Reading Skill: A Critical Mind

Reading Skill: A Critical Mind


No one can’t just junk reading! It is an imperative skill. With the latest technology and communication channels like, “The Google Reader and Yahoo Updates” among others, reading skill prompts the global world. Progress requires a global literacy where people can understand, help each other.

Reading, as a presumed skill gives information and entertainment. All subjects and transactions are reading-based. We cannot just say, “I am idle today,” or “Reading doesn’t interest me,” or “I can’t understand and I have no time,” these are tempting excuses of people who couldn’t leave comfort zones. The skill only requires practice, like any other skill. It is normal to ‘not understand’ some texts or topics when you read, but what matters is try to read: once, twice, or even again and again. That habit will help you become a good reader.

From an award–winning recommended film titled “The Reader,” which stars Kate Winslet (Rose in Titanic), the movie shows how important reading is to humans. Of course, the power of articulate language and to understand it, separate homo sapiens from animals. In the film, Kate Winslet rather dies in prison, than to be accused of being illiterate. “The Reader” is a pathetic story that magnifies the disadvantages of not being able to read, and shows as well, the progress of educated people who can read.

Basically, there are two useful reading skills: previewing and skimming.

To preview a text will give you the nature of selection, even before you start reading the first sentence. Previewing is looking at the pictures (visuals), captions, titles, subtitles, graphs, and tables, among others. While skimming is finding the main point of the selection. This involves quickly reading beginning sentences of the paragraphs, as these are often the topic sentences. Here, the mind can scan texts at random, too, and select ideas that make up its development.

These reading skills will help especially, when you are reading newspapers and magazines in between rest periods, browsing the internet for updates and hot information, viewing at the bookstores or the library in haste. However, a closed or detailed reading is required in the academe or research projects.

During active reading, one can take down notes or react to the texts. It will be helpful to check the meaning of unfamiliar words, and use a dictionary. That - I always tell my students and friends.

Francis Bacon quotes, “Reading maketh a man full.” Truly, the blind using the Braille method can read. Even Heller Keller who was deaf, dumb and blind spoke to the world. There is nothing impossible in reading, rather it opens more doors.

Copyright: Rose Flores - Martinez
2.17.2010
http://rfvietnamrose09.blogspot.com

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