Expository

Text
Introduction
about
Chapter
 Introduction about Chapter

In this chapter, we will understand the necessity

for comprehension skills.
We will also study specific features of
expository texts and the process of both
extensive and intensive reading.
Comprehension, which means understanding,
is the end goal of reading.
The process of understanding employs a
number of strategies and meticulous practices.
The word "Expository" has been derived from
the term 'expose' which means "make
(something) visible by uncovering it."
Expository writing is categorically concerned
with explanations.
 What is
Expository
Text?
 What is Expository Text?

Expository writings may aim at explaining a

process or may have arguments to support a thesis
statement. An expository text should have
meticulous and carefully directed instructions and
explanations to make the reader understand.
This form of writing is also used when trying to
supplement reasons or make another understand
why or how (process) something happens.
This type of writing needs to be extremely precise
and clear in its style. Writings in expository texts
can of six categories. It can be used: -
To determine the cause and effect of any
phenomena.
Problem and solution of certain situations.
For different kind of Classifications.
For the development of comparison and
contrast.
For determining a definition, and
For detailing a process.
 Reading
Strategies
 Reading Strategies

Readence, Bean and Blodwin say a simple

procedure to help students recognize, identify
and utilize text structure is a way to better
comprehend and recall reading from expository
text.
Skimming and scanning these techniques
enable the reader to establish a period of time.
Both in understanding in a limited skimming
and scanning, the reader requires to rapid eye
movements through the text, specifically the
keywords.
Skimming ensures a rapid reading to provide a
creation of overall understanding of the text.
Scanning is concerned with rapid reading for
the finding specific keywords and facts.
Scanning enables the registering of these
keywords to get a better understanding of the
text. "Skimming is like snorkelling, and
scanning is more like pearl diving." The reader
should use skimming in previewing, reviewing
and determining the main idea.
Skimming
 Skimming

Skimming helps the reader finish a cumbersome

text in a short period of time. However, it helps
get an abstract idea of the topic and the reader
cannot do an in-depth analysis. Thus, it is fit only
as a preview into the text. A combination of both
scanning and skimming is needed to have an
effective comprehension. In skimming, the reader
will not be able to read every word. In general, the
following steps can be of help:
Read Essay overview to know the main
divisions of ideas.
Glance through the main headings in each
paragraph or section.
Read the headings of charts and tables.
Read the entire introductory paragraph and then
the first and last sentence only of each following
paragraph.
In each paragraph, read only the first few words
of each sentence or to locate the main idea.
Stop and quickly read the sentences containing
keywords indicated in boldface or italics.
 When you find something significant, stop to
read the entire sentence to make sure.
Resist the temptation to stop to read details you
don't need.
The reader needs not give equal attention to
everything. He should know when to go fast,
when to skip and when to slow down your reading
speed. The reader should particularly slow down
when skimming introductory and concluding
paragraphs.
The reader should skim topic sentences, find an
unfamiliar word, or when the material is
complicated.
Scanning
 Scanning

Scanning uses keywords and organizational cues.

But while the goal of skimming is a bird's-eye
view of the material, the goal of scanning is to
locate and swoop down on specific facts which
may be buried in long text passages that have
relatively little else to do with your topic or claim.
The following techniques can be used for
scanning: -
The reader should know what he is looking
for.
The reader should decide on a few key words
or phrases search terms.
He should look for only one keyword at a time.
Multiple scans should be done if the reader
uses multiple keywords.
Eyes should float rapidly down the page until
the reader finds the word or phrase he wants.
When the eye catches one of the keywords,
read the surrounding material carefully. The
following steps should be followed:
 The reader should read each question
completely before starting to scan.
 He has to choose the keywords from the
question itself.
 The reader should look for answers to only
one question at a time and scan separately
for each question.
 When the reader locates a keyword, he
should read the surrounding text carefully
to see if it.
Descriptive
Text
Introduction
of Chapter
 Introduction of Chapter

The word descriptive has been derived from the

term describe'. Descriptive text gives a detailed
description of a place, person or a thing. This kind
of writing differs from others as it enables a
picture being formed in the mind of the reader of
the thing being described.
Reading descriptive text provides the picture of
the thing described. According to Janeen Lewis,
descriptive writing describes a person, place or
thing in such a way that the reader feels she is
experiencing what is being described. The details
in the writing vividly come alive in the reader's
mind.
Lewis says descriptive writing is found in all
genres of writing, from the setting of a historical
fiction novel to the details of a recipe. There are
many types of descriptive writing that place the
reader in the middle of the plot, scene, essay or
article. In this chapter, we will study the features
of descriptive texts and how to comprehend such
writings.
Features of
Descriptive
Texts
 Features of Descriptive Texts

Some of the features of descriptive texts are given

below: -
To Show or to Tell: - Descriptive writing relies on
appealing to the sensory system and makes us
experience the writing through senses instead of
direct thoughts. Sensory organs receive information
from the surrounding as they feel, smell, see, taste
and hear. Descriptive writing makes us understand
than telling us directly what we need to think is the
process of 'showing' instead of 'telling' It gives
enough for a vivid picture to the reader which
becomes adequate to make the reader think certain
thoughts. It is an indirect method of telling
something. The following examples can be
considered:
The following examples can be considered: -
Telling: - The room was empty and smelled
exceptionally stale. There was no furniture or any
kind of living presence. The windows had no
curtains because no one had bothered for a long
training.
Showing: - "The apartment smelled of stale food,
cabbage, wet waste; mixed with old sweaty socks.
My sneakers kept squeaking on the cracked wood
floors. Dust strewn everywhere, I could see a bit
around the room due to the sunlight seeping in from
a broken curtain less window."
The first example gives directions to think in a
certain way about the room while in the second one,
detailed picture of the room is given which prompt
us to think in a certain way to perceive this room.
The reader has to look for these images or indicative
descriptive words that prompts him into forming a
picture in his mind.
 What is
Figurative
Language?
 What is Figurative Language?

Figurative language means the language that has

figures of speech and allusions. Such writing is used
to create images in the mind of the reader. It does
not allude to the literal meaning of words for the
reader to infer meaning out of them and ignite a
creative thought process which comes from the
process 'showing' and not 'telling'. Literary devices
like similes, metaphors and personification are used
in this type of writing.
 Types of
Descriptive
Writing
 Types of Descriptive Writing

Description is different from descriptive essays. A

description is just a short passage about anything,
while a descriptive essay has the same structural
system as any other essay. A descriptive essay will
have a narrative and a thesis statement. This essay
will have an introduction, body and conclusion
which will run on the lines of the thesis statement.
Descriptive writings involve:
Writing about a place
Writing about a person
Writing about an object
Writing about nature
Writing about oneself
Writing about others
Writing poems
Writing about travelling, memory or
experience.
 Reading
Strategies
 Reading Strategies

The following points show what the act of reading

entails: -
Think Aloud: - The first step should be to try and
understand the text. After having understood it,
the reader can then explain it back to himself.
Thinking out loudly to himself what the passage
might mean has its benefits in enabling him to
understand better.
Set goals before reading: Before beginning to
read, the reader should know the purpose of
reading. Goal will help the reader to focus on the
things he is looking for in the text. Keeping that
goal in mind, the reader can start reading the
passage.
Structure: - If the reader is able to identify the
type of essay, he can predict what he might find
in the essay.
Mental Overview: - The techniques of skimming
can be used for thus. When the reader starts
reading, he should begin to make mental notes of
certain keywords and lines that give him an
overall gist of the passage.
Connection between sentences: - The reader
should connect sentences in the next. If the
sentences are not linked, it will affect in
understanding.
Predict and Revise: - This strategy allows the
reader to read faster. If the reader understands
what the passage is about, he knows what it might
be saying. This will allow him to predict what to
expect and hence he can understand the passage
quickly.
Be Selective: - The reader has to decide and select
the things which he believes are important. The
reader should identify the thesis statement and
then proceed to find the supporting notes to it.
Summarize: - Making a summary of each
paragraph in about two to three lines will help the
reader comprehend the given passage.
Meta cognition: - Meta cognition means thinking
about thinking". This concept was introduced by
John Flavell. Meta cognition means the reader's
ability to control his thinking processes through
various strategies, such as organizing,
monitoring, and adapting.
Narrative
Text
Introduction
about
Chapter
 Introduction about Chapter

Narrative text narrates a story, which may be a

fiction or a real event. It can be descriptive as
well as argumentative narratives. A factual
narrative write up is close to reality while
fiction can take liberties and is based on the
imagination of the writer.
Creativity plays an important role in both
fiction and non-fiction narratives.
According to Dr. Rahmad Husein and Dr. Anni
Holila Pulungan, the social function of
narrative genre is to tell a story. They say the
story is commonly constituted by a number of
events in which it is found that something goes
wrong.
The wrong side of the event leads to a stage,
which is one with great suspense called a crisis
or climax in the story. The story then stages a
solution to the problem in the climax. A
narrative ends with a solution, either with a
happy or sad ending. Narratives, both in oral or
written forms, have passed from one generation
to other generations.
They present views, attitudes and aspirations of
the society. Narrative is regarded as the
preservation of culture. Non-fiction narratives
include: memoirs, biographies, periodicals and
magazines while fictional narratives include
novels and short stories. In this chapter, we will
understand the features of narrative texts and
also do comprehension of narrative texts.