WRITING CENTER "INFORMATION PICK-UP" (S.S.C.C.)

SOME TYPES OF READING:

THEIR DEFINITIONS AND PURPOSES

• WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF READING?

• READING LITERALLY vs. READING FIGURATIVELY

• MAKING INFERENCES: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS VS. COMING TO A LOGICAL CONCLUSION...READING BETWEEN THE LINES...

• WHAT IS ACADEMIC READING?

• SPEED READING

• SCANNING

• SKIMMING

• SQ3R READING METHOD: SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, RECORD AND REVIEW

• WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF READING?

Reading is simply gaining meaning and information from a series of written symbols, signs or characters. Writing is done for a number of purposes:

• To entertain or amuse the reader;

• To inform the reader about something important;

• To persuade the reader to believe something or to change his/her behavior or attitude;

• To share the writer's experiences or insights with the reader;

• To record information for posterity's sake;

• and so on.

People write for each other in order to share information, ideas, emotions, discoveries, culture, history, and so much more.

Given that most of human history and current (and future) endeavor is recorded in writing, it is crucial for people to be able to read meaningfully.

• READING LITERALLY vs. READING FIGURATIVELY

The literal expression of a text means the exact strict meaning according to the written words. The literal meaning is formed with a mere understanding of the written words and does not demand any "reading between the lines" or subjective interpretation.

What is said is what is meant in literal language. No hidden meanings underlie the text. There's little room for creative interpretation. What is written is true to fact and not embellished. Literal writing focuses on the denotation or the strict dictionary or formal meanings of the words used.

Figurative writing is language that is not literal but metaphorical or symbolic. It achieves meaning indirectly through representing figuratively. Readers need to apply their prior reading experiences, sense of taste, cultural awareness, historical sense, vocabulary skills and others to understand figurative writing--as a literal reading of figurative writing can be highly misleading.

For example, "Swimming with Sharks: A Primer" (an ironic essay) ostensibly talks about how to swim with sharks without getting injured (e.g. it gives advice to readers on how to "not bleed" when attacked, etc.). Its inner or real meaning has to do with how to compete in society and the work world without getting caught up in and sunk by office politics.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" seems to be a logical social policy suggestion--until you notice that he's suggesting the cannibalization of children!

To read well, you need to read widely and develop a sense of author purpose and tone from his/her word choices, phrasing, ideas, organization of sentences, and (literary, cultural, social, historical, political, aesthetic, ethical, or other) references. Professional writers--out of respect for the reader's intelligence and decision-making--will not spell out the various meanings down to the letter. Interpretation is left up to the reader.

Figurative language focuses on the connotation of the words as well as the denotation. Connotation means "an act or instance of connoting; the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning" (Random House Webster's College Dictionary).

For example, "wife" has the denotation of a "female spouse" to a husband, but the social and cultural connotations include implied meanings of endearment, intimacy, faithfulness, maternity, and other characteristics. It is seen--in advertising lingo--as a "god term" or inherently positive. It has a positive value.

• MAKING INFERENCES: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS VS. COMING TO A LOGICAL CONCLUSION...READING BETWEEN THE LINES...

Texts can have many meanings.

There are many ways to take apart meaning from a text. According to Umberto Eco, a well-known writer and deconstructionist, "The only way to build up our truths is to question texts, and through the text to let the being or deep unconscious or something that is there speak to us. Inside the text, there is not one immutable meaning or truth, intended or otherwise, but many. You have to extract all the implications or interpretations hidden within."

A piece of writing may be seen as a product of its time and culture, its place in history.

An essay or book does not ever stand alone as an autonomous entity. It is a product of a culture, time, thought and person. To understand a piece of writing, then, it is important to refer to the context from which it has sprung.

An inference is an "informed guess" about a writer's meaning. When you have determined a writer's purpose and point and other aspects of the writing situation, you may have done so on the basis of inferences.

To infer, you "derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence; to guess; speculate; surmise; (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to; to hint; imply; suggest" (Random House Webster's College Dictionary).

The ability to make inferences is especially important in discovering a writer's attitudes and opinions. If writers do not clearly spell out where they stand, readers must, as the saying goes, read between the lines.

To make inferences accurately, you must have more than a knowledge of the literal meaning of words. You must also be sensitive to connotations, the emotional overtones of words. You must have a strong sense of English, the cultural and historical ideas behind what is described, idioms (as well as jargon and slang) and their meanings (echoes), and values-based influences in the writing. You need to find out what informs the writing in order to derive richer meaningfulness from it.

EXAMPLE:

Jeffrey Kluger's "Call of the Mild: Every grunt you emit as you stand or sit helps nourish the future of humanity" (Time, September 30, 1996) essay excerpt reads:

"It started happening about three years ago, when I turned 39 and was first preparing to establish a beachhead in my 40s. By any measure, 39 is a tough age to be...It's also the age at which you find yourself overcome by an inexplicable impulse to make strange little grunting noises when you stand up, sit down or bend over.

"...You may think you can still go a full nine innings, but be honest now, wouldn't you be more comfortable if you took a seat in the dugout? To make sure we do just that, I'm convinced, nature invented the middle-aged grunt. In the same way aged--and thus expendable--dolphins swim at the bottom of the pod because sharks attack from below, and lame zebras run at the edge of the herd because lions attack from the outside, so too may older humans be programmed to advertise ourselves to predators with a distinct uhhh. Seemingly the most innocuous of sounds, the grunt may actually be a chilling verbal cue announcing easy pickings, free chow, fresh fast food. Every exhausted sigh we emit as we stand or stoop may be the evolutionary equivalent of a flashing EAT AT JOE'S sign, except in this case the message has been shortened to a simple EAT JOE."

Questions to Help Readers Make Inferences about the Above Reading:

• In reading the above humorous excerpt, what can you understand of the author? How is he reacting to middle age?

• Why does he seem to feel that being at middle age is such a hazard (what is his attitude behind the words)?

• How does he argue for the heroism of the middle aged in America? Could he be trying to salvage some of his ego here in describing middle-aged persons?

• Why does he compare middle aged humans to the weaker animals of a dolphin pod or lame zebras?

• What is his social purpose in writing this essay, or how will his writing benefit the millions of Time magazine readers?

• What does being "middle aged" mean in terms of connotations in America today? What are people's attitudes about those at middle age?

• Does the author seem to feel that his being at middle age is difficult? Does he use humor as a coping tool?

In making inferences, avoid two extremes.

1) Read with an open mind. On the one hand, do not be afraid to make any interpretations beyond the literal meaning, or you may miss an important turn in the argument or even a major point. Don't be timid in reading meaning into a text.

2) Be cautious about reading too much meaning into a text. On the other hand, do not leap to a conclusion on the basis of a single phrase, perhaps because of personal associations or past experiences, and then steadfastly refuse to alter your opinion as new evidence is presented.

Instead, use the available clues to make tentative guesses as you proceed, adjusting constantly for additional information. Make sure your ideas are supported in the text.

Absolute exactitude in reading comprehension and interpretation may not be possible.

• WHAT IS ACADEMIC READING?

This is the slowest type of reading done--at a rate of about 200 words per minute or "wpm" (compared to speed reading at 800 wpm). When a person does academic reading, he/she reads for comprehension (understanding) and retention (keeping the information in memory). This form of study is for the long-term memory and demands the full attention or absorption of the reader.

To read academically, a reader must be a "critical" one--not in the sense of fault-finding but in the sense of applying judgment to what is read. The reader must cross-reference his/her old knowledge about the topic with the new knowledge--which must be synthesized (brought together) with the former knowledge.

Decisions on the validity of the information must also be made--after considering where the information came from, the author's investment in the information, and other factors. There's an implied "skepticism" in proficient readers: they are not gullible and will not be easily led into false ideas through emotionalism or bad writing or writer manipulation.

• SPEED READING

Speed reading as a technique offers readers a way to gather general information from a text quickly--at up to 800 + words a minute. The general approach to this is to let one's eyes look quickly down a text, not left to right or line by line. Only main words are to catch the reader's eyes, and only the main ideas may be grasped.

• SCANNING

Scanning refers to the reading of information for the short-term memory, in order to get a sense of a piece of reading. When people scan, they let their eyes run over the main words and ignore the articles and prepositions. The purpose of scanning is only to get a "gist" of the piece of reading, a cursory type of summary.

• SKIMMING

Skimming refers to reading fast (800 words a minute) for the long-term memory retention. A person skims in order to look for specific, particular information (e.g. viewing a telephone book for a particular business or private phone number) or for "rejection" (e.g. reading a menu to see what to eat and what not to eat; perusing a college catalog to see which classes to take; skimming a show program to see what comes next, etc.).

• SQ3R READING METHOD: SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, RECORD AND REVIEW

This SQ3R method for reading aims to help students remember better what they have read--especially since much has to be recalled for quizzes, mid-terms and finals.

SURVEY:

To survey is to preview the material's main theme and ideas, structure (organization), graphics, titles and subtitles, preface, in order to get a general sense of the substance of a particular piece of writing (an essay, a chapter, an advertisement, a book, etc.).

QUESTION:

The question phase of SQ3R deals with the formation of questions which the reader has regarding the material. What will the scope of material coverage be? What is the author's stance on the issues? Where did the information come from? What could the author's motivation be in writing this?

The reader also asks himself/herself what he/she knows about the topic--so as to give the memory a quick review of previously-held information.

This questioning prepares the reader's mind for accepting new information. There's a palpable exciting "Aha!" when a previously-created question is answered in the reading.

READ:

The actual reading is done in an academic and analytical (using full judgment and attention) way--in a slow (200 wpm) and fully concentrated way. While reading, the student may be annotating the text or taking notes.

RECORD:

The recording phase begins with the student summarizing the main points of the piece read and writing down in an easy-to-read manner the important information which needs to be remembered. A written record of what was read makes for easier review of the materials later.

REVIEW:

The last phase refers to the reader's going over the material--the reading, the lecture notes, the course handouts, the graphics, in order to refresh his/her memory and reinforce the new ideas and concepts.

Sources:

Ellis, Grace. The Rinehart Reader Companion. Fort Worth: Holt,

Rinehart, Winston, 1989/1993.

Fitzpatrick, Carolyn H. and Marybeth B. Ruscica. Reading Pathways:

Second Edition. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1995.

(Revised 1998)