| A | B |
|---|
| perspective | a writer's point of view toward his / her subject |
| assertion | a statement or belief that the author wants to explain and then support |
| questioning the author | a reading strategy that involves identifying the topic, identifying the author's viewpoint and examining how the positions are supported |
| argument | a position supported by evidence |
| evidence | includes facts, statistics or quotes from experts that a writer uses to support his / her claims and assertions |
| facts | statements that can be proved true or false |
| statistics | facts that use numbers |
| anecdote | a brief story used to make a point |
| quotation | rewriting the exact words of an author or speaker |
| authorÕs purpose | an author's reason for writing - to explain or inform, to entertain, to persuade, or to enlighten |
| paraphrasing | is a way to reword, restate, or rephrase information you have gathered |
| skimming | rapid reading you do to get a general idea of what a book, an article, or a chapter is about |
| purpose of a textbook | to teach the reader about a particular subject |
| structure of a textbook | to organize information by topic, making it easier to find |
| table of contents | a list of the major chapters and parts of a book along with their page numbers - found in the front of a book |
| index | an alphabetical list of the topics, terms, people, and places in a text - found in the back of a book |
| headings and titles | list the ideas from most important (broadest), to less important (more narrow) |
| boldface terms | terms that appear in heavy, darker type and are used to signal that a word, term, or event is important and to make it stand out |
| caption | text that explains the subject of a photograph or illustration |
| glossary | an alphabetical list of the key terms and their definitions in the text |
| purpose of a newspaper article | to give factual information about current events |
| structure of a newspaper article | a form known as the inverted pyramid - the lead of the story is first, followed by details presented in order of most important to least important |
| lead | the opening paragraph(s) of a newspaper, magazine, or Internet article - often answers the important questions of who, what, where, when, why or how |
| purpose of an instructional manual | to help you operate and care for a specific device |
| structure of an instructional manual | usually provides step-by-step directions and diagrams |
| context | the "setting" for a word in a sentence - often gives you clues to meaning |
| synonyms | words that have the same or nearly the same meanings |
| antonyms | words that have opposite meanings |
| root word | the word that a suffix or prefix is added to |
| prefix | a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning |
| suffix | a letter or group of letters added to the end of the word to change its meaning |
| comparison | points out similarities between two things |
| contrast | points out differences between two things |
| block pattern of comparison / contrast | the writer first discusses all the points of subject 1, then goes on to discuss all the points of subject 2 |
| point-by-point pattern of comparison / contrast | the writer goes back and forth between the two things being compared and contrasted |
| main idea | what the writer wants you to remember most after reading a selection - it is the central idea in a piece of writing |
| directly stated main idea | often in a topic sentence at the beginning or end of the selection |
| indirectly stated main idea | also called an inferred or suggested main idea because the reader must find the most important details and make an inference about the main idea of the selection |
| supporting details | used to provide evidence, describe a process, give examples, or create an impression that supports the main idea |
| topics or subjects | tell the general nature of a reading selection - the topic is what the reading is about |
| topic sentence | states or strongly suggests the focus of a paragraph |
| cause and effect | a relationship between two or more events in which one event brings about another |
| cause | the event that happens first in cause-and-effect |
| effect | the event that happens last in cause-and-effect |
