Choosing the right material.

a) Make a wise chose of the sources with efficiency give positive results.

b) Save time.

c) Use different techniques to read. (Scanning and Skimming.)

Using external resources.

Uses advice from knowledgeable people.

Use bibliographies.

Library catalogues.

Using resources within text.

Linear and non-linear text.

An example of a linear reading path might be a textbook, without pictures, where the reader is led to assume cause-and-effect sequences, for example. Speech is also a linear path because the path is more "set" according to Kress.

An example of a non-linear reading path might be a text that has images alongside it. Kress argues that this different mode yields a different affordance; the visual image allows for open interpretation. A concrete example on paper might be a diagram such as a flow chart or graphic organizers. In such multi-modal texts, the reading path is much less linear and more open to the reader's interpretation.

Non-linear elements.

References apparatus: all the parts of the text that help the reader to locate information or predict what the text contains.

Figures: includes all the information (diagrams, tables, maps etc.)

Graphic convention: layout, punctuation, type face use of symbols and so on.

Titles and headings.

Get students to predict from the title the likely content of the book, article, etc.

Get students to choose, from titles alone, the book/articles they would consult first on given topic.

Present students with an article or chapter that has headings at various levels.

The blurb.

May include press comment, but normally consist of the writer’s own estimation of the book’s purpose.

Activities to draw attention to blurbs.

Supply a list of titles, or extracts from text, and selection of blurbs.

Task: match the blurbs with the right titles/extracts.

Supply a selection of blurbs.

Task: select the most likely books for particular purpose; eg which book would be of most use if you wanted to find out how to repair your car yourself?

Supply a selection of blurbs + titles, dealing with similar fields at different levels.

Task: match prospective readers with book, eg which book would be suitable for a ten-year-old schoolboy? A university student? A housewife?

Supply some blurbs.

Task: Study them in detail; extracting from them matters of fact, b matters of intention (which may or may not be achieved), c matters of opinion, and each chapter contains a wealth of stimulating exercises.

Biographical information about the writer.

This often appears on books jackets or, in paperbacks, on the page preceding the title page. It can be valuable in indicating the writer's background and position, and thus her qualification for writing the work.

The summary, running titles, tables of contents, list of figures.

All these are aids to estimating the suitability of a text and locating content within it. Articles are often preceded by a summary. In books, summaries occasionally precede chapters.

Some task.

Supply several books that provide summaries in different forms.

Supply a table of contents and set of question.

Supply a table of contents of a book where topic X is likely to be mentioned in several chapters.

Preliminary material: foreword, preface, introduction.

The usefulness of these sections depends on what use the writer makes of them; they often include statement of purpose and sometimes outline the writer's qualifications for writing the book.

Index.

Skimming through an index is another short cut in deciding whether a book suits your purpose. Is important that students know that some books have several indexes and practice locating terms in the appropriate index.

Bibliography.

It is an indicator of the scope of the text. It also gives some idea of how up to date the contents are.

1) Supply a carefully chosen page of a bibliography.

2) Supply pages from several different bibliographies and brief description of different readers/purpose.