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• be able to apply a range of methods for breaking into secondary texts; • gain confidence in reading secondary texts. 6.2.1A reading strategy For each text located, decisions have to be made. • Is this text relevant? • Is it necessary to skim read and/or scan, and/or close read? • What is/are the argument(s) of the text? Vital decisions have to be taken about the reading. It is absolutely essential from the outset to have a plan for reading. Reading in the context of studying always implies reading for a purpose. The parameters of the problems before the reader have to be carefully thought out before commencing reading. Students may be given a problem question to research, or an essay to write. With both types of assessment activity, it is vital that the limits of the question are correctly identified by looking for clues in the grammar used to construct the question. For example, the facts of problem cases are often set in the areas between decided cases where there is an area of ‘unknown’, an area that the student is expected to talk about confidently. Competent identification of the issues from the outset often determines the quality of the answer before any creative writing has begun. These matters are explored in greater detail in Chapter 8. The care given to the reading of cases and statutory provisions has also to be brought to the reading of secondary explanatory, interpretative or evaluative texts. Reading with an idea of why the text is being read as well as with a view to what it is hoped to do with the extracted information will enable the student to read with a mixture of skimming strategies, detailed reading strategies and note-taking. The ‘why’ can be as simple as ‘I am reading to find out what this article is about’ through to ‘does this article support the argument that I am trying to construct?’. Many students, however, read blindly—‘This is on the reading list so I have to read it’. They do not fit their reading into a strategy: ‘Am I reading this for description, information or analysis?’ ‘Am I seeking to find out basic things about the topic or am I trying to support propositions in my argument?’ It is essential to develop a reading strategy. There are some basic steps which will be set out below. However, the most important issue to grasp is that reading can never be a purely passive act, because a writer always seeks to engage the reader in active dialogue with the text. No one writes in order not to be read, and no one wishes to be read passively without thought entering into the reading process. It is necessary to become aware of an inner dialogue between self and text as reading progresses, or to acquire an inner dialogue if one is not present! The reader should be continually processing, reflecting, considering, agreeing or disagreeing as reading is in progress. Readers should particularly note if other thoughts enter their head (like ‘what’s on TV?’!). If readers become frustrated with the text, the reading should stop and questions asked. Is the reader scared, threatened, annoyed with the text and, if so,
DOI link for • be able to apply a range of methods for breaking into secondary texts; • gain confidence in reading secondary texts. 6.2.1A reading strategy For each text located, decisions have to be made. • Is this text relevant? • Is it necessary to skim read and/or scan, and/or close read? • What is/are the argument(s) of the text? Vital decisions have to be taken about the reading. It is absolutely essential from the outset to have a plan for reading. Reading in the context of studying always implies reading for a purpose. The parameters of the problems before the reader have to be carefully thought out before commencing reading. Students may be given a problem question to research, or an essay to write. With both types of assessment activity, it is vital that the limits of the question are correctly identified by looking for clues in the grammar used to construct the question. For example, the facts of problem cases are often set in the areas between decided cases where there is an area of ‘unknown’, an area that the student is expected to talk about confidently. Competent identification of the issues from the outset often determines the quality of the answer before any creative writing has begun. These matters are explored in greater detail in Chapter 8. The care given to the reading of cases and statutory provisions has also to be brought to the reading of secondary explanatory, interpretative or evaluative texts. Reading with an idea of why the text is being read as well as with a view to what it is hoped to do with the extracted information will enable the student to read with a mixture of skimming strategies, detailed reading strategies and note-taking. The ‘why’ can be as simple as ‘I am reading to find out what this article is about’ through to ‘does this article support the argument that I am trying to construct?’. Many students, however, read blindly—‘This is on the reading list so I have to read it’. They do not fit their reading into a strategy: ‘Am I reading this for description, information or analysis?’ ‘Am I seeking to find out basic things about the topic or am I trying to support propositions in my argument?’ It is essential to develop a reading strategy. There are some basic steps which will be set out below. However, the most important issue to grasp is that reading can never be a purely passive act, because a writer always seeks to engage the reader in active dialogue with the text. No one writes in order not to be read, and no one wishes to be read passively without thought entering into the reading process. It is necessary to become aware of an inner dialogue between self and text as reading progresses, or to acquire an inner dialogue if one is not present! The reader should be continually processing, reflecting, considering, agreeing or disagreeing as reading is in progress. Readers should particularly note if other thoughts enter their head (like ‘what’s on TV?’!). If readers become frustrated with the text, the reading should stop and questions asked. Is the reader scared, threatened, annoyed with the text and, if so,
• be able to apply a range of methods for breaking into secondary texts; • gain confidence in reading secondary texts. 6.2.1A reading strategy For each text located, decisions have to be made. • Is this text relevant? • Is it necessary to skim read and/or scan, and/or close read? • What is/are the argument(s) of the text? Vital decisions have to be taken about the reading. It is absolutely essential from the outset to have a plan for reading. Reading in the context of studying always implies reading for a purpose. The parameters of the problems before the reader have to be carefully thought out before commencing reading. Students may be given a problem question to research, or an essay to write. With both types of assessment activity, it is vital that the limits of the question are correctly identified by looking for clues in the grammar used to construct the question. For example, the facts of problem cases are often set in the areas between decided cases where there is an area of ‘unknown’, an area that the student is expected to talk about confidently. Competent identification of the issues from the outset often determines the quality of the answer before any creative writing has begun. These matters are explored in greater detail in Chapter 8. The care given to the reading of cases and statutory provisions has also to be brought to the reading of secondary explanatory, interpretative or evaluative texts. Reading with an idea of why the text is being read as well as with a view to what it is hoped to do with the extracted information will enable the student to read with a mixture of skimming strategies, detailed reading strategies and note-taking. The ‘why’ can be as simple as ‘I am reading to find out what this article is about’ through to ‘does this article support the argument that I am trying to construct?’. Many students, however, read blindly—‘This is on the reading list so I have to read it’. They do not fit their reading into a strategy: ‘Am I reading this for description, information or analysis?’ ‘Am I seeking to find out basic things about the topic or am I trying to support propositions in my argument?’ It is essential to develop a reading strategy. There are some basic steps which will be set out below. However, the most important issue to grasp is that reading can never be a purely passive act, because a writer always seeks to engage the reader in active dialogue with the text. No one writes in order not to be read, and no one wishes to be read passively without thought entering into the reading process. It is necessary to become aware of an inner dialogue between self and text as reading progresses, or to acquire an inner dialogue if one is not present! The reader should be continually processing, reflecting, considering, agreeing or disagreeing as reading is in progress. Readers should particularly note if other thoughts enter their head (like ‘what’s on TV?’!). If readers become frustrated with the text, the reading should stop and questions asked. Is the reader scared, threatened, annoyed with the text and, if so,
ABSTRACT
Students may be given a problem question to research, or an essay to write. With both types of assessment activity, it is vital that the limits of the question are correctly identified by looking for clues in the grammar used to construct the question. For example, the facts of problem cases are often set in the areas between decided cases where there is an area of ‘unknown’, an area that the student is expected to talk about confidently. Competent identification of the issues from the outset often determines the quality of the answer before any creative writing has begun. These matters are explored in greater detail in Chapter 8.
