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1 Reading for academic purposes

Text Reading for academic purposes, Text 1a (Reading texts pp.133-136)

Text 1a contains information on how to read for academic purposes more effectively.

Task 1 Reading for general understanding

The exercise below will give you practice in reading for general understanding. It is therefore

important that you do not stop to look up any of the unknown words (you will get a fuller understanding of difficult vocabulary after completing some of the later tasks). The text in the part of Reading texts consists of six sections. The table on the next page contains seven headings that are possible summaries of the content for each section.

1.1 Read the instructions below.

a Read the summary headings and underline the most important word or words in each one. If

necessary, your teacher will explain the meaning of the language used. b Read Section I. of the text and label the appropriate summary heading in the table. c Discuss your answer with other students and/or your teacher.

Study tip: Reading for general meaning is a very important skill that will help you deal with the amount of reading at university. See Skimming in the Introduction on page IX. Summary headings Linking effective reading to vocabulary acquisition Reading widely and critically Good reasons for reading The difficulties of reading academic texts The motivation behind reading Acquiring good reading habits The EAP reading syllabus

1.2 Now read and match Sections 2}-6 to the appropriate summary headings in the table. One

of the summary headings does not need to be used.

Sections Task 2 Reading for specific details

2.1 Read Text 1a again and find the answers to the following questions.You will use some of

your answers to complete another task later in the unit. 1. What type of reading material is Bassett (2010) concerned with?

2. Bassett believes the key to the best understanding of a text is…

2 3. The greater the reader's reading ability, the greater their…

4. What are the two main criteria for text selection for an EAP course?

Study tip: Being able to read for specific detail is another important skill. See Scanning, Search reading and Careful reading in the Introduction on page X. 5. When are EAP students more likely to read subjected-related material?

6. What does a critical reader use to assess the value of a text?

7. What is Kurland's main idea?

8 . What helps to determine how a text should be read?

9. What reason for reading is suggested for students in higher education?

10. How much daily reading is recommended?

12. what are postgraduates often given before starting their studies?

13. How much exposure to a word is needed before its use becomes automatic?

Task 3 Paragraph reorganisation

The second paragraph of Section 6 has been removed from the original text in Reading texts. The

sentences from the removed paragraph are listed below, but they are in the wrong order.

3.1 Read the sentences 1-6 and arrange them in the appropriate order to form a paragraph. a. Read sentences 2 and 3 that have been identified as the first and final sentences.

b. Read sentences 1, 4, 5 and 6 and identify the correct order. c. Complete the remaining boxes with the appropriate number.

1 .This is one of the reasons why most reached university level in their home countries.□ 2. Fluency in both written and spoken language will only develop with practice.□

3. Thus, the more students work on developing good reading habits, the more fluent they should

become and the more successful they are likely to be in their academic studies.□

3 4. Nonetheless, university students are expected to read a considerable amount during a typical

week.□

5. In fact, international students studying through English are normally already fluent readers in

their own languages.□

6. International academics, i.e., students, have to do this in a foreign language-English.□

Task 4 Inferring meaning from context

Not knowing the meaning of words is one of the main difficulties faced by language learners

reading in a foreign language. When you come across a word which is unfamiliar, try to avoid automatically reaching for a dictionary or tapping the word into your electronic translator; develop the habit of reading on in the text to see if this helps your understanding. lf, however this does not help, experiment with the following advice.

4.1 Look at the sentence from Text 1a and discuss the meaning of the underlined word with

another student. If this word was new to you, what helped you infer its meaning? Bassett's focus is on graded readers, but arguably the type of text should suit the needs and interests of individuals.(Lines 15-16) Key reading skills: Inferring meaning

One way of identifying the meaning of the word is to look at it in context-the way it is used

within the sentence. For example, in the sentence above, the word bur is used to indicate a contrast or difference. Thus, although Bassett is interested in graded readers, the writer is saying there is arguably more to reading than just readers. In other words, there is some sort of argument or disagreement involved. Another way is to think of the \

about something\ You might also think about words with a similar sound or spelling which may help you. The key

thing is that the more you think about a word, the more likely it is to become part of your active lexicon. Study tip: The more you read, the wider your vocabulary will become and the easier it will be to identify synonyms. It is also useful to recognise and understand the way that language varies within a text. One way

of varying language is through the use of synonyms. A synonym is a word or phrase that has the same meaning, or almost the same meaning, as

another word or phrase.

4.2 Read Section 1 again from Text 1a and find synonyms for the words or expressions in the

left-hand column.

Defining words proof/confirmation synonym evidence Line number 7 4 a wide range of closely connected/significant get something back help/make easier without being aware of or without thinking about something ability/skill Something which is aimed at or is the main focus

Task 5 Identifying word class

5.1 Read the following definitions of word classes and match them to the correct words in the

box. Study tip: Identifying the word class of a word or phrase often helps you to work out the meaning of a word you don't know. Conjunction, preposition, noun, adverb, verb, adjective, pronoun

1. a word referring to a person, a place or a thing ( ) 2. an action or doing word ( )

3. a word that describes what a person, a place or a thing is Like ( ) 4. a word used to describe a verb, an adjective or another adverb ( )

5. a word which comes before a noun or a pronoun and show its relation to another part of

sentence ( ) 6. a word that is used to replace a person, a place or a thing ( )

7. a word that is used to join other words, phrases, clauses or sentences ( )

5.2 Read Sections 2-5 again from Text 1a and find the words in the table. Complete the table by

writing the line number where each word occurs in the text and the word class of each word.

word Topics Typically This blends Consideration Simply 31 Line number noun Word class 5 Through Embark Their only

5.3 Look at the words from Ex 5.2 and choose which ones you want to record. You should record words if:

°you don't know their meaning or how they are used, and/or

°you think they might be useful words to know either now or for future academic purposes Key reading skills: Choosing and recording new words from a text

One way of deciding which words to record is to check how frequently the word is used by native

speakers. You can do this by visiting the compIeat Lexical Tutor, which can be found at www.lextutor.ca/vp/bnc; here you will find that, for example, the adverb arguably is a K1 word-in other words, it is among the 1,000 most commonly used words. Considering this information, you may decide that it is a word you would want to use in future and, therefore, keep a record of. Study tip: In your own language, you naturally make use of word classes to read effectively

with speed and understanding. This will develop in English over time.

Task 6 Reading for a purpose

At various stages in Units 1-8, you will be given a Focus task. This is an essay question, or similar

academic task, that is linked to a read will help direct your reading and the use you ing text or texts in Reading texts. The Focus task make of the text(s) to synthesise ideas. Focus task: Summarise the main points of the text \

6.1 Re-read Text 1a and then write a short one-paragraph summary of the main ideas. You can

use some of the answers in Task 2 to help you. Key reading slcil.ls: Reading selectively

At university level, you may be given extensive reading lists. It can be a daunting prospect to read

all the texts and sources and to understand them at the same time. It is therefore important to read selectively. This means thinking carefully about your reading purpose and concentrating only-or mainly-on texts, or parts of texts, which are relevant to that reading purpose.