Lecture 2:

Academic Reading Techniques

By: Salsabeel Gamal

Before we start:
Let’s answer the following questions:
1. Think of the importance of mastering
READING as a skill for a specialized English
language student.
2. What is a TEXT for you? Is it only the actual
written piece of language?
3. What are your expectations by the end of this
course?
Before we start:
• Ask yourself why you’re reading a text (purpose). For
example, in the exam, you read to answer questions,
so it’s better to start reading the questions so your
mind would look for answers while reading the
passage.
• Annotate. Using annotation affects your
understanding of the text and increases the speed of
the second reading.
General Rules and Techniques for Academic
Reading:
1. Do not spend too much time reading the passage in
depth.
2. Do not worry if you are not familiar with the
information within the passage.
3. Do not spend too much time on questions you are not
so sure of their answers.
•Skim(reading for the main ideas) & Scan (reading in
detail to look for certain information) the reading passage
to determine the key concept(s) or the main idea(s).
The Main Idea Question:
 The main idea is what the author intends to
communicate through the passage (the
primary concept, the key notion…) .
 In organized passages, it is usually understood
through the topic sentences of the paragraphs
(the first sentence in a paragraph is the topic
sentence).
The Stated Details Question:
 These are the main details of the paragraphs
but asked about in different wording and you
need to answer them in a sort of paraphrase.
The Pronoun Referents Question:
 Look before the indicated pronoun. Decide
what noun is the main referent of the pronoun
in the question.
The Vocabulary Question:
 This question tests your competence in
understanding unfamiliar words.
 Sometimes, the new word is explained in the
passage.
 Other times, the structural clues give you a hint
about its meaning (same structure in MCQ, for
example).
 Distinguish the word parts to understand the
meaning.
The Vocabulary Question:
 Determine the meaning from the context.
 You should be able to provide a synonym or an
antonym for a specific word.
The Tone of the Passage Question:
 Tone here refers to the type of emotion the
author intends to communicate through the
passage (look for indications for emotions).
 Adjectives are common to describe the tone:
Factual, informational, explanatory, humorous
(author being funny), sarcastic (author making fun
of something or someone), impassioned (strongly
passionate about the thing he/she is writing being
right or wrong), angered, outraged,….
The Purpose of the Writer Question:

 It is the conclusion you as a reader can draw

from scanning the main ideas in the passage.
The purpose of the writer is the main idea of
the passage in a more general manner.
 The purpose of the writer could be: to
demonstrate, illustrate, make clear, outline,
describe, to criticize, to highlight, to inform, …
After Reading:
 What can you conclude from the passage?
 What is the final statement of the writer?
 Your point of view, agree or disagree?
 Relate the passage to the world.
Reference:
Philips, D. (2001). Longman complete course for
the TOEFL Test. Longman Inc.: New York.