ACADEMIC ENGLISHACADEMIC ENGLISH[UWB 10102][UWB 10102]

Reading Skills IIReading Skills II

Siti Aisyah binti AkiahLanguage & Communication Department

Faculty of Science, Technology & Human Development

TEXT

PARAGRAPHS

(GROUP OF SENTENCES)

PARAGRAPH

TOPIC SENTENCE

SUPPORTING SENTENCES

CONCLUSION

PARAGRAPH

TOPIC SENTENCETOPIC SENTENCE• A sentence that captures the meaning of the entire

paragraph or group of sentences

• Tells what the passage is mainly about

• Usually the opening statement that informs the main ideas of the text

• In a well-written passage, one of its topic sentences will often serve as an encompassing idea for all of the other topic sentences

• Finding the topic sentence of a paragraph is a basic skill for identifying the main idea of a passage

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

• The ‘key concept’ or general idea of a text

• The most important information the author wants the readers to know

• In an informational text, almost every paragraph has a main idea

• A simple way to find out the main idea is to ask yourself what the passage is about

HOW TO LOOK FOR MAIN IDEA?HOW TO LOOK FOR MAIN IDEA?

1. Summarize the Passage- a one-sentence explanation when someone asks you

what the paragraph is about

2. Look for Repetition of Ideas- start looking for repeated words, phrases, ideas or

similar ideas

3. Identify the Topic Sentence

SUPPORTING DETAILSSUPPORTING DETAILS

• Details or sentences that work together to tell the main idea

• Can be in the form of descriptions, definitions, examples, elaboration, or exploration of the main idea

COMPONENTS OF A PARAGRAPHCOMPONENTS OF A PARAGRAPH

* Paragraph – a group of sentences with a main idea

• Topic Sentence – talks about the main idea• Supporting Detail – tell you more about the

main idea• Conclusion – the way to end up a paragraph

Components of a Paragraph

UNDERSTANDING SENSE RELATIONSHIPS:UNDERSTANDING SENSE RELATIONSHIPS:TEXT COHESIONTEXT COHESION

• Readers will be able to follow what the text is about better if the author writes in well connection from one main point to the other

• With the use of linking words or discourse markers (cohesive devices), sentences can be put together for easy comprehension

TYPES OF COHESIVE DEVICESTYPES OF COHESIVE DEVICES

FUNCTIONFUNCTION PURPOSEPURPOSE EXAMPLEEXAMPLESEQUENCE To show progression of

ideasFirst, Second, Next, Finally, After, Before, Firstly, Secondly

ADDITION To show addition of ideas As well as, In addition, Furthermore, and, Besides that, another, Apart from that, Moreover

CONTRAST To show different ideas In spite of, Despite, Although, Though, Even though, Nevertheless, but, In contrast, On the other hand, However

RESULT To show what happen after an action

Yet, Since, As, Hence, For that reason, As a result, Consequently, Therefore, Thus

CONCLUSION To show overall ending Finally, Therefore, To conclude, In conclusion, As a result, In the final analysis

ILLUSTRATION To show that an example will follow

For example, For instance, Specifically, Such as, To illustrate

UNDERSTANDING UNDERSTANDING CONTEXTUAL CLUESCONTEXTUAL CLUES

Figuring out the meaning of the word based on the clues in the text.

Types of Contextual Clues:-1. Examples2. Synonyms and definitions3. Antonyms and contrasts4. Restatement/sense of sentences5. Phrase or expression before and after the word

INFORMATION TRANSFERINFORMATION TRANSFER

Stimuli can come in forms of pie-charts, line graphs, bar charts and tables

Tips on answering questions with graphics1. Read / study the stimulus given carefully. You need

to have a good understanding of the general and specific ideas

2. Take notes or underline important point – the title, subtitles, headings, sub-headings, sub-headings, legend etc

3. Read and locate relevant information and relate to stimulus (if necessary)

SUMMARISING INFORMATIONSUMMARISING INFORMATION

What is a Summary?- Brief statement which explains the

important ideas of a text. Usually, a summary contains the main idea and 2 or 3 important details

How to do Summary Writing?- Read the text carefully- Look for the topic sentence

TIPS IN ANSWERING READING TIPS IN ANSWERING READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONSCOMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Read the passage twice to get the general idea of the text2. Underline the main idea of each paragraph or make short

notes at the side3. Read the questions carefully and underline the key words4. Locate the answer in the text5. Read the options carefully before you choose the best one6. Then read the text again with the options that you have

chosen