Page 107 - DENG102_COMMUNICATION_SKILLS_II

Communication Skills-II Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 7: Comprehension and Quick Reading of Texts

CONTENTS

Objectives
Introduction
7.1 Reading Comprehension Passages
7.1.1 Comprehension Passage I: Boys vs. Girls: How they play?
7.1.2 Comprehension Passage II: The Importance of English
7.1.3 Comprehension Passage III: The Murder

7.1.4 Comprehension Passage IV: An Open Letter
7.2 Quick Reading
7.3 Summary
7.4 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

z z Realise how comprehension passages help in enhancing reading skills
z z Practice quick reading

Introduction

Comprehension, as you know, is the capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; the power,
act, or process of grasping with the intellect; perception; understanding; as a comprehension of
abstract principles. Comprehension passages are widely used to enhance comprehension skills.
It is very important to learn the technique of reading a comprehension passage. A technique,
so chosen, should be able to enhance the understanding and retention of the facts given in the
passage. One such technique is to scan the passage first. Identify the sections to which the author
devotes the most amount of space. If there are lots of diagrams for a particular concept, then that
must also be an important concept. If you’re really hard pressed for time, skip the sections to which
the least amount of space is devoted. Read the first sentence of every paragraph more carefully
than the rest of the paragraph. Take notes on headings and first sentence of each paragraph before
reading the chapter itself. Then close your book and ask yourself what you now know about the
subject that you didn’t know before you started. Focus on nouns and main propositions in each
sentence. Look for the noun-verb combinations, and focus your learning on these.

7.1 Reading Comprehension Passages

Having understood some of the basic principles and strategies involved in the act of reading
comprehension, it is now time to start implementing those strategies on real texts of the kind that
you have been reading so far. The ease or the difference with which you can handle the exercises
compared to your previous experiences with reading comprehension exercises will reflect how
much you have learnt from these theory lessons.

102 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY