Following Ideas in Lengthy Texts

1. Following Ideas in Lengthy Texts Q:Skills Reading & Writing 5 Unit 6 Reading Skill

2. Following Ideas When reading academic texts (such as the ones in your textbook) it is often the case that a particular point(s) of view (POV) regarding something is being established by the author. (For ex.?) These POVs typically are the main ideas of the body paragraphs or maybe the entire passage, i.e., they’re generally easy to identify and comprehend.

3. Following Ideas However, at this advanced stage of language proficiency, you should be able to not just understand the ideas presented in the text. You should also be able see how a chain of ideas (even if lengthy and detailed) flow together, connecting logically to support a POV.

4. One tip to help Check your understanding of the pronounsused such as her, it, they, who, which, them, that, etc. This means that you should ask yourself if you know what a pronoun’s referent iswithin a paragraph. Remember, the referent is the noun, noun phrase or idea that the pronoun represents which, of course, had to have been mentioned in the text before the appearance of the pronoun.

5. It’s usually quite simple to figure out the pronoun-referent relationship The new hospital is enormous. It has over 400 patient rooms, a separate complex for doctors’ offices, and a surgical theatre too. Here, we have an example, where the referent is simply the last mentioned noun phrase.

6. But… …sometimes, it can be a little tricky, especially when we’re talking about demonstrative pronouns like thisand these That’s because demonstrative pronouns don’t necessarily map back to a specific noun or noun phrase in the previous sentence…

7. Instead, demonstrative pronouns refer back to the last idea which may be the entire previous sentence or even the entire last paragraph. Take a look at the connected sentences below. Identify the pronoun and its referent. There aren’t enough functioning computers in the university. This means that we can’t have computerized exams this semester.

8. We will do an activity in the textbook to practice identifying referents for selected pronouns, all within one connected chain of ideas of a single paragraph.

9. But wait! One more tip to help you follow ideas… Good writing reinforces connections between ideas by using summary word/phrases which: • sum up/restate the idea of the previous sentence • are at the beginning of the next sentence which itself goes on to provide new information that builds on the previous idea (They’re very similar to pronouns, i.e. are making reference to something previously mentioned) • are often in a different part of speech than the original idea is (In this way, they are not like pronouns)

10. Summary Word/Phrases Example Find the summary phrase in the text below and the idea that is being restated. I started taking my career more seriously while studying in graduate school. This change made me seek out different job opportunities all over the world so I could consider the best options for me. So, when you spot these kinds of structures, ask yourself, as with pronouns, if you really understand the previously mentioned idea before you go on. By ensuring that you do, you will better follow the flow of connected ideas.

11. We will do an activity in the textbook to practice identifying proper summary word or phrases.