LESSON NOTES 5

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A.D. KINNEAR

READING MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

PARTS OF A TEXTBOOK

Book Jacket – Protective hard or soft cover of the book with book title, author, edition
and publisher on the front and a preview and bar code on the back of the book.

Title Page – A page showing title, author, edition and publisher that follows the cover
and a protective page. There is also a half-title page.

Attributions Page – Contains copyright information, publisher's address, printer's

address, ISBN, dates of printing of first and subsequent editions, place of publication,
serial number, etc.

Acknowledgements – Brief compliments to those who assisted getting the book done.

Preface – An insight into the subject-matter, the author, previous writings on the
subject-matter, the preface author's opinion on the issue, etc.

Abstract– A brief summary, usually of an article, book, or chapter in a book.

Table of Contents – A listing of all section and topics in the book with corresponding
page numbers.

Table of Figures – A listing of all graphics presented in-text with corresponding page
numbers.

Glossary – An alphabetical listing of specialized terms used in-text. It is located

towards the end of a book, after the text, but before the bibliography.

Bibliography – A list of books, magazine articles, and other materials, usually on a

particular topic or by a particular author.

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Appendix – A part of a written work, not essential to the completeness of the text,
which contains complementary information such as statistical tables or explanatory
material.

Index – A distinct from a "Periodical Index" (see below), this is an alphabetical listing of
the detailed contents of a book. Nearly every encyclopedia has an index.

ADOPT STRUCTURED READING

Many students at this stage conduct unstructured research, reading much but learning
little.

Here are some tips to keep this from happening.

 Collect any papers, articles, book chapters you can on the area and make a copy
for your own personal archive.

 Make sure you keep a full citation index, i.e., you must record exactly where
every article you copy comes from. Typically, you need to record the following:
Book title; Article title; Authors; Edition; Publisher (not the printing company); City
of publication; Date of publication; The name of the periodical journal /
newspaper / magazine / reference book; Volume and issue numbers; and the
Page Number(s). In the case that the article writer is different from the editor of
the book, record both names. Do the same for web pages, but include full URL
and date you accessed the webpage. Use ‘authoritative’ sources.

 Not all the articles you collect will be equally relevant or important. Consequently,
it is not efficient to give each of them the same attention. However, it is difficult
to ascertain how relevant it is until you read it thoroughly.

READING TECHNIQUES

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or

derive meaning (reading comprehension).

Importance of Reading

 Reading is important because it develops the mind

 It is how we discover new things and learn
 Reading develops the imagination-develops creative side of people
 The pen is mightier than the sword

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  words - spoken and written - are the building blocks of communication
 It is fundamental in developing a good self image.
 Reading hones our language skills and improves our vocabulary. Creativity
stems from diverse reading and the ability to think out of the box.

Reading Techniques

1. Skimming - To understand the essence of the given topic.

2. Scanning - To find out the specific words or details.
3. Intensive Reading- To get specific details or information. It is usually slow
reading done with a lot of concentration.
4. Extensive Reading – To read at leisure to get a broader understanding of an
issue or event.

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or 'gist'. Run your
eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to
speed on a current business situation. It's not essential to understand each word when
skimming. Thus skimming may be defined as "looking over a text/ passage quickly, in
order to get a general idea of the content". Examples of Skimming: The Newspaper
(quickly to get the general news of the day); Magazines (quickly to discover which
articles you would like to read in more detail); Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to
get informed).

Strategy to Skim

Read the titles, sub titles, subheadings and illustrations. •Read the first and the last
paragraphs and headings and summaries. •Read the first sentence (topic sentence) of
each paragraph. •You ignore the details and look for the main idea. •Skimming is done
at least 3 to 4 times faster than your normal speed.

Scanning

Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. Run your eyes over the text
looking for the specific piece of information you need. Use scanning to find the specific
details you require. If you see words or phrases that you don't understand, don't worry
when scanning. When you scan a particular piece of written passage you are not
actually reading the material line by line, but you are searching the passage for a
particular piece of information very quickly. Look for keywords.

Intensive Reading

Intensive reading is used on shorter texts, or those that have already been skimmed for
relevance and scanned for keyword, in order to extract specific information. It includes
very close accurate reading for detail. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of

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a specific situation. In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number
or fact. You read the chapters line by line to understand the concepts, you make
detailed notes, Check out the unfamiliar words and generally try to absorb all the
information on the topic.

Extensive Reading

Extensive reading is used to obtain a broader understanding of a topic. Use extensive

reading skills to improve your general knowledge. Do not worry if you understand each
word.

TYPES OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

Archive – An organized collection of the documents and records of an institution,

government, organization, or corporate body, or the personal papers of an individual,
family, or group, preserved in a repository for their historical, informational, and/or
monetary value.

Atlas – A book of maps.

Catalog – A file of records arranged systematically, listing all the books, periodical titles,
and other materials owned by a library. For each book and periodical title in the library,
there is a record in the catalog under the book author's name, the book or periodical
title, and any subject terms that describe the contents of the book or periodical.

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) – A compact disc on which an

enormous amount of digitized, read-only data can be stored and searched.

Database – A collection of articles, or records, stored in electronic form that can be

searched by users with Internet access.

Dictionary – Provides information about words: their meanings, derivations, spellings,

pronunciations, syllabification, and usage.

Dissertation – A formal and lengthy written discourse or treatise, required by

universities in partial fulfillment of requirements for a higher education qualification.

E-Books – An abbreviated term for electronic book. A book that can be accessed
electronically via the Internet or downloaded and stored on a computer. E-books are
usually PDF files, i.e. Portable Document Format.

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Encyclopedia – Gives an overview of a topic, including definition, description and
background. Subjects, issues, events and notable people are presented in alphabetic
order typically in multiple volumes. Almost every encyclopedia has an "Index"

Internet – The international network of computers around the world which provides
access to e-mail, web, online access to research materials, remote logon, and FTP.

Journal – A periodical which contains scholarly articles, such as reports of original

research, published by a professional group or non-commercial publisher. Many
journals contain many of the same features as 'magazines' (see below), such as book
reviews and letters to the editor, but they do not contain advertising for consumer
products.

Magazine – A periodical for general reading, quick information, or entertainment,

frequently containing advertising for consumer products.

Microforms – Greatly-reduced photographic reproductions of printed material on film

("microfilm") or film cards ("microfiche"), which can be viewed and photocopied using a
microform reader/printer.

Newspaper – A serial publication printed and distributed daily or weekly containing

news, opinions, advertising, and other items of general interest.

Periodicals or Serials – Publications which are issued at regular intervals and

generally intended to be continued indefinitely. Examples: newspapers, magazines,
journals.

Bound Periodicals – Issues of our non-current magazines and journals that are bound
together into hardcover books in order to save space and to preserve them.

Reference Books – Special books that do not circulate in order that they will always be
available inside the Library for use in answering specific questions. Encyclopedias and
dictionaries are two of the most well-known types of reference books.

Thesaurus – A book of synonyms. It contains an alphabetical listing of various words

with words of similar meaning.

Web (World Wide Web) – A vast network of scholarly and popular information, located
on the Internet, that includes text, pictures, sound, and moving images.