Reading

• “Reading is the process of gaining

meaning from print”.
• Reading is understanding a written text
and extracting the required information
from it as efficiently as possible.
• So reading is nothing but a decoding
process.
We read any piece of text and understand the
text at three levels:
Read the lines
Pure, literal meaning
No in-depth understanding

Read between the lines

inferential
Recognizing the writer’s meaning

Read beyond the lines

Evaluative
relate our understanding
1. Pure literal meaning: the meaning of words
used.
2. Recognition of the writer’s meaning - In this
level, we read and recognise the intention of
the author in writing the given text.
3. Personal experience, - In this level, we relate
our understanding to our personal
experiences.
• Thus when we read, we read the lines, read
between the lines and also read beyond the
lines.
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
by Robert Frost
 Never judge a book by its
cover

A bad workman
always blames his
tools

There is no use
in crying over
spilt milk
 Reading Objectives
• Depending on the types of text and their
purpose for reading, there may be three
purposes for reading:
1. Literary Experience
2. Reading for Information
3. Reading to Perform a Task:
• Literary Experience :
• It involves reading novels, short stories, poems,
plays and essays.
• It requires exploration of the human condition and
the interplay among events, emotions and
possibilities.
• It requires knowing what and how an author might
write in a specific genre and forming expectations
of how the text will be organized.
• It involves looking for how the author explores or
uncovers experiences.
• It requires engaging in vicarious experiences
through the text
• Reading for Information :
• It involves reading articles in magazines and
newspapers, chapters in textbooks, entries of
business, encyclopaedias and catalogs, entire
books on particular topics.
• It requires awareness of the features found in
this type of prose such as charts, footnotes,
diagrams, subheadings and tables.
• It requires obtaining general information (e.g.,
scanning a magazine article or obtaining
information for a research project)
• Reading to Perform a Task:
• It involves reading documents such as bus or
train schedules, directions for games,
classroom and laboratory procedures, tax or
insurance forms, recipes, voter registration
materials, maps, referenda, consumer
warranties and office memos.
• It requires understanding of the purposes and
structure of documents, which guide the
selection, understanding and application of
information.
• It requires applying, not simply understanding
the information.
• Sometime same book may be read by different
persons for different purpose.
• A biography or an autobiography may be read
by one person for personal interest, to
understand the life story of an individual.
• The same book may also be read by a research
scholar, for research purposes.
• People’s interest in reading is so varied that
any text could meet any purpose.
 Educational
background
Physical
capability
Factors Affecting Mental
Reading Skills capability

Interest

Practice
• There are various factors which affect reading
speed; comprehension ability and overall reading
efficiency of a person vary from person to
person.
• Educational background: A well-educated
person may have a higher reading efficiency than
one who is a literate.
• Physical capability:
• Sometimes, some physical defect in some
persons may hinder their efficiency to read and
comprehend.
• Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
• Dyslexia
• Mental capability:
• People have different mental capabilities.
• While some are born intellectuals, others
acquire intelligence through their efforts.
• A higher mental capability will definitely lead
to a better reading efficiency and retention.
• Interest:
• If the reader finds reading material interesting,
he will definitely read it faster, understand it
and retain it for a longer time.
• On the other hand, if the reading material is
boring or not of interest to the reader, his
efficiency will be hindered accordingly.
• Practice:
• Reading speed is a by-product of practice and
time spent on reading.
• Avid readers enhance their reading skills by
more reading. It is rightly said, “Practice makes
a man perfect.”
• Components of Reading Skills The key
components of reading skills are
• reading speed,
• comprehension,
• efficiency and
• retention.
• Each of these components needs to be
understood and mastered to enhance the
reading skills.
• Reading Speed :
• It is the speed at which one can read words.
• It is calculated at the rate of words per minute.
• Reading speed is calculated by using the following
simple formula:
• Word a Minute (W.A.M.) = Total number of words read
× 60/Number of seconds actually taken to read such
material.
• Example: A paragraph contains 120 words and was read
carefully in 90 seconds, the reading speed will be 80
words per minute (120 × 60/90). Another person who
reads the same paragraph rapidly and completes the
reading in 15 seconds has the reading speed of 480
words per minute (120 × 60/15).
• On the basis of reading speed, we may classify
various kinds of reading into four categories. They
are as follows:
1. Careful reading: It is the slowest kind of reading.
In this kind of reading, the speed varies between
50 to 350 words per minute. This reading is
popularly used for analysis, problem solving,
proofreading and accuracy checking. The material
read is retained in the memory for a longer period.
2. Rapid reading: It is simple kind of reading where
the speed will range from 300 to 600 words per
minute. When the conceptual burden of the
material read on the reader is light or when the
retention of material for a longer period is not
required, rapid reading process is followed.
• Skimming: In this kind of reading, the eyes of
the reader go through all the material but
usually by skipping the details. When this kind
of reading is practiced by a reader, he can read
the material at rates as high as 1,500 words
per minute. It is done to grasp main ideas and
to review previously read material. Usually,
people skim newspapers, journals and
magazines due to busy schedules and shortage
of time.
4. Scanning: It is the fastest kind of reading
where the reading speed may reach up to
3,000 words per minute. Scanning the material
is being done for a finite and highly specific
purpose.
• In this, the purpose of reading is basically to
search for particular information. A person
proficient in scanning will see little or nothing
other than the information, which he (or she)
is seeking.
 Comprehension:
• It is the understanding of the read material.
• There is more or less an inverse relationship between
reading speed and understanding of material.
• If the reading speed is slower, comprehension rate will
be higher.
• A reader may improve his reading speed, without
compromising his ability to understand and
comprehend.
• It is also often observed that good and speedy readers
have good comprehension ability and poor readers
have poor comprehension ability.
• Comprehension of a person can be tested in two ways,
i.e., immediate recall and immediate inference.
• Reading Efficiency: It combines reading speed
and reading comprehension. Jacobs suggested
the following formula to calculate reading
efficiency score (Res):
• Res = Reading speed × Comprehension
• Example: If the reader with the reading speed of
80 words per minute understands and
comprehends 80% of the material read, reading
efficiency score will be 64.
• For another reader, having the reading speed of
480 words per minute, if the comprehension rate
is 60 percent, the reading efficiency score will be
288.
 Retention :
• Retention It refers to the ability to recall the read
material after a lapse of time. It can also be
termed as memory power.
• It is one of the essential skills, which needs to be
improved by a reader.
• Some people are good readers but their
retention power is poor, that is, they are unable
to learn and recall the read material.
• Reading as a skill
• Similar to listening, reading may also be a
‘passive’ process, where we relax and run your
eyes through the words on the page.
• Meaningful reading or reading with
understanding is considered as an ‘active’
process.
• Readers can understand a text only when they
actively read a passage.
•To read efficiently, one has to have:
• A purpose for reading
• Knowledge of the writing system of the language.
• Knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the
language.
• Ability to interpret.
• Knowledge of the world (experience/background
knowledge).
• When all these requirements are used efficiently
while reading, understanding will be effective and
meaningful.
• Thus, reading is a skill, which has to be acquired
through constant experimentation.
 • Types of Reading

Reading

Extensive Loud and

Intensive
Skimming Scanning Reading Reading
silent
reading
• Skimming
• When you need to buy a reference text book for
Financial management, Quality Management, you go to
a book store and see a rack full of books, with the same
title, but different authors.
• you do not have time to read the pages before deciding
on buying the book.
• Therefore, you quickly go through the
contents, title page and the details.
• By now, you have decided to buy one book.
This type of reading that you do in the book
store is known as ‘skimming’.
• Thus, skimming is looking over a text/book
quickly, in order to get a general or superficial
idea of the content”.
• Skimming is usually done to get the most
important information or gist.
• It is not important to understand each word in
detail.
• Examples of
• The Newspaper – to
quickly get the general
news of the day
• Magazines – to quickly
discover which articles
you would like to read
in more detail
• Business and Travel
Brochures – to quickly
get informed
• Scanning
• Scanning is a kind of reading where the reading is done
for very specific purpose.
• For example, while reading a text, editorial or an
article, you may suddenly come across a word that is
not familiar to you.
• Naturally, you would like to know the meaning of the
word, for your own benefit.
• So we get the dictionary and carefully find the
word. we see the spelling, pronunciation,
meaning and also the various uses of the same
word (if any).
• This type of careful reading to find out the
specific, clear details is known as ‘scanning’.
• In this case we do not just run our eyes across
the page, but look into the information for
specific details.
• Scanning is done to find a particular piece of
information.
• In scanning you have a question in your mind
and you read a passage only to find the
answer, ignoring unrelated information.
• A Google search list on the internet.
• A bus / flight schedule
• A conference guide
• Scanning is a reading technique to be used
when you want to find specific information
quickly.
Skimming is…
reading lots of key words
to
get the main idea of the
WHOLE text. Scanning is…
We call this “reading for Looking for one thing.
GIST” It could be a key word,
Main ideas, No Details a date, a number…
3 Extensive reading
• Our way of reading is influenced by the
purpose of our reading.
• Most of us have the habit of reading especially
when we are free or have a lot of leisure time.
• We might get hold of a novel, a comic strip or a
magazine.
• When we read for the pure pleasure of
reading, it is known as “extensive” reading.
• It is enjoyable, as well as informative. Here, we
practise rapid reading to get a global/overall
understanding of the matter.
• Intensive reading
• When we read shorter texts like a research
paper for getting specific details or
information, we read slowly with a lot of
concentration.
• This is known as intensive reading.
• Intensive reading includes reading accurately
to extract specific information.
• we can use intensive reading to understand
each word, number or fact.
• For example, we do intensive reading when
reading an insurance claim, a contract etc.
• Loud and silent reading
• Most of our day-to-day reading is done silently.
• Actually when you read aloud, our
concentration is divided between reading and
speaking. This makes reading difficult and may
cause problems in understanding the matter.
• There are situations when you may have to
read things aloud when others do not have
access to them — for example, notices and
circulars.
• you need to read the instructions aloud to
students or employees, so that there is no
confusion later.
• Apart from these extraordinary situations,
most of the time the natural way of reading is
silent reading, which is ideal and helps
comprehension.
S.no Reading Matter How to Read
Routine letter, leave Skim and skip judiciously
1 application, routine reports

2 Reading for speeches Read aloud and practice

Catalogues, price-lists,
3
circulars, annual reports, Skip and read related portion
association activities, market carefully
conditions, bills and vouchers
4 Instructions of consequence Read, mark, learn and digest

6 Relaxation and pleasure Fast reading , Take notes

7 Calculations and formulae Critical reading

General knowledge and Careful reading and
8
aware discussion
• SQ3R Technique of Reading
• SQ3R technique of reading was developed by
Robinson in his book “Effective Study”.
• SQ3R stands for the initial letters of the five
steps shown in the below
• Steps Expansion Abbreviation
• Step 1 Survey S
• Step 2 Question Q
• Step 3 Read R
• Step 4 Recall R
• Step 5 Review R
• Survey - Survey refers to a quick glance at the
title page, preface and chapter headings of a
text. It can give you an idea of the general
subject area
• By surveying, you will be able to gauge the
main ideas of the text.
• Besides, the author’s name, date, place of
publication and title page is also seen.
• The table of contents, preface or foreword in a
book would give you an idea of the themes
and how they are organised.
• A survey of the index or bibliography tells you
immediately whether the book contains what
you need.
• For example, choose the appropriate reference
book by a quick survey.
2. Question — The second step in the SQ3R
technique of reading is ‘question’.
• A survey of the text will surely raise a few
questions in our mind regarding the text.
• Is the book useful or relevant to my study?
• Does it provide some guidelines/information
on the subject at hand?
• When we go through the individual chapters,
you might have specific questions regarding
the topic. This will surely help you to gain some
insights into the text, topic and the author’s
comments.
• you will be surprised to see how your
questions are answered in the process of
reading and understanding the text.
• Therefore, don’t treat reading as an automatic
process. It should be conscious and deliberate,
effort, where you interact with the topic and
the author.
• Reading :
• After surveying and questioning, you begin the
actual reading. you need to develop a critical
approach to reading anything for that matter.
• Read the text over and over again, each time
with a different question and a different
purpose in mind. “I read it once and
understand everything” kind of attitude is
nothing but a myth.
• Hence, while reading for the first time, you just
focus on the main points or ideas and
supporting details. Make a note of the
important points that you have read.
• Recall - In this level, the reader recalls the
content after reading some portion of text.
• This is done by checking and amending notes.
This is done because every reading exercise
increases your background knowledge and you
must be able to connect the information
gained with the existing knowledge.
• Review - Reviewing is the process of checking
whether you have followed the earlier stages
promptly and efficiently.
• Have you surveyed the book, article or
magazine properly? Have you asked the
appropriate questions relating to the content?
• Have you read it critically and have you
recalled the most significant details or
information required for our study?
• These are questions that must be asked in the
final stage of reading. Review will sharpen your
critical ability, enable you to form your own
opinions on the topic and express them to
others.
• Inferring lexical and contextual
meaning;
• While reading, we may find few unfamiliar
words in context.
• Encountering a few unknown words may not
block general comprehension of the text.
• But when readers are not acquainted with
numerous words or the most essential ones in
the text, they will not able to understand
what is written.
• In such case learners use a variety of strategies such as
• ignoring unknown words,
• consulting a dictionary or
• guessing word meaning from context in order
to comprehend reading passages.
• Context clues are hints that the author gives to  help 
define a difficult or  unusual word. 
•The clue may appear within the same sentence , or
 it may follow in a preceding sentence.
1. Synonyms as Context Clues 
• The reader may discover the meaning of an
unknown word because it repeats an idea
expressed in familiar words nearby. Synonyms are
words with the same meaning.
• If you visit Alaska, you will likely see many
glaciers, or slow moving masses of ice.
• It was an idyllic day; sunny, warm and perfect for
a walk in the park.
• She hums continuously, or all the time, and it
annoys me.
• The dates are listed in chronological order. They
start at the beginning and end with the last event.
2. Antonym Clue: Antonyms are words with
opposite meanings. An opposite meaning
context clue contrasts the meaning of an
unfamiliar word with the meaning of a familiar
term. Words like “although,” “however,” and
“but” may signal contrast clues.
• When the light brightens, the pupils of the eyes
contract; however, when it grows darker, they
dilate.
• Emma had a lot of anxiety about the exam but I
had no worries about it.
3. DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION CLUE
• The new term may be formally defined, or
sufficient explanation may be given within the
sentence or in the following sentence.
• Clues to definition include “that is,” commas,
dashes, and parentheses.
• His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like
appearance, was frightening to see.
• The dudeen – a short-stemmed clay pipe – is
found in Irish folk tales.
4. EXAMPLE CLUES :
• An example might be found nearby when a
reader finds a new word, that helps to explain its
meaning.
• Words like including, such as, and for example,
point out example clues. Examples:
Piscatorial creatures, such as flounder, salmon,
and trout, live in the coldest parts of the ocean.
• “Piscatorial” obviously refers to fish.
b. Celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and
stars, have fascinated man through the
centuries. “Celestial” objects are those in the
sky or heavens.
• In the course of man’s evolution, certain
organs have atrophied. The appendix, for
example, has wasted away from disuse.
“Atrophied” means “wasted away.”
6. ANALYSIS OR STRUCTURE CLUE The parts
used to construct a word can be direct clues
to meaning.
• Knowledge of prefixes, roots, and suffixes can
aid a reader in using this type of context clue.
• Examples:
a. The story is incredible. The root cred means
“to believe,’ and the prefix in means “not.”
Therefore, if a story is incredible, it is
unbelievable.
b. The somnambulist had to be locked in his
bedroom at night for his own safety.
If a reader knows the meaning of ambular (walk)
and somn (sleep) and sees the sentence, the
reader may realize that a “somnambulist” is a
sleepwalker.
• Comprehension
• Comprehension is a test of reading passages.
• A passage is an extract from some authentic
and scholarly work of repute.
• A passage will consist of one or more
paragraphs chosen at random but with a sense
of continuity
Read the following passage carefully and answer the
questions given below.
Among the chief sources of education available to
Tagore, was, a quiet garden adjoining his family house.
Here he used to spend much of his time, absorbing the
peace and beauty of nature. It was through this early
contact with nature that he acquired the serenity of
mood that distinguished him all his life. It was in this
garden that he came to understand the principle of
harmony that was at work throughout the Universe. At
the same time, he formed the habit of observing and
reflecting on things.
1) How did Tagore spend much of his time in the
garden?
2) How did the garden near Tagore's house serve
him?
3) What did Tagore come to understand about
universe?
4) Give the antonym of .
a) ugliness
b) chaos from the passage
5) Give a suitable title
1) Ans :- absorbing the peace and beauty of
nature
2) Ans :- as a chief source of education
3) Ans :- The principle of harmony.
4) Ans :-
a) beauty
b) harmony
• Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story or a
topic such as the beginning, middle, end to the ability to retell the
events within a given text in the order in which they occurred.
• Beginning
• Once upon a time
• Once there was
• In the beginning
• First of all
• Middle
• Meanwhile
• After that
• Suddenly
• End
• In the end
• Finally
• After all.
1.Find all of the sequencers in the following
sentences:
Here are the steps to make a tasty sandwich.
First, you need to buy bread from the bakery.
Then, you can go to the butcher and buy sliced
turkey. You can go to the market and buy fresh
lettuce and tomatoes. Finally, you can take all of
the ingredients home and prepare the sandwich.
•First, buy, finally
•First, then, and
•First, then, finally
•First, then, after that
2. ___________ the alarm wakes me up. Then, I
take a shower. After that, I eat my breakfast and
go to school.
• Finally
• Then
• After that
• First
3. The following sentence needs sequencers. Add
sequencers in the correct spot in the following
sentence:

• I'll buy coffee and go to the movie.

• I'll buy first coffee and go then to the movie.
• First, I'll buy coffee and then go to the movie.
• Then, I'll buy coffee and first go to the movie.
• I'll buy coffee and first go to the movie.
4. First, do your homework. _____________, you
can see your friends.
• After it
• After that
• After this
• After them
5.Jude's mom has advice for her son:
"First, Jude needs to go to school. Next, he should
get a job________, he should get married."
• Finally
• Finaly
• Final
• Finely
6._______, I heard a loud boom. ________, the
lights went out. _________, I tried to use my TV,
but it was dead. I wondered what was happening.
________, I realized I had forgotten to pay my
electricity bill.
• First, After that, Finally, Then
• Then, After that, First, Finally
• First, Next, Then, Finally
• First, Finally, Next, Then
 7.Let me tell you about how terrible last night was.
_________, I lost my wallet. I was so upset I almost
cried. __________, I spilled a drink on my favourite
shirt. The night got even worse. When it was time to
leave, I realized it was raining and I had forgotten my
umbrella and didn't have money for a cab. I walked
home for one hour in the rain. What a terrible night.
• First, Finally
• Next, Finally
• First, After that
• After that, Next
 Coherence and cohesion
Cohesion relates to the micro level of text,
eg words and sentences and how they join
together.
Cohesion relates to macro level features of
a text which help it to make sense as a
whole, logically ordered, connected, clear
and understandable.
 Methods of achieving cohesion:
• Reference words
• Repeated words
• Transition
• Substitution
• Ellipsis
• References as cohesive devices: