Part 5 Study Skills

1. Part 5Study Skills Chapter 13 Studying Textbook Chapters

2. Skimming Skimming involves reading material quickly in order to gain a quick overview and identify the main points. Read the introduction to the chapter, the summary at the end of the chapter, the section titles and sub-titles, and many of the first sentences of sections and paragraphs. You also look at the illustrations and read the captions. If you have done your skimming well, you should be able to state the main idea of the chapter.

3. Scanning Scanning is a technique for quickly finding answers to specific questions. People use scanning techniques daily in order to find information quickly. When you go to the phone book, you scan down through the list of names or businesses until you find the one you are looking for. You don’t actually take the time to read every name. You may also scan through the TV guide, the dictionary, and newspaper ads.

4. Annotating In Chapter 1, you learned how to underline or highlight information and then to make notes to yourself in the margins.

5. Outlining • Outlining is an important study-skill technique for organizing textbook information. • In a formal outline, each additional division must contain information • that is more specific than the division before it. • Main headings: Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.) • 1st subheadings: capital letters (A, B, C, etc.) • 2nd level of subheadings: Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) • 3rd level of subheadings: lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.).

6. You cannot have just one subtopic; there must be at least two. If a topic is divided, there must be at least two parts, though there could be more parts depending on how many times it is divided. The process of outlining helps you to organize and learn the material. If you have done a good job with your outline, you should be able to study from it without having to return to the original textbook material.  

7. Mapping Mappingis similar to outlining in that it has categories and subcategories. However, it is more visual and free-form. Your goal in mapping is to create a good study guide.

8. Comparison/Contrast Chart • Comparison/contrast charts are useful for highlighting similarities and differences. • In one column, list the categories to be compared and contrasted. • In the second and third columns, record the information from the items you are comparing that pertains to each category.

9. Venn Diagram • Like a comparison/contrast chart, Venn diagrams can show similarities and differences. • It is made up of two interlocking circles. • List unique traits in the outside parts of the circles. List shared traits in the overlapping part of the circle.

10. Chapter 13 Test Taking Tip – Preparing for Standardized Tests Many of you will someday be taking standardized exams. Most standardized exams require you to read passages of varying length and then answer questions about the passages. Many of the passages come from textbook selections, essays, news magazines, and documents similar to those you have been reading in The Art of Critical Reading. As with most exams, preparation for these standardized exams is the key to doing well.

11. 1. Familiarize yourself with the directions ahead of time. • 2. Familiarize yourself with the types of questions • that will be on the exam. • 3. If possible, take a practice exam or do sample questions • under timed circumstances similar to the actual testing situation. • 4. Know the scoring system. • Should you guess? • Most experts say that if you can eliminate at least two of the four choices, it’s acceptable to make an educated guess.

12. 5. Experiment with the following methods for reading a passage. • Determine which method works best for you before taking the big exam. • Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions. • Skim the passage quickly, glance at the questions, then reread the passage carefully and answer the questions. • Read the questions first, then read the passage carefully, • and then return to the questions.