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Reading Strategies: An Overview
1. Before Reading
a. Thinking About the Themes or Main Ideas: “Write Before You Read,”
Prereading Discussion Questions
b. Previewing: Title, Author Background
Information, Illustrations, Figures,
Subheadings, Main Ideas of Beginning & Ending Sections
c. First Reading: Read through quickly and try to answer a main idea question or state the main idea
in one sentence.
2. During Reading
a. Understanding new vocabulary: Noting
unfamiliar words, phrases, and expressions, guessing what they mean, checking the dictionary if you’re still not sure
b. Annotating: Taking notes, breaking
text into sections & writing titles or subheadings, asking questions
3. After Reading
a. Summarizing: Writing the main ideas
of the reading in your own words
b. Reacting: Expressing your own ideas,
areas of agreement & disagreement, ways in which the text relates to your own experiences or knowledge
c. Applying: Using ideas from the reading
in your own writing, for discussion, or for further research
ACADEMIC ESSAY STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION:
- makes the reader want to continue reading
- establishes the topic of the essay (what
it’s about)
- establishes the writer’s position on
the topic, often in a thesis (=main idea or controlling idea) statement
- may be one or more paragraphs long
- May include general statements about the
topic, question(s) to be answered, an anecdote (short example or story), a quotation…
BODY:
*paragraphs provide support
for the thesis of the
essay
- each paragraph is limited to one main idea
- paragraphs develop the ideas in the essay
with illustrations, examples, etc.
- paragraphs contain specific details
- may contain any number of paragraphs
- Each paragraph or section should be explicitly
connected to both the main idea and to the other parts of the body (use words, phrases, or sentences to connect one idea to
the next)
CONCLUSION:
·
draws a conclusion based on the ideas
presented in the essay
·
often relates back to the thesis statement
presented in the introduction
·
signals the end of the essay
·
may be one or more paragraphs long
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