Reading strategies

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 1-4

Test preparation: Reading strategies

Why should you practice reading?

Why practice reading?

• Find useful information online
• Learn about different topics 
• Improve your vocabulary 
• Learn new sentence-structures 

Reading strategies: What do you use SKIMMING for?

1. To quickly get the general idea of the text.
2. To search for specific information.
3. Using context to find the meaning of a word.

Reading strategies: What do you use SCANNING for?

1. To quickly get the general idea of the text.
2. To search for specific information.
3. Using context to find the meaning of a word.

What do you pay attention to when SKIMMING?

1. The font type (lettertype).
2. The name of the author.
3. The title, subheadings, pictures.
4. The date of the text.

Reading strategies

• Skimming (aim = general idea of the text)
• Scanning (aim = specific information)
• Using context (using context to find the meaning of a word)

Skimming

Skimming is a reading technique that involves selectively focusing on the main ideas of a text.

• Look at pictures if present
• Read the title and subheadings
• Read the introduction and conclusion
• Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph

Use when you need to know the main idea of the text

Scanning

You use scanning when you are looking for specific information. First, read the question you need information on carefully.

• Look for a name, date
• Look for keywords
• When looking for a number, scan for numbers
• Read the subheadings to know in which part of the text the information can be found
• Stop reading when you have found what you are looking for

Scanning practice

• The next slide has text
• Scan for the word: jodhpurs
• If you have found it, raise your hand

Let's say, a test question is: Where does Lucy live?
What words would you scan for, specifically (think of how they are spelled)?

Using context

How do you know what a word means without looking it up?

• It can be explained further on in the sentence (definition)
• Word parts (do you know parts of the word?)
• There might be examples or pictures 
• Synonyms or antonyms (synonym = other word for) (antonym means the opposite)

Using context:

What are jodhpurs?

Try to find the meaning by looking at the CONTEXT.

When she was little, Lucy never dreamed she would become a professional surfer. She was too obsessed with horseback riding to think of much else. All her toys were horse-related. Her walls were covered with horse posters. When she got home from school, the first thing she did was run to the stable, where her parents kept Barnie, her stallion.

Over time, though, the work of keeping a horse started to wear her down. Cleaning the stable, brushing Barnie every day, shovelling hay—it was a lot of work. The summers were especially hard. Temperatures in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, could reach upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Who should be expected to wear jodhpurs and a riding helmet on a 100-degree day?” she asked her mother one time.

“Not me,” her mother replied. “I’m thankful I get to wear a skirt and a tank top!”

Context: What does the word "prudent" mean in this sentence:
She was prudent with the guest list, acting with great caution and care to only invite those she liked.

What does the word "procrastinated" mean in this sentence:

He procrastinated all day, playing video games and watching TV instead of doing homework.

What does the word "superfluous" mean in this sentence:

Adding M&Ms to the brownie was superfluous, extra and unnecessary.

What does the word "haughty" mean in this sentence:

She is so humble and modest that she could never be called haughty.

test-english.com