Global Reading:Pre-viewing and Pre-

readingGetting the gist of the text before you

read it.

Debbie Lahav

Why pre-view and pre-read?

The answer is very simple. The more you know about the text before you read it closely, the easier it is to read.

Points to Consider

Why am I reading this text?

What do I know about the topic of the text?

What predictions can I make about the text?

My purpose. What information do I need to know from this text?

Prior knowledge. Do I need to look up some terms or concepts?

Content and organization. What do I know about the topic and how the information is organized?

Pre-viewing

Pre-viewing is taking a quick look at the text. Look for things that catch your eye:• Type of text (magazine

article or research article)• Title and author• Source and date of

publication• Pictures and graphs• Number of pages

Pre-viewing

What do you now know about the text that you didn’t know before?• The topic of the text• The type of text• How long the text is• The organization of

information or “map” of the text

This gets your head thinking about the topic and activating your prior knowledge!

Pre-reading

Pre-reading is reading selected parts of the article to find out more about it:• Read the Introduction, or

first paragraphs.• Read first sentences,

especially if the paragraphs are very long.

• Read the Conclusion, or last 2-3 paragraphs.

Pre-reading

When you are pre-reading …. • Take notes in the margin

(topic; text organization) in any language

• Underline key words or

phrases

• Mark terms and definitions

• Look up unfamiliar concepts

• But only important

points.

highlight

Summing Up

that previewing and pre-reading a text are very important stages in academic reading.

how balance global reading with a close, detailed reading of a text.

Good readers know….