to get an overview a

topic, chapter, or book. The idea here is to look for main points of the text,
its content and approach. In doing this:

i) Read the title to help give you an idea of the subject.

ii) Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are
the key points.
 iii) Notice boldface headings to see what the structure of the text is.

iv) Notice any maps, charts or graphs which give a summation of ideas in
the text.

v) Notice reading aids and any questions at the end of chapter because
they are meant to help you understand and remember.

b) Question – When reading you should develop a questioning attitude.

Questions help your mind to engage and concentrate. This is because your
mind is actively engaged when it is looking for answers to questions. In
using questions as you read, keep in mind the following:

i) Try to turn bold face headings into questions you think the section
should answer.

ii) Ask yourself:

 What is the main point being made here?

 What is author trying to explain here?

 Have I understood the argument and conclusion?

c) Read – After formulating questions you can start reading the material
carefully in detail. The approach you take in reading may depend on
subject. If the subject is complex your reading may be slower and if the
subject is familiar, you might adopt a faster pace. How you read may also
be determined by your personal approach. As you read:

i) Remember to take notes.

ii) Engage actively with your material.

iii) Look for answers to questions you have set for yourself and make up
new questions if necessary.

d) Recall – After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if
you can answer them from memory. If not take a look back at the text. Do
this as often as you need to. As you do this you may highlight important
points of your notes.

e) Review – Once you have finished reading, for instance, a whole chapter or
section, go back over all questions in all headings to see if you can still
 answer them. If not, look back and refresh your memory. Do this as an
important part of your revision for exams.

1.1.1 The importance of SQ3R:

 It makes reading a conscious active effort.

 It enables a reader think constructively along similar lines as the writer.

 The prediction or question formulation stage is both a sign and an aid to

understanding.

 The stages improve one’s concentration and retention ability.

 Reading is organized into stages, therefore it takes less time and effort
and it is more effective.

1.1.2 Other important tips to effective reading and comprehension

a) Do not treat all books in same way, skim before you read a book to
establish the type, for instance, whether it is complex or elementary.

b) Do not start reading a book unless you have decided it is suitable.

c) Determine the purpose for reading a book.

d) You can switch from one way of reading to another, this is suitable
particularly so when selecting books or doing research.

e) Extract important reference information during your reading. This

includes:

i) Name of Author

ii) Title and sub-title

iii) Date of publication

iv) Publisher and city of publication

1.2 Note taking

Notes are a shortened version of information. Note taking is an integral part of
reading, listening as well as during revision or study.

1.2.1 Advantages of Notes

1. Taking notes helps you to learn and understand by translating what you
are studying into your own words and thereby helping you to understand
and remember what you are studying.

2. Taking notes helps you concentrate while you are studying because the
note taking process helps you process and digest the information.

3. Making notes helps you assess information because you are selecting the
most important parts of what you are reading or hearing. Through making
notes, you are also spotting the key issues and ideas of the materials.

4. Note taking also helps you think about the subject. Writing down ideas
often produces ideas about other ideas you already know. This makes you
think and connect what you are noting down with what you already know.
This process, therefore, makes remembering of information more likely.

1.2.2 How to Take Notes

1. You should only choose the main points of what you are reading or listening
to. Do not record all the materials from your source.

2. Show the difference between main points, supporting points and examples.
This can be done by use of highlighting through the use of colours,
underlining, or using various types of font or bolding for the different
aspects of your notes.

3. Listen, read or watch closely the source of notes while carefully thinking
about the subject and decide which part of source material are most useful,
then put them down in your own words as your notes.

4. Brevity is important in taking notes. Use abbreviations wherever possible.

You could also achieve brevity by adopting mathematical or scientific
symbols or device your own personal code of symbols and signs.

5. Use note cards and list each new idea on a new line

6. Use phrases, not complete sentences to save time

7. Use abbreviations when possible

8. Never take verbatim notes, unless you need a direct quote

9. Use pen rather than pencil

10. Use underlining and asterisks to indicate important points

11. Number items, put information in bulleted lists, or use an outline to make it
easier to review notes

12. Leave space in the margins for additional notes

13. Write on only one side of the paper or note card

14. Watch for clues: repetition of words or topics, handouts with key phrases or
terms

15. Create networks, just in case you miss out important points during a
lecture

16. Use a second note page for listing questions and their answers

17. Begin each day’s notes with a heading that includes the name or number of
the course, instructor’s/speaker’s name, date and topic of the day