What makes a successful reader?
Seven different reading skills
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1.Previewing a text |
А means understanding what the writer is thinking or feeling, even when this is not directly stated. For instance, if someone on holiday wrote in an email, ‘I wish didn’t have to leave tomorrow,’ you would understand that the person was having a good time. |
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2. Predicting content and structure |
B means careful study of a text or part of a text. We do this when all the content is important. For instance, if you bought a new computer and you wanted to know how it worked, you would need to read the instructions carefully. |
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3. Skimming for main ideas |
C A good reader will sometimes be able to work out the meaning of a word by using the context provided by the text and their knowledge of the world, rather than having to look the word up in a dictionary. For instance, if you were reading a car manual and you came across a part of the engine you didn’t know, you might be able to work out what it is from the description of what it does. |
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4. Scanning to find key information |
D involves using your knowledge of the topic of the text to guess what it’s going to be about. For instance, if you see an advert for a car, you can guess that the purpose of the text will be to sell the car and that there is likely to be vocabulary related to cars. |
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5. Intensive reading |
E means reading a text quite quickly for a general idea of the overall topic. When we do this, we are looking for main ideas rather than specific details. For instance, we might skim a review of a film to get a general idea of what it’s about before deciding whether to go and see it. |
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6. Guessing words from context. |
F means looking at things like the heading and layout of a text to get an idea of what the text is about before starting to read. For instance, before reading an article in a newspaper, we look at the headline and/or the picture so we have an idea of what it’s about, and can decide whether we want to read it. We know, for instance, that it is a newspaper article rather than an advert by the way it looks. |
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7. Understanding opinion and attitude |
G also involves reading a text quite quickly, but we use this reading skill when we want to find a particular fact. For instance, we might scan a TV guide to find out what time a particular programme is on. |
What skills should I acquire if I have these problems?
1. I keep stopping to look up words in a dictionary.
2. I am so slow – I find it really difficult to pick out the main ideas quickly.
3. I don’t read carefully enough so I get the wrong meaning.
4. I just start reading without thinking about what I know about the topic.
5. I can never tell what the writer thinks about something.
6. I am not able to search a text to find particular pieces of information.
7. I always start reading a text straightaway before looking at the headings and pictures first to help me understand the text.
The different task types
Let's try and match some questions to the task types.
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1. Which paragraph contains the following information? |
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2. Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text. |
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3. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A–H from the list of headings below. |
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4.Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? |
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5. Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text. |
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6. Match the inventions with the scientists listed A–C. |
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7. Choose the correct letter A ,B, C or D. |
Read each headline and think about what the article might be about.
Why to read headings carefully?
The important thing to note is that each heading will capture the main idea of the paragraph rather than focusing on one particular detail. So when you start reading the text, you will be using your skimming skills to find the main idea in each paragraph.
1. The Domestication of Horses
1. What do you think the text is about?
2. Skim through the paragraph. Which of the following do you think the text will be about ?
a An article about increased use of horses as pets.
b A historical account of the relationship between man and horse.
c A personal complaint about the cruel treatment of horses.
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Horses have been racing across the landscape for around 55 million years – much longer than our own species has existed. However, prehistoric remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago, wild horses died out in the Americas and dwindled in western Europe, for reasons that are not clear. But they continued to thrive on the steppes of eastern Europe and Central Asia, where short grasses and shrubs grow on vast, dry stretches of land. Most scholars believe it was here that people domesticated the horse. However, the DNA of domestic horses is very diverse. This suggests they may be descended from a number of different wild horse populations, in several locations. |
3. In which ways do you think people might have used horses?
Most scholars believe it was here that people domesticated the horse.
4. Read through the headings and try to predict what information each paragraph will contain.
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A |
The fastest breeds of horses |
F |
A wide range of uses for domesticated horses |
5. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs 1-7 from the list of headings above.
We have just carried out a number of predicting and previewing activities. We have used:
Listen to Rob’s introduction where you’ll hear some learners talking about how they feel about reading. How do you feel about it?
WRITING
1. Complete the table with the information. Some answers can be used more than once.
Academic Writing test:
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Task |
Word count |
Time (minutes) |
Task description |
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1 |
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2 |
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250, 150, 40, Describing visual information, Writing an essay, 40
2. What makes a good writer?
Look at the question and some example parts of what a candidate wrote to answer it.
Question: In many countries people are eating more and more unhealthy food. What are the causes of this and what can be done about it?
One of the reasons why the number of people eating food that is less nutritious is increasing is that there is so much fast food available nowadays. Another factor is that this type of food is often very affordable and, as a result of price and availability, more and more of it is consumed.
One possible solution could be to increase the amount of education about food and health given in schools. This would help people to make more informed choices about what they eat, both as children and as adults.
Think about what makes the writing good and write your ideas.
3. In the IELTS Writing test, candidates are assessed in four areas:
Match the assessment criteria and the definitions.
A This refers to the candidate’s ability to organise and link ideas clearly.
B This refers to the candidate’s ability to produce a variety of correct sentences.
C This refers to the candidate’s ability to use a range of appropriate vocabulary.
D This refers to the candidate’s ability to give a full, detailed answer.
4. Look at each the assessment criteria and assess the answer above
5. Look at the assessment criteria and the candidate problems. Put the problems in the correct group.
Learners don’t order ideas logically.
Learners find it difficult to link sentences.
Learners find it difficult to write very much.
Learners don’t explain their ideas.
Learners only use very simple structures.
Learners make a lot of grammatical mistakes.
Learners have problems with spelling words.
Learners have very little vocabulary.
6. What makes language appropriate or inappropriate for different writing situations?
Read the texts below and choose whether each is formal or informal.
It is generally accepted that the majority of children learn to express their ideas through face-to-face communication with their parents and peers. However, it seems that in the modern world this kind of contact is diminishing and, according to the results of numerous studies, this can create problems later in life.
Most people think that most kids learn to talk by chatting to their mum and dad, mates etc. But I read somewhere that the chance to do this is getting less now and it turns out that this makes things hard for them when they’re older. Isn’t that terrible? I think it’s awful.
You will notice that there are certain things to avoid in more formal, academic writing.
These include:
Give your examples of formal language.
HOMEWORK
1. http://ieltsonlinetests.com/181/11/52/exam-instruction/cambridge-ielts-11-with-answers/reading/practice-test-4
2. The table below shows the numbers of visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before
and the year after it wasrefurbished. The charts show the result of surveys asking visitors
how satisfied they were with their visit, duringthe same two periods.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant
Write at least 150 words.
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Total number of visitors to Ashdown Museum |
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During the year before refurbishment: |
74,000 |
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During the year after refurbishment: |
92,000 |
Results of surveys of visitor satisfaction
