Academic English is the language used in the research and educational domain, focusing on productive and receptive skills. Key reading techniques include skimming for main ideas and scanning for specific information. Examples illustrate the differences between modern reptiles and dinosaurs, highlighting size, limb positioning, and temperature control.

1. Academic Reading
Academic Reading

2. Academic English is the genre of English used
in the world of research, study, teaching and
universities. If you read an article in an
academic journal or listen to someone giving a
presentation or a talk about an academic
subject in an academic environment,
Academic English is probably being used.

3. • Academic language includes both productive
and receptive modalities.

4. Skills Assessed
• Read for gist. (general idea of the text)
• Read for main ideas.
• Read for details.
• Understand implied meaning.
• Recognize writer’s opinion, attitude and
purpose.

5. Skimming
is a process of reading to get an overall view or
get an impression of the content. This is when
you pick out the main ideas or messages.
In skimming you ignore the details and look for
the main ideas. Main ideas are usually found in
the first sentences of each paragraph and in the
first and last paragraphs. It is also useful to pay
attention to the organisation of the text.

6. Scanning
• Way of locating specific information – key
dates, key terms, definitions……..

7. • After using the skim reading method to
identify the section of importance, scan the
text to find the specific term/piece of
information and read this section only.

8. Example 1
There are many excellent reasons for exercising
several times each week. First, people who exercise
look better. Exercise is important to keep our bodies
in good shape. In addition, people who exercise
have more energy. For example, a person who
exercises can walk up stairs or climb hills more
easily. People who exercise have a healthier heart,
too. Finally, exercise reduces stress and helps you
have a clear mind. Too much stress can cause you to
worry a lot, and that is not good for your health.

9. Example 2
• One is size. Most modern reptiles are small. Dinosaurs
were much larger than any reptile on Earth now. Second,
the legs of most reptiles today are on the sides of their
body. However, dinosaurs’ legs were on the bottom of
their body. In this way, dinosaurs could stand up on their
back legs. Third, today’s reptiles use the environment to
control their body temperature. In contrast, dinosaurs
controlled their own body temperature. They did not
depend on what was around them. While reptiles and
dinosaurs may seem very similar, they are actually very
different.

10. • Reading comprehension 1 “Friction”