Quick, critical reading is an essential skill that is used in standardized tests, jobs, schools, and more. Be it literature, essays, tech writing, or articles, this fully updated edition of Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides a complete close-reading tutorial in an easy
READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY 3rd Edition ® NEW YORK Copyright © 2005 LearningExpress, LLC All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Reading comprehension success in 20 minutes a day.—3rd ed p cm ISBN 1-57685-494-9 (paper) Reading comprehension—Problems, exercises, etc I Title II Title: Reading comprehension success in twenty minutes a day LB1050.45.C45 2005 428.4—dc22 2005047184 Printed in the United States of America Third Edition For information on LearningExpress, other LearningExpress products, or bulk sales, please write to us at: LearningExpress 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com Contents INTRODUCTION How to Use This Book ix PRETEST BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION LESSON Getting the Essential Information How to be an active reader, picking up clues in what you read 19 LESSON Finding the Main Idea Looking beyond the facts, considering the author’s motive 27 LESSON Defining Vocabulary in Context Dealing with unfamiliar words without a dictionary 33 LESSON The Difference between Fact and Opinion Distinguishing between what an author knows and what an author believes to be true 39 LESSON Putting It All Together Practice in combining the skills you’ve learned in Lessons 1–4 45 v – CONTENTS – STRUCTURE LESSON Start from the Beginning: Chronological Order Working through passages that start at the beginning and finish at the end of a sequence of events 53 LESSON Order of Importance Using the order in the writing to determine what is most important to the author 61 LESSON Similarities and Differences: Compare and Contrast Using comparisons to determine the author’s attitude 67 LESSON Why Do Things Happen? A Look at Cause and Effect The relationship between action and reaction 73 LESSON 10 Being Structurally Sound: Putting It All Together Reviews Lessons 6–9, including identifying the structure used; practice with combined structures 81 LANGUAGE AND STYLE LESSON 11 A Matter of Perspective: Point of View Purposes of first-, second-, and third-person writing 89 LESSON 12 Diction: What’s in a Word? Defining tone from the choice of words 95 LESSON 13 Style: It’s Not What They Say but How They Say It Sentence structure; degree of detail, description, and formality 101 LESSON 14 How They Say It, Part Two: Tone How tone influences meaning 107 LESSON 15 Word Power: Putting It All Together Reviews Lessons 11–14 111 READING BETWEEN THE LINES LESSON 16 Finding the Implied Main Idea Making inferences, determining an unstated purpose 119 LESSON 17 Assuming Causes and Predicting Effects Reading between the lines, implied action and reaction 125 LESSON 18 Emotional Versus Logical Appeals Being aware of strong and weak arguments 131 vi – CONTENTS – LESSON 19 Finding Meaning in Literature Identifying themes, working with poetry 137 LESSON 20 Drawing Conclusions: Putting It All Together Reviews Lessons 1–19 143 POSTTEST 149 APPENDIX A Preparing for a Standardized Test 169 APPENDIX B Additional Resources 175 vii How to Use This Book T his book is designed to help you improve your reading comprehension skills by studying 20 minutes a day for 20 days You’ll start with the basics and move on to more complex reading comprehension and critical thinking strategies Please note that although each chapter can be an effective skill builder on its own, it is important that you proceed through this book in order, from Lesson through Lesson 20 Each lesson builds on skills and ideas discussed in the previous chapters As you move through this book and your reading skills develop, the passages you read will increase both in length and in complexity The book begins with a pretest, which will allow you to see how well you can answer various kinds of reading comprehension questions now, as you begin When you finish the book, take the posttest to see how much you’ve improved The text is divided into four sections, each focusing on a different group of related reading and thinking strategies These strategies will be outlined at the beginning of each section and then reviewed in a special “putting it all together” final lesson Each lesson provides several exercises that allow you to practice the skills you learn To ensure you’re on the right track, each lesson also provides answers and explanations for all of the practice questions Additionally, you will find practical suggestions in each chapter for how to continue practicing these skills in your daily life The most important thing you can to improve your reading skills is to become an active reader The following guidelines and suggestions outlined will familiarize you with active reading techniques Use these techniques as much as possible as you work your way through the lessons in this book ix – HOW TO USE THIS BOOK – Becoming an Active Reader Highlight or underline key words and ideas Circle and define any unfamiliar words or phrases Record your reactions and questions in the margins Critical reading and thinking skills require active reading Being an active reader means you have to engage with the text, both mentally and physically ■ ■ ■ Highlighting or Underlining Key Ideas When you highlight or underline key words and ideas, you are identifying the most important parts of the text There’s an important skill at work here: You can’t highlight or underline everything, so you have to distinguish between the facts and ideas that are most important (major ideas) and those facts and ideas that are helpful but not so important (minor or supporting ideas) Highlight only the major ideas, so you don’t end up with a text that’s completely highlighted An effectively highlighted text will make for an easy and fruitful review When you jump back, you’ll be quickly reminded of the ideas that are most important to remember Highlighting or underlining major points as you read also allows you to retain more information from the text Skim ahead and jump back Mark up the text Make specific observations about the text Skimming Ahead and Jumping Back Skimming ahead enables you to see what’s coming up in your reading Page through the text you’re about to read Notice how the text is broken down, what the main topics are, and the order in which they are covered Notice key words and ideas that are boldfaced, bulleted, boxed, or otherwise highlighted Skimming through the text beforehand will prepare you for what you are about to read It’s a lot like checking out the hills and curves in the course before a cross-country race If you know what’s ahead, you know how to pace yourself, so you’re prepared to handle what’s to come When you finish your reading, jump back Review the summaries, headings, and highlighted information in the text Notice both what the author highlighted and what you highlighted By jumping back, you help solidify in your mind the ideas and information you just read You’re reminded of how each idea fits into the whole, how ideas and information are connected When you make connections between ideas, you’re much more likely to remember them Circling Unfamiliar Words One of the most important habits to develop is that of circling and looking up unfamiliar words and phrases If possible, don’t sit down to read without a dictionary by your side It is not uncommon for the meaning of an entire sentence to hinge on the meaning of a single word or phrase, and if you don’t know what that word or phrase means, you won’t understand the sentence Besides, this habit enables you to quickly and steadily expand your vocabulary, so you’ll be a more confident reader and speaker If you don’t have a dictionary readily available, try to determine the meaning of the word as best you can from its context—that is, the words and ideas around it (There’s more on this topic in Lesson 3.) Then, make sure you look up the word as soon as possible so you’re sure of its meaning Marking Up the Text Marking up the text creates a direct physical link between you and the words you’re reading It forces you to pay closer attention to the words you read and takes you to a higher level of comprehension Use these three strategies to mark up text: x ... lesson(s) in this book that teaches you about the reading strategy in that question – LEARNINGEXPRESS ANSWER SHEET – 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a b b b b b b b b b b... define any unfamiliar words or phrases Record your reactions and questions in the margins Critical reading and thinking skills require active reading Being an active reader means you have to engage... your reading comprehension skills by studying 20 minutes a day for 20 days You’ll start with the basics and move on to more complex reading comprehension and critical thinking strategies Please