PREVIEWING

Nisrina Nuraliyyah Muliawan

2206083760

Previewing is a strategy that readers use to recall prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading.
Previewing is a strategy readers use before and during reading and the first step in effectively reading
any piece of material. Previewing also gives readers the “big picture” of what is in store for them. It gets
readers thinking about the material and their own experiences with it and also helps readers to better
understand the information they are about to read and helps them get interested in the reading.

Grellet (1996) defines that previewing is a very quick reading technique to find out some information
about a text. This technique involves using the title of a text, the table of contents, the index, the
appendix, the preface of the author of publisher, headings or subtitles of chapters and paragraphs,
information on the back cover, and acknowledgement. 

According to research, previewing a text can improve comprehension (Graves, Cooke, & LaBerge, 1983,
cited in Paris et al., 1991). Previewing a text helps readers prepare for what they are about to read and set
a purpose for reading.

The genre determines the reader’s methods for previewing:

 Readers preview nonfiction to find out what they know about the subject and what they want to
find out. It also helps them understand how an author has organized information.

 Readers preview biographies to determine something about the person in the biography, the time
period, and some possible places and events in the life of the person.

 Readers preview fiction to determine characters, setting, and plot. They also preview to make
predictions about story’s problems and solutions.

Previewing is often use when readers preview a text before they read, they first ask themselves whether
the text is fiction or nonfiction.

 If the text is fiction or biography, readers look at the title, chapter headings, introductory notes,
and illustrations for a better understanding of the content and possible settings or events.

 If the text is nonfiction, readers look at text features and illustrations (and their captions) to
determine subject matter and to recall prior knowledge, to decide what they know about the
subject. Previewing also helps readers figure out what they don’t know and what they want to
find out.

Previewing a text is similar to watching a movie trailer. A successful preview for either a movie or a
reading experience will capture what the overall work is going to be about, generally what expectations
the audience can have of the experience to come, how the piece is structured, and what kinds of patterns
will emerge. Previewing engages your prior experience and asks you to think about what you already
know about this subject matter, or this author, or this publication. Then anticipate what new information
might be ahead of you when you return to read this text more closely.

There are several steps readers should follow when previewing a reading passage :

1. Read the Title.

The title often will give readers the topic or subject of the reading passage. As readers read the title, they
will begin thinking about the reading passage. “What is the passage about?” “What kind of information
will I learn?” “What do I already know about this subject?”

2. Read the First Paragraph.

The first paragraph often will give readers the main idea of the reading selection. As readers read the first
paragraph, continue thinking about the material. “Does the first paragraph give me any more specific
information about the reading?” What do I know about this subject?” If the selection is very short, such as
a single paragraph, readers need to read just the first one or two sentences.

3. Read the Last Paragraph.

The last paragraph often sums up what the author has to say.

4. Look Over the Passage.

Look over the passage might give readers additional information about the main idea.
 REFERENCES

Kashyap, A. & Dyquisto, E. (2020). Writing, Reading, And College Success: A First-Year

Composition Course For All Learners. San Fransisco: Libretexts.

Ikhfi Imaniah. (2022). A Critical Review Of English Essay Writing In Studies Of Critical
Thinking, Reading Habits, And Sentence Structure Mastery. Indonesian EFL Journal, 8(1),
53–62.