READING

ACADEMIC TEXTS
 TARGETED OUTCOMES OF LEARNING
Established Goal:
After a thorough and highly engaging discussion of the lesson, the Grade 11 learners
are expected to gain substantial knowledge and understanding about Reading
Academic texts.
Specific Objectives from the Goal:
Recognize reading academic texts.
LEARNING TO KNOW

Present a Reading Presentation.

LEARNING TO DO

Develop appreciation in reading academic texts.

LEARNING TO FEEL & LIVE
TOGETHER
Become agents in helping individuals in reading skills
LEARNING TO BE especially to those who have a poor comprehension.
 Reading Academic Texts

Why Evaluate Academic Reading Strategies?

Reading is fundamental to writing and research at University, but often gets
overlooked – lecturers assume that students know how to read, and students
assume there’s only one way to read – but neither of these things is necessarily
true! There are ways to read that can improve information processing, can
help with building an argument, and importantly for many students, can save
lots of time!! — Academic Literacy Workshops, University of Cape Town.

The passage above makes an important point: most of us assume we know

how to read for school. However, methods that may have been fine in the
past (skimming, quick reviews, relying upon class lectures or notes) won’t hold
up well as we move further into higher education.
Academic reading is a specific category of
reading. It’s helpful to remember that academic
reading is an act of performance. Rather than sitting
back and passively receiving information we read in
college, we will be asked to directly act upon that
information in some way. We will be quizzed or tested.
We will be asked to debate, analyze, or critique what
we read. We will need to read closely, remember the
text accurately, and compare it to other texts for style
and content.
 • Purpose of Academic Reading

• Casual reading across genres, from books and magazines

to newspapers and blogs, is something students should be
encouraged to do in their free time because it can be
both educational and fun. In college, however, instructors
generally expect students to read resources that have
particular value in the context of a course. Why is academic
reading beneficial?
Information comes from reputable sources: Web sites and blogs can be a
source of insight and information, but not all are useful as academic
resources. They may be written by people or companies whose main
purpose is to share an opinion or sell you something.

Learn how to form arguments: In most college classes except for creating
writing, when instructors ask you to write a paper, they expect it to be
argumentative in style. This means that the goal of the paper is to research a
topic and develop an argument about it using evidence and facts to
support your position.

Exposure to different viewpoints: One purpose of assigned academic

readings is to give students exposure to different viewpoints and ideas. For
example, in an ethics class, you might be asked to read a series of articles
written by medical professionals and religious leaders who are pro-life or pro-
choice and consider the validity of their arguments.
 • Reading Strategies for Academic Texts

• Recall from the Active Learning section that effective

reading requires more engagement than just reading the
words on the page. In order to learn and retain what you
read, it’s a good idea to do things like circling key words,
writing notes, and reflecting. Actively reading academic
texts can be challenging for students who are used to
reading for entertainment alone, but practicing the
following steps will get you up to speed:
• Preview: You can gain insight from an academic text before
you even begin the reading assignment. For example, if you
are assigned a nonfiction book, read the title, the back of
the book, and table of contents. Scanning this information
can give you an initial idea of what you’ll be reading and
some useful context for thinking about it.

• Read: While you read an academic text, you should have a

pen or pencil in hand. Circle or highlight key concepts.
Write questions or comments in the margins or in a
notebook.
• Summarize: After you an read academic text, it’s worth taking the
time to write a short summary—even if your instructor doesn’t require
it. The exercise of jotting down a few sentences or a short paragraph
capturing the main ideas of the reading is enormously beneficial: it
not only helps you understand and absorb what you read but gives
you ready study and review materials for exams and other writing
assignments.

• Review: It always helps to revisit what you’ve read for a quick

refresher. It may not be practical to thoroughly reread assignments
from start to finish, but before class discussions or tests, it’s a good idea
to skim through them to identify the main points, reread any notes at
the ends of chapters, and review any summaries you’ve written.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING 