Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills Based on the textbook by John Langan, 6th Edition

Vocabulary in context Examples (for example, for instance, including, such as) Synonyms (words that mean the same as the unknown word) Antonyms (words that mean the opposite of the unknown word) General sense (other clues in the sentence or paragraph)

Main ideas Look for a general idea rather than specific ideas or details Use the topic to guide you to the main idea or central point Identify key words and details that point to the main idea

Supporting details List words ( several kinds of, four steps, three factors, five reasons ) and addition words (first/second/third, also, next, further, other, in addition, etc.) help you find major & minor supporting details Outlining, mapping, and summarizing are useful strategies which show the relationship between the main idea, major details, and minor details of a paragraph

Implied main ideas Sometimes a main idea is not stated clearly in one sentence; you must consider the supporting details and infer (figure out) the main idea

Relationships 1 addition /transition words (for one thing, second, also, in addition, finally) time relationship words (first, next, then, after, last) – must come in order

Relationships 2 Definitions, signaled by transition words (for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate) Compare & contrast (alike, similar; but, however, in contrast) Cause & effect (reason, because, therefore, consequently, as a result)

inferences Many important ideas are not stated but must be inferred (deduced, reasoned, logically followed out) Similes & metaphors can help (direct or implied comparisons)

Purpose & tone Common purposes are to inform, persuade, or entertain. Tone reveals the attitude and emotion in a piece of writing (hopeful, angry, happy, sarcastic, respectful, etc.) Irony is a tone that indicates the opposite meaning of what is said.