Reading Skills

Drawing inferences and supporting them An inference involves using your reason and experience to come up with an idea based on what a writer implies or suggests but does not directly state. Drawing a conclusion is making a general statement you can explain with reason or with supporting details from the text.  Making a generalization is generating a statement that can apply to more than one item or group. What is most important when inferring is to be sure that you have accurately based your thoughts on supporting details from the text as well as on your own knowledge.

Distinguishing between fact and opinion It is always important to be able to tell whether the ideas in a selection are facts or the writer’s opinions. Facts can be proven or measured; you can verify them in reference materials. Sometimes you can observe or test them yourself. Example: Chicago is about 800 miles from New York City.  Opinions are often open to interpretation and contain phrases such as “I believe” or “from my point of view.” Example: Chicago to New York is too far to drive. As you read a selection, evaluate any facts as well as any opinions you find. Ask yourself:  Are the facts relevant? Are they actually true?  Are the opinions well informed and based on verifiable facts? Are they persuasive?

Summarizing A summary is a short restatement of the main ideas and important details of a selection. Summarizing what you have read is an excellent tool for understanding and remembering a passage. To summarize a selection: Identify the main ideas .  Determine the essential supporting details .  Relate all the main ideas and essential details in a logical sequence .  Paraphrase —athat is, restate the selection in your own words.  Answer who, what, where, when, and why questions. The best summaries can easily be understood by someone who has not read the selection. If you’re not sure whether an idea is a main idea or a supporting detail, try taking it out of your summary. Does your summary still sound complete?

Determining the Main Idea The main idea of a selection is the writer’s purpose in writing the selection. As you read, it will be helpful to determine the main idea not only of the entire piece, but also of each paragraph. After identifying the important details in each paragraph, pause and ask yourself What is the main point of this selection?  What do these details add up to?  What is the writer trying to communicate?

Understanding Text Structure To follow the logic and message of a selection and to remember it, analyze the text structure , or organization of ideas, within a writer’s work. Recognizing the pattern of organization can help you discover the writer’s purpose and will focus your attention on important ideas in the selection. Look for signal words to point you to the structure.  Spatial sequence uses words or phrases such as nearby, to the left, above, and behind to show the physical arrangement of people and objects in an area.  Order of importance will use words such as most important and least necessary to compare the importance of things or ideas.  Chronological order often uses such words as first, then, after, later, and finally to show a sequence of events in time.  Cause-and-effect order discusses chains of events using words or phrases such as therefore, because, subsequently, or as a result.  Comparison-contrast order may use words or phrases such as similarly, in contr