Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 3 Reading Technical Information
By: Elijah Wreh and Anil Shrestha

Objectives and Outcomes
1. Understand that workplace professionals and presentations read comments, listen to conversations and presentations, and view visuals for a variety of purposes: assessing and making decisions, background, learning to do a task, and actually doiung a task.
2. Recognize that reading and writing are synergistically linked activities-each affects the other.
3. Use the strategies of experienced communicators:
-Skim, scan, and predict
-Identify structure/hierachy: document features, visual displays, and organization.
-Determine the main points.
-Draw inferences:tacit assumptions, implications, ethics, and impact of implications.
-Generate questions and examples.
-Monitor and adapt strategies before, during, and after reading.

Identifying Purposes
There are variety of purposes you read for in a professional workplace. These purposes can be categorized into four main categories.

1. Reading to assess
2. Reading to learn
3. Reading to learn to do
4. Reading to do

1. Reading to assess- This reading enables you to decide whether the document will be useful for you or someone else.
2. Reading to learn- This reading allows you to learn information for problem solving , decision making, and background knowledge
3. Reading to learn to do- This reading enables you to learn how to complete tasks.
4. Reading to do- This reading helps you to complete tasks.

Reading-Writing Relationships
Reading and writing played a meaningful role in our day to day activities. What ever the situation may be, one have to be a effective reader and writer in order to communicate effectively with others from different Languages. Whenever, one is communicating to a audience that is comprises of people from different languages and cultural backgrounds, one have to be precise and put out the message thoroughly and accurately. There are tons of people out there especially in our society today, who find it very difficult and hard to understand English, so whenver one communicate, whether it is done by the print and electronic media or whatever means of communications, it should be done in the simplest format. For instance, a gentleman from Russia told me about his reading ordeal, that is he read an article from CNN and he found it very difficult understanding the nitty-gritty about the article.
How will you considered this individual? Effective or non-effective reader and writer!

Strategies for effective Reading
There are plenty of strategies to make one an effective reader and writer. However, the author of this book listed three things, namely: skim, scan and predict. I considered it as SSP in my own word.
Skim-Whenever one read a document, they need to skim through it as soon as possible in order to understand the content and mainpoint of the document. The secret begin this, is to get a quick understanding of the document and what is it all about.
Scan-For this part, before one read a document, one should scan through the document thoroughly, by running their eyes from the top of the page to the bottom of the page, paying keen attention to any phrase or word that is unusual and not understandable.
Predict-In the process of skimming and scanning through the document, begin to ask yourself reasonable questions and formulate hypothesis in your mind. This will help you get an insight about the document when you are done reading.

Identify Structure and Hierarchy
Technical documents have certain structure and hierarchy. They have features such as heading, visual cues, and previews.
Document features: Standard features of a document can help readers know what to anticipate.
Visual cues: Visual cues help readers distinguish the hierarchy of ideas in a document. Readers have an easier time understanding and using documents that have the following features.

1. Information is chunked
- Related information is chunked so that relationships are clear
- Heading and subheadings signal and separate topics
- Spacing between lines and sections separate related information
2. Information is arranged so that sequence is clear
- numbers or letters indicate the sequence
3. Information is emphasized so that important elements are signaled
- type size can indicate the hierarhy
- placement on a page or screen can indicate hierarchy
- using different fonts,type style variations, and icons

Previews and Reviews: previewing and reviewing enables the reader to identify then reinforce the structure or organization of a document.

Determine the main Points
It will sound pretty much awkward, if one read a document or an article from a newspapers and don't understand the main points. Readers need to pay key attentions to what, who, where and how whenever they read a document or an article. This will aid them in understanding the main points of a document.

Draw Inferences
Most people find it difficult and hard whenver they read a document, article, commentary, news stories or what ever the documents may be. But theoretically speaking, it is advisable and appropraite for one to draw inferences and take down notes, make connections and draw conclusions while reading. This will assist them to be an effective and productive readers in their career.

Generate Questions and Examples
Asking questions help understand a document. Sometimes readers benefit from using traditonal taxonomy ( a formal method of classification). One widely used taxonomy uses six levels of questions.
- Knowledge questions emphasize the recall of specifics.
- Comprehension questions require responses that incorporate knowledge as well as understanding.
- Application questions require specific applications of principles or theories.
- Analysis questions emphasize the separation of objects, mechanisms, systems,organisms,operations,clearly establishing the relationship between these parts.
- Synthesis questions expect the reader to focus on organizing or structuring the parts to form a unique whole. The response may either serve as an over all plan or explain a particular phenomenon.
- Evaluation questions require readers to judge something’s qualitative and quantitative value.

Monitor and Adapt Reading Strategies
Effective readers are aware of what they’re doing when they move through a document. They’re actively engaged in their reading; they’re aware of their comprehension of concepts and terms. when their comprehension or speed decreases , they adjust their strategies to meet the needs of the situation.

Individual and Collaborative Assignments--Footnotes
1. Identify the purpose, methodology, result(s), and conclusion.
2. Identify the purpose, methodology, result(s), and conclusion.
3. Identify the main points.
4. Determine kinds of reading.
5. Compare differences in reading purposes.
6. Interrogate a document.
POSTED BY ELIJAH WREH AT 10:06 AM