review for the “ pruebas para la certificación de maestros (pcmas)

Review for the “Pruebas para la Certificación de Maestros (PCMAS)

Prof. Miguel A. Arce RamosDr. Maria de los A. Nazario PUCPR

This presentation will be available on my website so feel free to download it.

Professorarce.weebly.com

Overview Manage and use of language

Use of vocabulary in contextCorrect usage of prepositions and pronounsSubject-verb AgreementFalse cognatesUse of correct verb tenses

Overview Reading Comprehension and Literary Analysis

Author’s PurposeAuthor’s ToneMain IdeaClassification of types of discourse Paragraph StructurePreviewing and Inferring

Vocabulary in Context

Vocabulary in Context Purpose

The purpose of vocabulary in context is to use the information surrounding the unfamiliar word to predict its meaning.

How to answer vocabulary in context exercises efficiently?

Read the sentenceLook at your answersVerify whether they have prefixes or suffixes

Context Clues

Types of Context CluesRepetition

The constant use of that word in the paragraph

General KnowledgeThe meaning is derived from the experience and background knowledge of the reader; "common sense" and logic.

Context CluesTypes of Context Clues

DefinitionsPhrases or words that define or explain

Synonyms/CognatesPhrases or words that indicate similarity or similar to the first language

but, in contrast, however, instead of, unlike, yet

Context CluesTypes of Context Clues

AntonymsPhrases or words that indicate opposite meaning.

in other words, that is, also known as, sometimes

Context Clues

Context Clues Exercise

Prepositions

Use of PrepositionsWhat is a preposition?

Prepositions are used to express a number of relationships,including:

time locationmannermeansquantitypurposestate or condition

Identify the prepositions in the paragraph belowMy neighbor said she wanted to ask me for a small favor.

Little did I know what was in store for me when I agreed to feed her cat. After my neighbor left on her trip, I walked across the street to her house. Once I got inside the house, I was overwhelmed by the stench of cat urine. I looked around the house and couldn’t believe what I saw. My eyes fell on two salad dressing containers sitting on a table beside the couch, which was completely covered with dirty laundry, except for this one worn area by the table. The volume on the TV was turned up all the way. In disbelief and despite my better judgment, I walked toward the restroom. Around the base of the tub I saw these red velvety mushrooms coming up between the tub and tile floor. This filth was beyond anything I’d ever seen in my life. Within two minutes the cat was fed and I was out of there. Since she returned from her trip, I have never been available to watch her cat again.

Pronouns

PronounsPersonal Object Possessive

Reflective Definite Indefinate

Reciprocal Demonstrative

Subject Pronouns

Object Pronouns

Possessive

Adjectives

Possessive

PronounsReflexive Pronouns

1st person I me my mine myself2nd person you you your yours yourself3rd person

(m) he him his his himself

3rd person (f) she her her hers herself

3rd person (n) it it its (not used) itself

1st person (pl.) we us our ours ourselves

2nd person (pl.) you you your Yours yourselves

3rd person (pl) they them their Theirs themselves

Pronoun test -> ___ will go. Max saw

___.That's ___

name.The car is

___.(subj) saw (reflx) in

the mirror.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Indefinite pronouns are words which

replace nouns without specifying which

noun they replace.

Singular Indefinite pronouns• another• anybody• anyone• anything• each• either• everybody• everyone• everything

• somebody

• someone• somethin

g

• little• much• neither• nobody• no one• nothing• one• other

Singular Indefinite Pronouns• They take singular verbs or singular personal

pronouns. • Correct: Each of the members has one vote.

(The subject, each, is singular. Use has.)

• Correct: One of the girls gave up her seat. (Her refers to one, which is singular.)

• Incorrect: One of the girls gave up their seat.

Plural Indefinite Pronouns• Example: both, few, many, others, several

• They take plural verbs or plural personal pronouns.

• Correct: • A few of the justices were voicing their

opposition.

• (Few is plural, so are were and their.)

Indefinite Pronouns

• For indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural, it depends on what the indefinite pronoun refers to.

• Singular or Plural: all, any, more, most, none, some.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Correct: All of the people clapped their hands.

• (All refers to people, which is plural.)

• Correct: All of the newspaper was soaked.

• (Here all refers to newspaper, which is singular.)

Exercises

1. Shirley: I saw Robert and Luis at the beach.Angie: Did you talk to ____________ .

A) they

B) their

C) them

D) him

E) us

2. Wallace: Do Billy and you play on that team?Mike: No, ____________ don’t’.

A) I

B) they

C) he

D) you

E) we

3. The teacher asked each of us to do ____________ own work.

A) our

B) its

C) his

D) their

E) your

4. The coach asked Charlie and ____________ to substitute the players.

A) I

B) me

C) we

D) he

E) she

5. She wrote __________ a letter.

A) anybody

B) somebody

C) anything

D) something

E) nothing

6. Isn’t there ____________ in the cabinet?

A) somebody

B) everything

C) nobody

D) nothing

E) anything

7. ____________ has to do his own work.

A) Everything

B) Something

C) Everybody

D) Anything

E) Anybody

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement

• The subject of a sentence must always agree with the verb.

• However, in standardize tests, you will encounter many different tricks that test makers make to confuse you.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Split

• There will be distracting words to confuse you.

Correlative Conjunctio

n• The either or

trick.

Inverted Word Order• Long phrases

that commit at the start of the sentence

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Subject – Verb Split - instead of the typical subject near the verb, the test maker loves to separate the subject from the verb with many distracting words, phrases, and clauses.

• For example, • The teacher along with his students (is/are)

going on a field trip.

Subject-Verb Agreement• Correlative Conjunction – • The two most common correlative

conjunctions are the "Neither/Nor" combo or the "Either/Or" combo.

• The closest subject to the verb determines the verb.

• For example,• Neither the student nor his classmates

(is/are) enjoying the game.

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Inverted Word Order - The test maker loves to begin sentences with long-winded phrases at the beginning that commit the sentence to a verb usage first before the subject.

• For example,• At the back of the room (is/are) a small

desk and a large desk for visitors.

Exercises

1. This box of ornaments _____in the attic.

• A. belong• B. belongs

2. A man chasing unicorns ____ on the terrace.

• A. is• B. are

3. Each of the divers ______ an oxygen tank.

• A. has• B. have

4. Not one of these cell phones belongs to me. One of the phones ______ to Melanie.

• A. belong• B. belongs

5. Professor Legree often goes for long walks in the rain. The lights in his house ____ on at midnight.

• A. go• B. goes

False Cognates

Cognates

• Cognates are words descended from a common ancestor; that is, words having the same linguistic family or derivation.

• These are the words that are generally written

similarly in English and Spanish.

Cognates• However, there are also many "false Spanish

English cognates".

• These pairs of words look similar in Spanish and English but their actual meanings can be very different.

List of 20 false cognatesaguardar guard decente decent

argumento argument desgracia disgraceasesor assessor elaborar elaborateatender attend firma firmcarrera career pareja pair

comodidad commodity plata plateconformar conform presente presentconvenir convene ropa rope

decepcion deception suceder succeedcrudo crude vaso vase

Verb Tenses

Past Tense• It expresses an action occurred in the past.

• The simple past tense is the one we use most often.

• Formula:

• Subject + verb in past tense + complement.

(regular or irregular)

Future Tense• It indicates that an action is in the future

relative to the speaker or writer.

• There are no inflected forms for the future in English (nothing like those -ed or -s endings in the other tenses).

Present Progressive Tense

• It indicates an ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.

• It is formed with the auxiliary verb "to be", in the present tense, plus -ing ending.

• Formula:

• Subject + be + v(ing)+ (complement).

Present Progressive Tense

• It indicates an ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.

• It is formed with the auxiliary verb "to be", in the present tense, plus -ing ending.

• It requires to have the adverb “now.”

Present Progressive Tense• Formula:

• Subject + be + v(ing)+ (complement).

present tense

am is are

Present Progressive Tense• For verbs made up of consonant-vowel-

consonant format, double the consonant before adding "-ing," as in "hopping.

• hop - hopping

• sit - sitting

• put - putting

Present Progressive Tense

• For verbs that end in silent "e," drop the "e" before adding "-ing," as in "hiring.”

• For verbs that end in the vowel digraph "ie," change the "ie" to "y" before adding "-ing," as in "tying."

Past Progressive Tense

• It indicates continuing action, something that was happening, going on, at some point in the past.

• This tense is formed with the auxiliary verb “be”, in the past tense, plus -ing ending.

Past Progressive Tense

• It indicates a limited duration of time and is thus a convenient way to indicate that something took place (in the simple past) while something else was happening.

Past Progressive Tense• Formula:

• Subject + be + v(ing)+ (complement).

(past tense)

was were

Future Progressive Tense

• It expresses an action that will be on-going in the future.

• It is used for actions that will be unfinished at a certain time in the future, or for things that will happen in the normal course of events, rather than being part of your plans and intentions.

Future Progressive Tense

• Formula:• Subject + will be + v(ing) + (complement)

Present Perfect

• It is used to say that an action happened at

an unspecified time before now.

• The exact time is not important.

Present Perfect

• You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as:

• yesterday• one year

ago• last week• when I was

a child• when I

lived in Japan

• at that moment

• that day• one day,

etc.

Present Perfect

• You CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as:

• ever• never• once• many

times • several

times, • before • so far • already • yet, etc.

Present Perfect

• Formula:

• Subject + has/have + past participle of the verb

He, She, It I, We, You, They

Past Perfect

• It is often used when we are relating two events which happened in the past.

• It helps to show which event happened first.

Past Perfect• Formula:

• Subject + had + the past participle of a verb

I ate breakfast. I went to school.

7:30 am 8:30 am now

Before I went to school, I had eaten breakfast.

Future Perfect

• It expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future.

• It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future.

Future Perfect

• Formula:

• Subject + will have + past participle of verb

Present Perfect Progressive• It indicates a continuous action that has

been finished at some point in the past or that was initiated in the past and continues to happen.

• The action is usually of limited duration and has some current relevance.

Present Perfect Progressive

• Example:

• "She has been running and her heart is still beating fast.”

• It frequently describes an event of the recent past and often accompanied by just in this usage: "It has just been raining."

Present Perfect Progressive

• Formula:

• Subject + has/ have + been + v(-ing)

He, She, It We, You, They

Past Perfect Progressive

• It indicates a continuous action that was completed at some point in the past.

• If you want to know how long the activity happened, or if you want to express the duration of the activity, you can use the past perfect progressive.

Past Perfect Progressive

• Formula:

• Subject + had been + v(-ing)

Future Perfect Progressive

• It is used when you want to know or tell someone how long an action has been happening at a future point.

• The action started before that future point, and it will continue after the future point you speak about.

1947 2003

today

2013

2005

2011

2007

By the year 2013, people will have been watching television for 70 years.

Timetable

Modals• A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb that is

used to indicate modality (likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation).

• Modal verbs do not take the inflection -s or -es in the third person singular, unlike other verbs.

Name Example Yes/No Question Negative Statements

Simple Present Ana studies hard.

Does Ana study hard?

Ana doesn’t study hard.

Simple Past Ana studied hard.

Did Ana study hard?

Ana didn’t study hard.

Future Ana will study hard.

Will Ana study hard?

Ana won’t study hard.

Present progressive

(be+ing)

Ana is studying hard.

Is Ana studying hard?

Ana isn’t studying hard.

Past progressivebe (past) + ing

Ana was studying hard.

Was Ana studying hard?

Ana isn’t studying hard.

Future progressive

Present+ Modal + be+ ing)

Ana will be studying hard.

Will Ana be studying hard?

Ana won’t be studying hard.

Name Example Yes/No Question

Negative Statements

Present Perfect(have/has+ pp)

Ana has studied hard.

Has Ana studied hard?

Ana hasn’t studied hard.

Past Perfect(had+ pp)

Ana had studied hard.

Had Ana studied hard?

Ana hadn’t studied hard.

Future Perfect(Modal + have +

pp)

Ana will have studied hard.

Will Ana have studied hard?

Ana won’t have studied hard.

Present Perfect Progressive

(have/has + pp of be+ ing)

Ana has been studying hard.

Has Ana been studying hard?

Ana hasn’t been studying hard.

Past Perfect Progressive

(had + pp of be+ ing)

Ana had been studying hard.

Had Ana been studying hard?

Ana hadn’t been studying hard.

Future Perfect Progressive

(Modal + have + pp of be+ ing)

Ana will have been studying

hard.

Will Ana have been studying

hard?

Ana won’t have been studying

hard.

Exercises

1. Elvis ___________ to sing and dance.

A) is liking

B) have liked

C) likes

D) don’t like

E) like

2. Where did Sam _______ his car?

A) leave

B) leaves

C) left

D) has left

E) leaving

3. Teresa ______ an accident a week ago.

A) have

B) has

C) is going to have

D) had

E) has had

4. Have you ______ my history book?

A) see

B) saw

C) sees

D) seeing

E) seen

5. I’m looking forward to ______ you again.

A) see

B) sees

C) seeing

D) seen

E) saw

6. Charles ______ the picture that hangs over his bed.

A) draw

B) draws

C) drawn

D) drew

E) drawing

7. We ______ left the mall before our parents arrived.

A) have

B) are

C) was

D) will

E) had

8. Ivan: I’ve decided I ought to sell my old car”. Annie: How long ______ it?”

A) you’ve had

B) have you

C) had you

D) have you had

E) you have had

9. John sold his house, but we don’t know who ______ it.

A) bought

B) buys

C) had bought

D) buying

E) buy

10. I ______ take a break now. I don’t want to stop ____________.

A) can / study

B) can’t / to study

C) can’t / studying

D) can / studying

E) can’t / for studying

11. One of the new students ____________ elected class president.

A) are being

B) have been

C) could have

D) has been

E) is having

12. I___________ to Rincon yesterday.

A) go

B) went

C) going

D) goes

E) will go

Author’s Tone Purpose

Author’s Tone• The author’s purpose is expressed by the tone of voice he

or she assumes in writing.

• Tone is the emotion or mood of the author’s written voice. Purpose and tone are so closely related that they work together.

• Purpose and tone are established with word choice.

• To identify tone and purpose, you need to build on several skills you have already studied: vocabulary, inference, and main ideas.

Author’s Tone• Tone clues the reader to the author’s primary purpose.

• An objective tone usually presents facts and reasonable, un-biased explanations.

• A subjective tone allows a writer to share his or her personal worldview through fiction and personal essays.

• The subjective or emotional tone words describe senses, feelings, personal experiences, judgments, biases, or opinions.

Author’s Purpose• An author writes for many reasons.

• An author may give you facts or true information about a subject, therefore the author is informing.

• Some authors write fiction stories and these stories are to entertain you.

• Other authors may write to persuade or to try to get you to do something.

Author’s PurposeFacts = To Inform

Fiction = Entertain

Tries to Convince you = Persuade

To Inform• Reading for informational purposes is one of the

most common forms of reading.

• The objective of this type of reading material is to present data that the reader didn’t previously know or data that the reader needs to further their knowledge.

• Informative or expository writing provides factual information about a topic.

Example of Informative Reading

Textbooks Biographies Articles

Essays Manuals

Reading for Entertainment • Typically literature that should be used for

entertainment are fictional stories.

• Even though not every fictional piece of literature is not entertaining for everyone but it is entertaining for a specific group of people.

• A story may have a lesson, but the author’s main purpose is to entertain.

Examples of Entertainment Reading

Narrative Writings

Poetry

Movie Scripts

Literature

Persuasive Literature• Persuasive writing expresses an opinion (may use

facts to support).

• Attempts to influence the reader.

• Usually makes an argument.

Example of Persuasive Literature

Advertisements Political Propaganda

Religious Propaganda

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• It was a glorious morning in Alabama. The sun

was shining through the trees. Alan couldn't wait to find his fishing pole and call his friend Sam to go fishing. They had a great time on these early morning fishing trips. They took their dogs with them and the dogs would swim in the lake while they fished. It was so funny to watch those dogs paddle around the lake.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• The Slim-O-Matic will cause you to lose pounds

and inches from your body in one month. This amazing machine helps you to exercise correctly and provides an easy video to show you the proper way to exercise. Send $75.99 and begin exercising today.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• The Underground Railroad was a secret

organization which helped slaves escape to freedom. Many slaves were able to escape because of the conductors and station masters. The northern states were free states and slaves were free once they arrived in the north. Secret codes and signals were used to identify the conductors and station masters.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• Judy Glen's Amazing Wrinkle Remover Cream will

make you look younger in thirty days or less. This remarkable cream has special ingredients to make your wrinkles disappear. The cost for a thirty day supply is $ 25.99. Send your check to P.O Box 00002, Shelton, CA 74836

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?

• Thomas was not happy one little bit. His sister, Susan was making honor roll again. His parents would allow her to do anything she wanted to do. Thomas was not making honor roll this time and he was not going to be allowed to do all the things he wanted to do. Poor Thomas! He would just have to study harder and get back on the honor roll.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was born on

February 7, 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. She met and married Almanzo James Wilder in 1885. She published many books based on her travels to the west. Her writing became the basis for the " Little House" series. She died in 1957.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• HAMSTERS FOR SALE: Braxton Pet Store,

Northwood Mall: We have a large selection of hamsters for sale this week. They are interesting pets and you will enjoy having one. They are only $ 17.99 this week. Come and buy yours today!

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?• Calligraphy is a form of handwriting . A special pen

must be used. Letters are formed using up and down strokes. Old documents are usually written in this form. Diplomas , certificates and other awards are written in calligraphy. It is an interesting form of handwriting.

To Inform, Entertain or to Persuade?

• Katina and her brother, Jess were playing with the water hose outside one day. Jess was hiding from Katina so she wouldn't squirt him with the water. The back door opened and Katina pointed the water hose toward the door. It was Mom and she was dripping wet!

Identifying Main Ideas

Identifying Main Ideas

What is a main idea?Finding a Stated Main IdeaDifference between stated and implied main idea?Implied main idea Finding an implied main idea

What is a main idea?

• The main idea of a paragraph is the point of the passage, minus all the details.

Finding a main idea• After you've read the passage,

summarize it in one sentence that includes the gist of ever idea from the paragraph.

• A good way to do this is to pretend you have just ten words to tell someone what the passage was about.

Finding a main idea• Summarize what was read

• Look for Repetition of Ideas

Difference between stated and implied main idea?

• Sometimes, a reader will get lucky and the main idea will be a stated main idea, where the main idea is easy to find because it's written directly in the text.

• If the author doesn't directly state the main idea of the text, it's up to you to infer what the main idea is.

Stated Main Idea• Because the Internet exists in a world that is already

regulated with policies and laws, government officials, upholders of current laws and the voice of the people, should be ultimately responsible for the regulation of the Internet. With this responsibility comes the enormous task of managing the protection of First Amendment rights along with honoring social and public interests across the world. That being said, the ultimate responsibility still rests in the hands of Internet users who vote – they, along with the officials elected to serve them, make up the global community. Voters have the ability to elect responsible individuals to the appropriate posts, and the elected officials have the responsibility to act on the will of the people..

Implied main idea • Finding the implied main idea is easier if

you think of the passage as a box.

• Inside the box, is a random group of stuff (the details of the passage).

• Pull each item from the box and try to figure out what they each have in common, kind of like the game Tri-Bond.

Implied main idea • These are the 4 steps to finding an implied

main idea:• Read the passage of text • Ask this question to yourself: "What do each of

the details of the passage have in common?" • In your own words, find the common bond

among all the details of the passage and the author's point about this bond.

• Compose a short sentence stating the bond and what the author says about the bond.

Implied main idea • The idea that women are not equal to men has

been a prevailing, common theme in literature since the beginning of time. Like their predecessors, Renaissance writers staunchly laid down the tenet that women were less valuable throughout the pages of effusive literary writings, where women are alternately idolized as virtuous or shunned as harlots. One man proved  to be a glaring contradiction to this falsity. That man was William Shakespeare and he had the courage in those turbulent days to recognize the value and equality of women. His portrayal of women differed than that of many of his contemporaries during the Renaissance era.

Implied main idea

• What is the main idea?

• Although most Renaissance writers propagated the belief that women were not equal with men, Shakespeare's writings portrayed women as men's equals.

Types of Essays

Expository Writing• Expository writing explains and informs. • It presents information and does not argue for or

against a point or seek to defend an opinion.

• Encyclopedia articles are examples of expository writing.

Characteristics of Expository Writing

• It seeks to inform readers about a specific subject.

• It presents information efficiently. • Consider who your audience is and what

they will already know about the subject and thus what you still need to explain.

• You do not want to bore or overwhelm your reader.

Characteristics of Expository Writing

• It should instruct and inform. • It relies almost exclusively on established

information.

Characteristics of Expository Writing

• It does not include the author’s experiences or feelings.

• It does not express an opinion to be defined. The material is presented in a direct and unbiased way.

Descriptive Essay

• The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc.

• This genre encourages the student’s ability to create a written account of a particular experience.

• A descriptive essay is like a painting!

Purpose of a Descriptive Essay

• To inform a reader about something (place, event, object, subject…)

• To share an experience.

• To give a report.

• To entertain a reader.

Characteristics of a DescriptiveEssay

• Strong sensory details (sight, touch, taste, hearing, feelings, thoughts…)

• Main idea/topic followed by supporting details and descriptions.

• Clear organization.

• Effective transitions.

Example

Using your senses describe the previous four pictures

Looks Feels

Smell

Taste

Narrative Essays

• A narrative essay is a story written about a personal experience.

• Its main objective is to provide an opportunity to get to know and understand yourself better.

Narrative Essays• Narratives can do the following:

• Create a sense of shared history, linking people together.

• Provide entertainment.

• Provide psychological healing. Reading or listening to the narrative of someone who faced a life crisis similar to one you are experiencing can help you through the crisis.

• Provide insight. Narratives can help you discover values, explore options, and examine motives.

presents important changes, contrasts, or conflicts

and creates tension includes

detailed observatio

ns of people,

places, and events.

relates events in sequence

.

Involves readers in the story.

is told from a point of

view--usually the

author's point of view.

focuses on connection between

past events,

people, or places and

the present.

makes a point,

communicates a main idea or dominant impression.

CharacteristicsA narrative essay should:

Persuasive Writing• A persuasive essay is an essay that utilizes

logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate than another idea.

• It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt a certain point of view or to take a particular action.

• In the real world, a persuasive essay can be a sales letter, a job application or even a presentation to a group of people.

• In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others:

• to agree with our facts• share our values• accept our argument and conclusions• adopt our way of thinking

Persuasive Writing

• In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others:

• establish facts to support an argument• clarify relevant values for your audience

(perspective)• prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing the

facts and values in importance to build the argument

Persuasive Writing

• In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others:

• form and state conclusions

• "persuading" your audience that your conclusions are based upon the agreed-upon facts and shared values

Persuasive Writing

Paragraph Structure

Paragraph Structure

• Cause and Effect: shows the relationship between one and another.

• Compare and Contrast: compares the relevant similarities and differences between two people, places, or objects. Compare and contrast essays can have a point-by-point or subject by subject organization

Paragraph Structure• Descriptive: depicts the attributes of a

person, place, or object.• Process Narration: explains how an event

unfolds using time or space sequencing• Problem and Solution: describes a problem

and relays potential solutions

Previewing and Inferring

Previewing• Previewing is a rapid kind of reading that

allows you to get a general sense of what a passage, article, or book is about and how it is organized.

• Your eyes scan quickly over the page looking for answers to general questions about the material.

Previewing

• People usually preview:• Articles• Essays• Research Papers• Textbooks

Previewing• When previewing an article or essay,

you should:• look at most of the first paragraph, the first

sentence of each paragraph, and the concluding sentences.

• That will provide you with an idea of what you will further read about.

Previewing• These are general questions that you should

ask when previewing an article or essay:• What is it about? • What is the title? • What do I already know about this?

• What kind of text is this? • Descriptive • An explanation• Argumentative• Narrative

Previewing

• Is the text divided into parts? • How is it organized?• Are there any maps, numbers, italicized

words, or names in the text?

Previewing• Previewing textbooks:

• You should always read the table of contents and the outline of a chapter to find out what they contain.

• You should also preview the text in a chapter or a section of a chapter before reading it.

Making Inferences• Writer’s expect readers to use their

imagination and their knowledge about the world to fill in facts and ideas that are not stated in the text.

• It is often necessary to read between the lines because a writer cannot include all the possible information about a topic or situation.

Making Inferences

• Writers leave out information that they think readers will know already or will be able to guess.

Separating Facts from Inferences• In many kinds of writing, the author

presents facts about a situation or topic and also makes inferences from those facts.

• Facts are statements of information that can be verified.

• Inferences are educated guesses that are based on facts.

Making Inferences in Fiction• Writers of fiction often choose not to tell

"the whole story" to the reader. • They may have stylistic reasons for this,

or they may keep back some information from the reader in order to increase the mystery or the suspense.

• When you are reading fiction, you should look for words and phrases that will help you fill in the information that the writer has left out.