Chapter 7: Organizing Ideas

1. Chapter 7: Organizing Ideas Reading Across the Disciplines: College Reading and Beyond, 3/eKathleen McWhorter © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

2. In this chapter you will learn how to: Organize ideas by: • Highlighting • Annotating • Paraphrasing • Outlining • Mapping • Summarizing © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

3. Analyze the assignment. Assess your familiarity with the subject. Read first, then highlight. Use the boldface headings. Highlight main ideas and only key supporting details. (continued) Highlighting © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

4. Avoid highlighting complete sentences. Move quickly through the document as you highlight. Develop a consistent system of highlighting. Highlight no more than 15-25% of any given page. Highlighting © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

5. Annotating • Circling unknown words • Marking definitions • Marking examples • Numbering lists of ideas, causes, reasons, or events • Placing asterisks next to important passages (Continued) © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

6. Annotating • Putting question marks next to confusing passages • Making notes to yourself • Marking possible test items • Drawing arrows to show relationships • Writing comments, noting disagreements and similarities • Marking summary statements © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

7. Paraphrasing A paraphrase is a restatement of a passage’s ideas in your own words. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

8. Paraphrasing Effectively • Read slowly and carefully. • Read the material entirely before writing. • Pay attention to exact meanings and relationships among ideas. • Paraphrase sentence by sentence. (continued) © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

9. Paraphrasing Effectively • Read each sentence and express the key idea in your own words. • Don’t try to paraphrase word by word. Instead, work with ideas. • For words or phrases you are unsure of, check a dictionary. • You may combine several sentences into a more concise paraphrase. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

10. Outlining • Read an entire section and then jot down notes. • As you read, be alert for organizational patterns. • Record the most important ideas in the briefest possible form. • Think of your outline as a list of the main ideas and supporting details of a selection. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

11. Outlining • Write in your own words; do not copy sentences or parts of sentences from the selection. • Use a system of indentation to separate main ideas and details. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

12. Use Indentations to Separate Main Ideas and Details TOPIC Main Idea Supporting Detail fact fact Supporting Detail Main Idea Supporting Detail Supporting Detail fact fact © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

13. Mapping to Show Relationships • Mapping – drawing of a diagram to describe how a topic and its related ideas are connected. • Visual means of learning by writing; organizes and consolidates information. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

14. Mapping to Show Relationships(Concept Mapping) • Identify the topic and write it in the center of the page. • Identify ideas, aspects, parts, and definitions that are related to the topic. Draw each detail on a line radiating from the topic. • As you discover further details, draw new lines branching from the idea that the details explain. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

15. Mapping to Show Relationships(Concept Mapping) Diagram presents ideas spatially rather than in list form. Detail Detail TOPIC Detail Detail Detail © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

16. Mapping to Show Relationships(Process Diagrams) Diagram visually describes steps, variables, or parts of a process. The Search Process Encyclopedia Books Periodicals Overview of Topic Basic Information Detailed Information © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

17. Mapping to Show Relationships (Time Lines) Shows sequence or order of events as a central focus. 1932—F.D.R. elected President 1933—Emergency Banking Relief Act 1934—Securities and Exchange Commission authorized 1936—F.D.R. reelected © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

18. Mapping to Show Relationships (Part & Function Diagrams) Diagrams that are labeled drawing. • Use and description or classification of physical objects. • Example: learn the parts and functions of the brain by drawing it. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

19. Summarizing to Condense Ideas • As a first step, highlight or write brief notes on the material. • Write one sentence that states the writer’s overall concern or most important idea. • Be sure to paraphrase, using your own words rather than those of the author. • Review the major supporting information that the author gives to explain the major idea. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

20. Summarizing to Condense Ideas • The amount of detail you include depends on your purpose for writing the summary. • Present ideas in the summary in the same order in which they appeared in the original material. • If the writer presents a clear opinion or expresses an attitude toward the subject matter, include it in your summary. • If the summary is for your own use only, do not worry about sentence structure. © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers

21. Visit the Companion Website http://www.ablongman.com/mcwhorter © 2006 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers