Academic Reading Kathleen T. McWhorter Brette M. Sember Eighth Edition ISBN 10: 1-292-02361-9 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02361-8 Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk © Pearson Education Limited 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affi liation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. ISBN 10: 1-292-02361-9 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02361-8 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed in the United States of America 1112222331461469253587397793111799 P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R AR Y Table of Contents 1. Strategies for Active Reading Kathleen T. McWhorter 1 2. Fundamental Comprehension Skills Kathleen T. McWhorter 37 3. Essential Vocabulary Skills Kathleen T. McWhorter 59 4. Evaluating the Author's Message Kathleen T. McWhorter 89 5. Evaluating the Author's Techniques Kathleen T. McWhorter 117 6. Reading and Evaluating Arguments Kathleen T. McWhorter 143 7. Patterns of Academic Thought Kathleen T. McWhorter 169 8. Reading and Evaluating Graphics and Online Sources Kathleen T. McWhorter 217 9. Using Writing to Learn Kathleen T. McWhorter 247 10. Reading in the Social Sciences Kathleen T. McWhorter 269 11. Reading in Business Kathleen T. McWhorter 293 12. Reading in the Liberal Arts,Humanities and Eduation Kathleen T. McWhorter 321 13. Reading in Mathematics Kathleen T. McWhorter 351 I 344703955 14. Reading in the Life and Physical Sciences Kathleen T. McWhorter 379 15. Reading in Technical and Applied Fields Kathleen T. McWhorter 405 Index 435 II strategies for active Reading thinking Visually... About Active Reading This photograph shows fans attending a sporting event. Can you sense their ex- citement and team spirit? The fans demonstrate active involvement with the team and the game. Fans often di- rect plays, criticize calls, encourage the players, and reprimand the coaches. They become part of the game, and the team is their team. In a similar way, active readers get m involved with the material they read. o c They think, question, challenge, and ws e criticize the author’s ideas. They try to e/N make the material their material. This m o chapter will give you some strategies for hr C becoming an active, successful reader. orts p S Learning Goals In this chapter, you will learn how to . . . Goal 1 Understand how reading Goal 6 Develop questions to guide your contributes to college success reading Goal 2 Assess how you learn Goal 7 Check your level of comprehen- sion Goal 3 Improve your concentration skills Goal 8 Use SQ3R to improve your learning Goal 4 Develop multilevel thinking skills Goal 5 Learn to preview and predict before reading From Chapter 1 of Academic Reading, 8th Edition. Kathleen T. McWhorter. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 StRAtegIeS foR ACtIve ReADIng aCTiVE REaDiNG:  The Academic Link When you think of college, you may think of attending classes and labs, completing assignments, studying for and taking exams, and writing papers. A closer look, however, reveals that reading is an important part of all these activities. Reading is at the core of a college education. aCTiVE REaDiNG:  The Career Link Whether in college or in your career, reading is the primary means by which you acquire ideas and gather information. Knowing how to read actively will not only help you earn better grades in college; it will also help you be effective in your chosen profession. ■ Reading and Academic Success Goal 1 Reading involves much more than moving your eyes across lines of print, Understand how more than recognizing words, and more than reading sentences. Reading is reading contributes thinking. It is an active process of identifying important ideas and comparing, to college success evaluating, and applying them. Have you ever gone to a ballgame and watched the fans? Most do not sit and watch passively. Instead, they direct the plays, criticize the calls, encour- age the players, and reprimand the coach. They care enough to get actively engaged with the game. Just like interested fans, active readers get involved. They question, challenge, and criticize, as well as understand. Table 1 contrasts the active strategies of successful readers with the passive ones of less success- ful readers. Throughout the remainder of this chapter, you will discover specific strate- gies for becoming a more active learner. Not all strategies will work for every- one. Experiment to discover those that work for you. ExErcisE 1 rEading activEly Consider each of the following reading assignments. Discuss different ways in which you could get actively involved with them. 1. Reading two poems by e.e. cummings for a literature class 2. Reviewing procedures for your next biology lab 3. Taking notes on an article in Time magazine assigned by your political science instructor ■ 2 StRAtegIeS foR ACtIve ReADIng TAbLe 1 Active versus PAssive reAding active Readers ... Passive Readers ... Tailor their reading to suit each assignment. Read all assignments the same way. Analyze the purpose of an assignment. Read an assignment because it was assigned. Adjust their speed to suit their purpose. Read everything at the same speed. Question ideas in the assignment. Accept whatever is in print as true. Compare and connect textbook material Study lecture notes and textbook separately. with lecture content. Skim headings to find out what an assign- Check the length of an assignment and then begin reading. ment is about before beginning to read. Make sure they understand what they are Read until the assignment is completed. reading as they go along. Read with pencil in hand, highlighting, Simply read. jotting notes, and marking key vocabulary. Develop personalized strategies that are Follow routine, standard methods. particularly effective. ExErcisE 2 listing activE rEading stratEgiEs Write a list of active reading strategies you already use. Add to your list several new strategies that you intend to begin using. Compare your list with a classmate’s. ■ ■ Assessing Your Learning Style Goal 2 People differ in how they learn and the methods and strategies they use to Assess how you learn learn. These differences can be explained by what is known as learning style. ✓ Tip for Education Your learning style can begin to explain why some courses are easier for you Majors than others and why you learn better from one instructor than another. You have your own Learning style also can explain why certain assignments are easy for you and distinctive learning other learning tasks are difficult. style, but the students you’ll be teaching will The following brief Learning Style Questionnaire will help you analyze how use all of the learning you learn and show you how to develop an action plan for learning what you styles listed on the next read. Complete and score the questionnaire before continuing with this section. few pages. to be an effective teacher, you will benefit not only Learning Style Questionnaire from understanding how different types of DIRECTIONS: Each item presents two choices. Select the alternative that best students learn, but also from learning to teach describes you. In cases in which neither choice suits you, select the one that is the same concept in closer to your preference. Write the letter of your choice on the line to the left different ways. of each item. 3 StRAtegIeS foR ACtIve ReADIng Part One 1. I would prefer to follow a set of a. language (words). a. oral directions. b. images (pictures). b. printed directions. 5. I prefer classes in which the 2. I would prefer to instructor a. a ttend a lecture given by a a. lectures and answers questions. famous psychologist. b. uses PowerPoint illustrations b. r ead an online article written and videos. by the psychologist. 6. To follow current events, I would prefer to 3. When I am introduced to some- a. listen to the news on the radio. one, it is easier for me to remem- b. read the newspaper. ber the person’s a. name. 7. To learn how to operate a ma- b. face. chine, I would prefer to a. listen to a friend’s explanation. 4. I find it easier to learn new b. watch a demonstration. information using Part twO 8. I prefer to 12. I prefer tasks that require me to a. work with facts and details. a. follow careful, detailed instruc- b. c onstruct theories and tions. ideas. b. use reasoning and critical analysis. 9. I would prefer a job that involves a. following specific instructions. 13. For a criminal justice course, I b. r eading, writing, and analyzing. would prefer to a. discover how and when a law 10. I prefer to can be used. a. s olve math problems using a b. learn how and why it became formula. law. b. d iscover why the formula works. 14. To learn more about the opera- tion of a digital camera, I would 11. I would prefer to write a term prefer to paper explaining a. work with several types of a. how a process works. cameras. b. a theory. b. understand the principles on which they operate. Part three 15. To solve a math problem, I would 16. To best remember something, I prefer to a. create a mental picture. a. draw or visualize the problem. b. write it down. b. study a sample problem and use it as a model. 4 StRAtegIeS foR ACtIve ReADIng 17. Assembling a bicycle from a 20. I enjoy diagram would be a. drawing or working with my a. easy. hands. b. challenging. b. speaking, writing, and listening. 18. I prefer classes in which I 21. If I were trying to locate an office a. h andle equipment or work on an unfamiliar campus, I with models. would prefer b. p articipate in a class discussion. a. a map. b. printed directions. 19. To understand and remember how a machine works, I would a. draw a diagram. b. write notes. Part FOur 22. For a grade in biology lab, I a. person presenting the idea. would prefer to b. ideas themselves. a. work with a lab partner. 26. When on a team project, I b. work alone. prefer to 23. When faced with a difficult a. work with several team personal problem, I prefer to members. a. discuss it with others. b. divide the tasks and complete b. resolve it myself. those assigned to me. 24. Many instructors could improve 27. I prefer to shop and do errands their classes by a. with friends. a. i ncluding more discussion and b. by myself. group activities. 28. A job in a busy office is b. a llowing students to work on a. more appealing than working their own more frequently. alone. 25. When listening to a lecturer or b. less appealing than working speaker, I respond more to the alone. Part Five 29. To make decisions, I rely on 31. I prefer to express my ideas and a. m y experiences and gut feelings through feelings. a. music, song, or poetry. b. facts and objective data. b. direct, concise language. 30. To complete a task, I 32. I prefer instructors who a. c an use whatever is available a. allow students to be guided by to get the job done. their own interests. b. m ust have everything I need at b. make their expectations clear hand. and explicit. 5