Unit 4

Reading and Understanding

4.1          Reading Comprehension

Reading is the cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning from them. It is the ability to understand text, decode its meaning and compare with what the reader already knows.

Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary are very essential to be a good reader. Attention span, the ability to understand the meaning of a word from context, the ability to co-relate thoughts and ideas, the ability to follow the flow of words, and the ability to identify various literary devices are the fundamental skills required for efficient reading.

We should make our pupil an efficient reader. An efficient reader is like a bus driver who knows when to go slow, when to accelerate speed, how to negotiate hair-pin bends on ghat roads etc. An efficient reader knows there are different levels of comprehension too as these are different reading materials. To become an efficient reader, one should be able to employ different study techniques Reading is an act of communication between writer and reader. It is an act in which the reader grasps the information the writer passes on to him.

Comprehension is the correct association of meanings with word symbols. It is the selection of the correct meaning suggested by the text It is a thinking process. It is thinking through reading. Students should lead and get complete meaning. There are two situations that arise while reading a passage. The pupils may find a reading comprehension passage difficult for them. The teacher should know about the difficulties beforehand and prevent their occurrence.

Some common difficulties are:

• Students are not able to concentrate on what they read.
• They are not able to recognize words. Noisy surroundings, inadequate lighting and uncomfortable seating arrangements.
• Unfamiliarity of the subject matter (eg) a child from a city may not understand a passage on farming and a village child about road signal systems.
• In effective questioning and answering techniques.
• Lack of appropriate guidance by the teacher Steps for the comprehension skills. These are various steps followed for the construction of comprehension.

Reading for the main idea:

Pupils should develop skills to identify the main idea or the central idea in what they read. This skill is necessary to get the main idea, identify the theme and get the implied meanings of the paragraph.

Activities to identify the main idea:

• Underlining key words.
• Selecting the topic sentence.
• Writing the title.
• Turning the sub heads or subtitles into a question (The answer to the question may give the main idea of the paragraph)
• Locating the function words that tie the sentence together. e.g then, therefore, but, etc.

Reading for detains:

Along with reading for and stating the main idea the pupils must learn to read for details.

Activities to accomplish reading for details ask the pupils to;

• Look at a picture and then describe what they see at the picture.
• Note the details in a paragraph after stating the main idea.
• Identify irrelevant sentences.
• Analyse the paragraph to make a formal outline.
• Carryout simple directions on how to do something.
• Respond to directions.
• Elicit answers concerning the details, develop chart, diagram or map of the sequence of events.

Reading for organization:

Good readers will understand the organisation of what is being read. They arrange the ideas in logical order. The key helps to recall the information is organization. Reading the content areas depends upon proficiency in organisation skills. A Good reader knows how paragraphs are organized.

Activities that help pupils learn in a logical order what they are reading:

• Organizing information about a given subject (eg) characteristics of animals)
• Grouping a series of details about a main idea.
• Developing an outline for a story with heading and subheadings.
• Arranging records, directions or ideas in sequential orders.
• Arranging various bits of information about a selected topic and grouping them into an information story.

Reading for summarising and outline:

Summaries help to pressure the essential facts and ideas in capsule form. They retain important information. So the pupils should develop summarizing skill. Outlining is another way of organisation. It is closely related to summarising activities to develop summarizing skills. Summarise a message to be sent as a telegram. Selecting the main idea from the choices you give them. Do exercise for writing an outline. Read a small poem and select the best summary from the choices you give them.

Improving Reading Comprehension Skills

Reading comprehension is a skill, and like other skills it can be improved over time. With reading comprehension, practice is the mantra, the more you read the better you'll be at understanding a text. Below are the seven main strategies which will help you hone your comprehension skills:

1. Improve your vocabulary
2. Come up with questions about the text you are reading
3. Use context clues
4. Look for the main idea
5. Write a summary of what you read
6. Break up the reading into smaller sections
7. Pace yourself

1. Improve your vocabulary

The basic unit of a sentence is a word. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand the meaning of words in order to understand the meaning of sentences and ultimately the subtle meanings within the text. To improve your vocabulary, you can:

• Take an online vocabulary quiz to assess your current level of vocabulary understanding
• Use flashcards to quiz yourself on words you don’t know once or twice a week
• Make a point to use newly learned words in verbal and written communication
• Read as much as possible to improve your ability to guess what a word means in a certain context
• Make a list of unfamiliar words as you read and look them up in the dictionary

2. Come up with questions about the text you are reading

If you ask yourself questions while reading a text, it will help you get more invested and allow you to get a deeper understanding of the text. It will also allow you to explore themes, motifs and other components of text that you otherwise wouldn’t inquire about. The following are examples of questions you could pose as you read:

• Why was that location chosen to start the book by the author?
• What kind of relationships do characters share with each other?
• What do we know about the main character up to this point in the book?
• What are the themes consistently recurring throughout the book? What do they mean?

The more specific your questions, the more likely you will gain further insight into the text and its meaning.

3. Use context clues

Using context clues is a great way to understand what you are reading even if you don’t know all the vocabulary being used. Context clues can be found in the words and sentences surrounding the word that you aren’t familiar with. To use context clues, you can focus on the key phrases or ideas in a sentence and deduce the main idea of a sentence or paragraph based on this information. You can also look for nearby words that are synonyms or antonyms of the word you don’t know.

4. Look for the main idea

Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help you determine the importance of the article. Understanding why the author has written what he has written will help you develop a deeper understanding of the text. While reading, pause after every paragraph and try to decipher the central idea behind the paragraph. Then, try to use your own words and describe the paragraph for further understanding.

5. Write a summary of what you read

Summarisation is a great way to increase your knowledge of what you have read. Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your own words. Summarizing allows you to determine if you truly understand what you have read and better remember what you have read in the long term.

6. Break up the reading into smaller sections

Breaking up a text into small sections is a great way of understanding the text more easily if the text is complicated. For example, you could read two paragraphs at a time and then pause to quickly summarize what you just read in your mind. Breaking up what you are reading can help you feel less overwhelmed and give you a better chance of truly comprehending the information in the text.

7. Pace yourself

Set realistic goals for yourself while reading by pacing yourself and allowing yourself some room to breathe. Literary texts require a deep understanding of the subject matter and pacing will be especially helpful for understanding literary texts. Set a goal for yourself that you know you can meet each day. For example, instead of trying to read a full hefty book in two days, try reading 4 chapters in one day. This allows you to reach your goals and also provides adequate time for you to process what you are reading between each session.

Tips to make the most of your reading comprehension practice

Reading is a fundamental part everyday life. These tips can help you make the most of your time when practicing your reading skills.

1. Eliminate distractions: When you are distracted, your ability to comprehend what you are reading is negatively impacted. When reading—even if it’s a simple email—the focus should be solely on the text as concentration is an essential element of the cognitive process. This will help you learn to hold your attention on what you read and enable you to know whether you understand what you are reading.

b.     Read a book below your reading level: Starting with books below your reading level will allow you to develop a baseline of your reading comprehension and build on that. Instead of starting with books that contain complicated subjects, read something that interests you, is comfortable and that you can easily comprehend. You can take online quizzes to determine your current reading level.

c.      Re-read text to ensure understanding: If you finish a sentence or paragraph and realize that you don’t understand what it was trying to convey, take the time to re-read it until you do. Try to read more slowly the second time around and look up definitions for any words you don’t know the meaning of.

d.     Read aloud: Reading aloud comprises of both visual and audio cognitive processes which helps you with your reading comprehension practice. It also forces you to slow down and gives you more time to process what you are reading.

4.2        Difference Between Abstract and Summary

Abstract

An abstract is a short yet concise account that summarizes a larger work. It is written generally in contexts of a research paper, thesis, dissertation, etc. An abstract is usually written at the beginning of a document and it acts as a review of the whole document along with its introduction. It consists of information about the background, purpose, results, and contents of the work presented in the document. There are four elements in a typical abstract: research focus, research methods, results, main conclusions and recommendations.

An abstract can act as a stand-alone entity. Many organizations use abstracts as the basis for selecting research. In addition, most of the research articles available online are in the form of abstracts; the readers can decide whether they want to purchase the article by reading the abstract. Thus, it can be said that abstracts acts as the deciding factor of whether or not the whole article will be read by the readers.

There are basically two types of abstracts: descriptive abstracts and informative abstracts. Descriptive abstract or limited abstracts simply provide a description of the content of the abstract (purpose, method, scope). Informative abstracts also contain the description of the content, but it also contains the results, conclusions and the recommendations of the author.

Summary

A summary can be defined as a brief and condensed statement or account containing all the central points of a text. It can also be called an abridged version of a text. Since it only contains the central and most important concepts, it is considerably shorter than the original text.

The term summary can refer to several things. A summary can include synopses of a book, article, film or play. Here, the outline of the plot can be termed as a summary. An executive summary is a type of summary written at the beginning of a business report, proposal and plan; it summarizes the entire content, highlighting the central points of the document.

When you are writing a summary of a given text or documents, one should always use their own words; a brief quote from the original text may be included as well. Since the main purpose of this type of summary is condensing the text, it should contain the main ideas and concepts of the original text clearly and concisely. Your opinions and criticism of the original text should not be written in the summary. In addition, it shouldn’t contain things like examples, details or any unnecessary information.

Difference Between Abstract and Summary

1. Definition

• Abstract is a concise summary found at the beginning of a research article.
• Summary is a brief statement or account of the main points of a longer work.

2.     Interconnection

• Abstract is a type of a summary.
• Summary can include a synopsis, abstract or an executive summary of various types of documents.

3.     Content

• Abstract must always include the research purpose, method, results, conclusion and recommendations.
• Summary should contain the focal points and key concepts of the original work.

4.3        Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing can be defined as the presentation of ideas and information in one's own words while at the same time acknowledging where they come from (the source text). By using your own words, you can demonstrate your understanding of the text and your ability to convey the information contained in the text.

There are five steps involved in the paraphrasing process, they include:

1. Read the original text until you understand it.
2. Note down key concepts.
3. Write down your version of the text without looking at the original.
4. Compare your paraphrased text and make adjustments to ensure that it does not remain too similar. Edit your work so it is written in an academic manner and it flows with the rest of your assignment.
5. Make sure you have included a citation.

Some techniques to be kept in mind while paraphrasing:

1. Start your first sentence at a different point from the original source.
2. Use synonyms.
3. Change the form of words.
4. Change the sentence structure to convey information.
5. The sentences from active to passive voice.
6. Use indirect speech wherever possible.

When you make a paraphrase, you take a particular text or document and rewrite it in your own words. Putting it in your own words does not mean changing or rearranging a few words of the author to avoid plagiarism, try to put your source aside and repeat a sentence or paragraph you just read, as if explaining it to someone else. Paraphrasing is different than summarizing because a summary focuses on something specific, a very short and key part of the text (such as a phrase, sentence, or paragraph). While paraphrasing you will need to indicate when you pass someone else's text by citing your sources correctly.

Uses of Paraphrasing:

1. Paraphrase if you want to introduce a writer's position, but his first words are not optional.

2. Paraphrase if you support a particular point and need to draw somewhere in the text that supports your point - for example, where one paragraph in the source applies in particular.

3. Paraphrase where you want to present an author's perspective on a different topic for yourself or another author; you may deny certain points written in your own words after you have transferred your information.

4. Paraphrase where you want to comment on a specific example used by another author.

5. Paraphrase where you need to present information that may not be asked.

4.4       Precis Writing

The term precis comes from a French word “précis”, which can be translated as "precise, clear, up to the point”. Therefore, the word precis in the context of writing means a summary of any writing piece, be it a book, an article, or a novel. What is typical while writing a precis is the outline of the main points and arguments presented in the given text. A precis does not contain a deep or critical analysis of the text, but it nevertheless objectively explains the situation narrated in a text.

Precis vs. Summary

A precis and a summary are quite similar to each other but they do contain certain major differences which set them apart. Below are the two main differences between a precis and a summary:

1. A summary consists of a number of brief statements which covers the main points of the text. It has no pre-defined word limit. A precis on the other hand, has its own title and should be 1/3 of the total words of the original passage.
2. A summary is a sort of general overview of the contents of a passage. Here only the main events in the passage are discussed. A precis, however, focuses on every detail and analyses a particular situation.

Rules

Below are the fundamental rules to be followed while writing a precis:

1. Understand the theme of the passage

The first and the most important thing is to thoroughly read and comprehend the purpose of the passage. Once you understand the theme, it is easier to grasp the key ideas in the passage, which will help you remember them while writing the precis.

b.     No copying from the passage

It is important in precis writing to use your own words and not copy from the passage. If you find certain sentences in the passage that you would like to incorporate in your precis, you need to understand them and then craft that sentence in your own words. Key words can be used but entire sentences should always be avoided.

c.      Carry clarity and conciseness

One of the most fundamental rules of writing a precis is clarity. The sentences should be clear, concise, meaningful and too the point. They should reflect the central ideas from the passage.

d.     A reflection of your intelligence

The precis should be written in such a way that it flaunts your writing skills. The use of language, vocabulary and structure of sentences should be perfect. A good precis will provide the readers a good impression of your writing skills and it will also make the precis comprehensible to the readers.

e.     Be original

Each and every sentence in the precis should be one's own creation with no plagiarism whatsoever. If you find a significant idea or motif from the passage that you want to include in your precis, read the passage again and again and try to re-construct the idea from your memory using your own words.

f.        Use of indirect speech

A precis must always be written in indirect speech since it employs the perspective of a third person. Direct speech leaves a personal impact and should be avoided while writing a precis.

g.     Use facts and statistics

To maintain the credibility of the text, try to include all the numbers and facts you read in the text. It will also help you enhance the quality of your writing and will build the interest of the reader in your precis. Therefore, any of the facts and numbers should not be missed while writing the Precis.

h.     An analysis of the various sections

Divide the text into sections and try to analyse each section carefully. A careful analysis of each section will let you draw in closer to the main themes and concepts in the text. Further, you can only mention the crucial content of the passage, if you have read it thoroughly and have identified the areas which carry high proportional value.

i.        An interpretation of the original passage

Always conclude the passage by providing your own understand instead of the writer's perspective. The conclusion has to be from your own point of view but should still be in the third person as if spoken by a third party. It is your interpretation of the text that gives meaning to the precis.

j.        The size of the precis

The size of a precis should always be one third of the original passage.  While writing the precis one should always be aware of the word count but one should also be able to retain the individuality of the passage in the prescribed word limit.

Precis Format

A precis should be short and concise and comprises of three parts: The introduction, the main body and the conclusion.

The Introduction

• The introductory sentence of a precis should mention the author’s name along with the article/book title. It should also include the date of publishing in parenthesis. After that, the topic that you want to discuss in your precis has to be elaborated using a few key words. Extravagant detailing of the topic should be avoided.

• In the introduction, try to include a rhetorical verb outlining the author’s primary purpose (e.g., “assert,” “argue,” “deny,” “refute,” “prove,” disprove,” “explain”). This will give a strong definition to the facts and concepts you are about to present in the main body of your precis.

• It is important to include the thesis statement of the text in the introduction. A thesis statement is the main idea or crux of a particular text. This thesis statement will be elaborated in the main body by providing facts and evidences in its favour.

The Main Body

• The main body should include clarification of how the author formulates and further explains the main themes in the text. It should be informative enough to incite the reader's interest and short enough to retain that interest.

• It should include a sentence that states the purpose of the author in writing the text. Phrases such as “in order” are helpful in developing this sentence.

• Describe how the author establishes his connection with the readers. Always keep the audience for whom you are writing in mind while writing a precis. This includes the using vocabulary and structuring sentences according to the needs of your audience.

• All key points and arguments must be contained in this section.

The Conclusion

• Present a finishing remark of 2-3 sentences to shed light on the author’s intended idea for the book or passage.

• Give a 1-sentence restatement of the major claim which the author used to develop their evidence in the reading.

Steps for Writing a Precis

Below are the steps involved in writing a precis

Step 1: As discussed, the very first step of Precis writing is to form a clear understanding of the passage. You should fully acquaint yourself with the subject first in order to get the meaning behind a passage before starting to write a precis.

Step 2: While reading the content, make sure you highlight the important points of the passage. It will help you in keeping track of the important information that needs to be written in your Precis. Also, you should omit the information, which you feel is not important for your Precis.

Step 3: Further, you need to remember that logical ordering is highly important when it comes to precis writing. Additionally, a logically organised text helps in making things much clearer to your audience and they tend to understand your take in a processed way.

Step 4: If you have some names to be mentioned in your Precis, remember, they should be with the designations, as it helps to increase the credibility of the content. In case, the designations are not mentioned in the passage, you can write the first name.

Step 5: Moving on, the word count of the passage should be taken into account, because one- third of the same has to be written in Precis. Therefore, conducting a word count before beginning the precis could be beneficial.

Step 6: Now, prepare the draft of your Precis by jotting all the important points together. While writing always remember to maintain the flow of your concepts and you should not miss any important information you have gathered while reading the passage.

Step 7: Before finally submitting your Precis, make sure you review all the details carefully. Also, you must do a thorough check of your grammatical and structural errors. Furthermore, one thing not to miss is to mention the total count in a bracket after the end point of your Precis.