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1. EL310
English for
Engineering
Senior Lecturer:

2. Agenda
• Why academic reading is important?
• What is a Academic Reading?
– Extensive and Intensive Reading
– Scanning and Skimming
• How to read academic Article and Paper

3. Why Academic Reading?
• Reading is the most critical part of the learning process.
• Reading often appears to students to be the most boring of
all tasks
BUT......
• Your ideas about research will come mainly from reading
• Wide reading expands your perspectives

4. Reading Skills
• Extensive reading
• Intensive reading
• Scanning
• Skimming

5. Reading Skills
• Extensive reading – is reading a text for
general understanding
• Intensive reading – involves reading in detail,
with specific aims and tasks
• Skimming – is reading a text quickly to get a
general idea of meaning
• Scanning – is reading a text to find quickly
specific information

6. What is a intensive and
Extensive Reading?

7. What is a intensive and
Extensive Reading?
Intensive

8. What is a intensive and
Extensive Reading?
Intensive Extensive

9. What is a intensive and
Extensive Reading?
NOT ALL LIKE THIS!
Intensive Extensive

10. Intensive and Extensive
Reading

11. Intensive and Extensive
Reading

12. Reading Strategies
Core
sources
(In-depth)
Extended
sources
(Skim)
reading has a focus
and a purpose
Peripheral
sources
(Scan)
All academic
All potential
sources

13. Reading depth
• Scan read
– Main purpose is to gain overall impression.
Reading for relevance, key words and to
determine quality/legitimacy.
• Skim read
– Main purpose is exploratory. Reading for key
words, vocabulary, key arguments (schools of
thought)
• In-Depth read
– Main purpose is reflexive or critical reading

14. Active reading
• Reading is an active process in which the
reader continually anticipates the meaning
of the text
• Speed reading as a form of active reading
Reading is an active process in which the
reader continually anticipates the meaning of
the text (7 out of 16 words)

15. Scan read the periphery
Focus/Activity Prompting questions or activities
Look at title What is it about? Do I know anything about this topic?
Can I guess what it might be about?
Look at the author Have I read anything by the author before?
Speed read the TOC /
abstract
What does it suggest about the structure / content?
Can I identify key chapters/sections/ideas (key words)
Speed read the index /
conclusion
Index: Which ideas/terms (authors) are highly
referenced? What are the key words / concepts
Conclusion: Is there a summary of arguments of ideas
Look at headings Does it suggest the content, structure, flow of argument?
Look at tables, diagrams, etc. Does it suggest a structure or content?
Look at references What sort of references are there (coverage, depth)?
Any familiar authors? Can you get an idea of the
intellectual influences of the author? Key authors?
Anticipate, guess, predict What do you think this is about? Where is it heading? Is it
relevant for to your focus?

16. Skim read the extensions
Focus/Activity Prompting questions or activities
Read the abstract /
introduction
Does it suggest a structure? What are the main
claims / conclusions suggested
Speed read the conclusion What are the conclusions?
Speed read the first and
last paragraph of each
section (topic sentences)
Can you pick up the flow of the discussion? What
are the important points being made?
Speed read the core
section / chapter
What is the central argument or position?
Anticipate, guess, predict What do you think this is about? Where is it
heading? Is it relevant for to your focus?

17. Read the core in-depth
Focus/Activity Prompting questions or activities
Skim and scan the source
(book journal, etc)
Read actively and critically • Make notes (draw diagram of structure)
• Underline key ideas (one per paragraph)
• Annotate pages / diagrams
• Critically evaluate argument
• Relate to other core and extended readings
Make your own summary of
main points / argument
Keep in safe place for later reference
Reread (multiple times) With each read try and become more critical
about the claims and the argument
- Why do you agree / disagree

18. How to read effectively?

19. Academic Reading Exercise #3
• Scan read a number of academic journal
papers and a number of academic books
(from one of your course reading lists)
• Make some notes
– What was difficult about it?
– What did you learn from the experience?
• If possible discuss it in a group

20. Thank you for your
attention