The essence of effective reading is to enable understanding of the context from the text one is reading. Most people believe that a good reader is the one who can read, fast but I believe that speed is not the greatest thing since the ability to understand and reflect on the text while ensuring that all the relevant information is gained the most valuable asset in reading (Harley, 2010). The aim of this essay is to prove that the success of any student or person inspiring to become a better writer is dependent on developing critical reading skills (Harley, 2010). In the aim to satisfy the purpose of the essay, the paper discusses the best reading strategies that enable the reader to engage thoroughly with a text.
The strategies will facilitate the development of critical reading skills which the essay will prove are essential in making him/her a disciplined and focused writer. Lastly, it is important to note that plagiarism being the greatest inhibitor of writing hence the essay will also address the issue on avoiding it while making use of other people’s work. Technological improvement has increased the accessibility of reading materials for all those interested in reading. Students have an easier task while searching for reading materials. Thus, it is mandatory to develop better reading skills that will help their course of gathering the necessary information to address the requirements of their tasks.
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The increment of available information for any given writing assignment may be detrimental if the student does not develop critical reading skills (Harley, 2010). Critical reading skills comprise of surveying the text before detailed reading which helps the reader to get clues on the purpose, complexity, familiarity with the ideas and the relevance of the text. Most students tend to fear reading complex texts thus when they are faced with difficult texts, words or any challenge they are not willing to write-down the complex words or mark the complex paragraphs. Critical readers on the other hand when faced with a similar problem mark the sentences or write-down sentences before continuing with the detailed reading. This helps as the text may shed light on the misunderstood issue hence making it understandable (Harley, 2010). Long articles are challenging for most students as the loss of concentration inhibits their understanding.
As stated earlier, it is wise to survey the text before commencing detailed reading to gain clues; the clues are important to the reader as they help him/her formulate questions on what to expect from the text. The expectations may be different from what the reader had thought, but the different perspective of the author will help the reader stay focused while also comprehending on the author's perspective or argument. The reader can also visualize or tend to fit in the author’s shoe, which will keep him/her engaged with the text. It will reduce the chances of losing concentration (Harley, 2010). Writing is a complex issue as it depends on the audience, assignment and purpose thus it requires planning and gathering the necessary information to ensure good writing.
The skills developed from improved reading strategies ensures that the writer can understand the task and the information needed for the task. The skills help the writer determine the texts to read while gathering information, understand the different styles and writing styles used by other authors. This is beneficial as it helps the writer develop different skills of facing a similar task and encourages the writers to be creative. In academic writing, it is important to use professional texts either as quotations and paraphrases when supporting one’s arguments, but the effectiveness of doing so is dependent on the ability to understand the author’s main idea and relevance which is dependent on effective critical reading (Harley, 2010). It is also through effective reading that the writer can be a critical thinker as earlier discussed which helps the writer use the work of other people using his/her original words before including the correct citations. The essay has proved that effective writing is dependent on developing better reading strategies. It helps in idea generation, critical thinking, learning different writing styles, understanding of the texts, avoiding plagiarism and enabling the writer to re-read his/her work in a critical manner, which helps determine the errors committed hence improving their writing skills.
Reference
University of Minnesota. (2015, October 13). Critical Reading Strategies. Center for Writing . Retrieved August 6, 2016, from, http://writing.umn.edu/sws/quickhelp/process/reading.html
