Bridging the Gap

Dr. Brenda Smith, Professor Emerita of Georgia State University, is the author of Bridging the Gap: College Reading, Breaking Through: College Reading, and the Reader’s Handbook. Dr. Smith has authored other books on college reading and test-taking, and was the general editor of a series of study skills books for five different content areas.  Dr. Smith taught Developmental Studies Reading at GSU and developed Freshman Orientation courses for the university. She was twice awarded “Outstanding Article of the Journal of Developmental Education.” Other awards include Distinguished Alumni Professor, Distinguished Georgia Educator, and  Georgia Reading Teacher of the Year. Dr. Smith lives in Atlanta and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Shepherd Spinal Center and the Members Guild of the Atlanta History Center.   Dr. LeeAnn Morris has more than 20 years of community college teaching experience and is committed to helping students achieve their college and career goals. She takes great satisfaction in continuing Brenda Smith’s legacy of excellence by shepherding Breaking Through: College Reading and Bridging the Gap: College Reading through their current editions.   LeeAnn is a Distinguished Faculty professor at San Jacinto College near Houston, where she has been honored with the Outstanding Faculty Award. She served as chair of the College Preparatory Department and is delighted to return to the classroom full time to teach two levels of integrated reading and writing courses.   LeeAnn is an avid reader and believer in the power and pleasure of lifelong reading. She has done extensive research on reading workshop approaches for college developmental reading students. She has witnessed the satisfaction and growth that come from reading often and widely and has incorporated the reading workshop concept into her teaching, along with Breaking Through and Bridging the Gap.

1.  Active Academic Reading What Is Active Academic Reading?   What Can We Learn From Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience?  BRAIN BOOSTER  BRAIN BOOSTER: Are You Paying Attention?  Help Your Brain Absorb New Information  Poor Concentration: Causes and Cures  External Distractions   Internal Distractions   BRAIN BOOSTER: Are You Curious?  READER’S TIP: Improving Concentration   READER’S TIP: Managing Electronic Communication   Is Reading Rate Important?   Varying Rate and Technique to Fit Purpose   Rate Variations and Prior Knowledge   READER’S TIP: Efficient Reading: Adjusting Rate and Technique to Material and Purpose  What Is Your Baseline Reading Rate?  BRAIN BOOSTER: Music to Our Ears and to Our Brains Habits for Faster Reading   Strategies for Reading Comprehension Tests   Plan for Success   Before Taking a Test   BRAIN BOOSTER: Balance Memorization and Application in Test Preparation   During the Test   After the Test   BRAIN BOOSTER: Turn Mistakes Into Successes  Recognize the Major Types of Comprehension Questions  READER’S TIP: Key Words in Essay Questions   Locus of Control   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 PSYCHOLOGY   “Are you Stalling? Win the Battle Against Procrastination!” from Samuel E. Wood, Ellen Green Wood, and Denise G. Boyd CONCEPT PREP FOR PSYCHOLOGY   SELECTION 2 HISTORY   “Home Front Workers, Rosie the Riveter, and Victory Girls” from Jacqueline Jones, et al. CONCEPT PREP FOR HISTORY   SELECTION 3 SCIENCE  “Is there Enough Earth for Everyone?”  from Teresa Audesirk, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers VOCABULARY BOOSTER: OVER, UNDER, AROUND, AND THROUGH  
2.  Strategic Reading and Study What Is Strategic Reading?  Four Types of Readers  The Stages of Reading   Stage 1: Strategies for Previewing   Signposts for Previewing   READER’S TIP: Ask Questions While Previewing  Preview to Activate Schemata  BRAIN BOOSTER: Schemata and Your Brain Stage 2: Strategies for Integrating Knowledge While Reading   Integrating Ideas: How Do Good Readers Think?   Metacognition   READER’S TIP: Using Thinking Strategies While Reading   READER’S TIP: Developing Metacognition for Reading   Stage 3: Strategies for Recalling   Recalling Through Writing   The Three Steps of Recalling   READER’S TIP: Thinking After Reading   BRAIN BOOSTER: Use It to Remember It!   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 HISTORY   “Madam C. J. Walker: Business Savvy to Generous Philanthropy” from America.gov Archive SELECTION 2 HEALTH  “High-Risk Drinking and College Students” from Rebecca J. Donatelle and Patricia Ketchum SELECTION 3 BUSINESS   “Toms Shoes: ‘Be the Change You Want to See in the World’” from Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler CONCEPT PREP FOR BUSINESS  VOCABULARY BOOSTER: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY  
3. Organizing Textbook Information for Study   Get Organized for College Study   Building Knowledge Networks   The Study Process   Organizing Textbook Information   BRAIN BOOSTER: Exercise to Boost Brain Power Annotating   Why Annotate?   READER’S TIP: How to Annotate When to Annotate   Note Taking  When and How to Take Notes   The Cornell Method  READER’S TIP: How to Take Notes: The Cornell Method   Outlining   READER’S TIP: Guidelines for Successful Outlining   BRAIN BOOSTER: Sleep and Problem Solving   Mapping   READER’S TIP: How to Map   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS   “Watch Your Language!” from Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler CONCEPT PREP FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND LANGUAGE SELECTION 2 HEALTH   “Managing Stress in College” from Rebecca J. Donatelle CONCEPT PREP FOR HEALTH    SELECTION 3 CRIMINAL JUSTICE   “Police DNA Collection Sparks Questions” from the Associated Press VOCABULARY BOOSTER: WHO’S WHO IN MEDICINE?  
4. Vocabulary   Remembering New Words and Unlocking Meaning   Associate Words in Phrases   Associate Words with Rhymes or Sounds   BRAIN BOOSTER: Use Your Senses to Make More Sense!  Associate Words With Images   Seek Reinforcement   Create Concept Cards   Use Strategies to Unlock Meaning While Reading   Using Context Clues   Definition or Synonym   Elaborating Details   Examples   Comparison   Contrast   Antonyms   Limitations of Context Clues   Multiple Meanings of a Word   Understanding the Structure of Words   Using Word Reference Aids   Using a Dictionary   Using a Glossary   Using a Thesaurus  BRAIN BOOSTER: Meaning Matters!   Deepening Word Meaning   Exploring Word Origins   Solving Analogies   READER’S TIP: Categories of Analogy Relationships   Studying Easily Confused Words   SUMMARY POINTS  SELECTION 1 HEALTH   “Technology and Health” from Rebecca J. Donatelle VOCABULARY BOOSTER: WHAT’S IN, WHAT’S OUT? WHAT’S HOT, WHAT’S NOT?  
5. Main Idea and Supporting Details   Topics, Main Ideas, and Supporting Details  What Is a Topic?   What Is a Main Idea?   What Are Supporting Details?   Distinguishing Topics, Main Ideas, and Details: A Closer Look  Strategies for Finding the Main Idea   Prior Knowledge and Constructing the Main Idea   Identifying Main Ideas Among Sentences   READER’S TIP: Using Three Questions to Find the Main Idea   Questioning for the Main Idea   Stated Main Ideas   The Topic Sentence   How Common Are Stated Main Ideas?   Where Are Stated Main Ideas Located?  What Are Major and Minor Details?   READER’S TIP: Signals for Significance   Unstated Main Ideas   Unstated Main Ideas in Sentences   Unstated Main Ideas in Paragraphs Determining the Main Idea of Longer Selections   READER’S TIP: Getting the Main Idea of Longer Selections   BRAIN BOOSTER: Brains Need the Right Amount of Sleep Summary Writing: A Main Idea Skill   Why Summarize?   READER’S TIP: How to Summarize  BRAIN BOOSTER: Chronic Stress and the Brain   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 PSYCHOLOGY   “The Obedience Study” from Carole Wade, Carol Tavris, and Maryanne Garry CONCEPT PREP FOR PSYCHOLOGY   SELECTION 2 SHORT STORY   “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” from Evan Hunter CONCEPT PREP FOR LITERATURE   SELECTION 3 CRIMINAL JUSTICE   “Fighting Violent Gang Crime with Math” from Stuart Wolpert VOCABULARY BOOSTER: THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE STARS  
6. Patterns of Organization   Textbook Organization: The Big Picture   What Do Transitional Words Do?   Words That Signal Addition  
Words That Signal Examples or Illustrations  
Words That Signal Time or Sequence  
Words That Signal Comparison  
Words That Signal Contrast  
READER’S TIP: Transitions and Their Functions   Words That Signal Cause and Effect   Patterns of Organization in Textbooks   BRAIN BOOSTER: Brains Like Patterns   Simple Listing   Definition   Description   Time Order, Sequence, or Narration   Comparison  Contrast   Comparison and Contrast   Cause and Effect   Classification   Summary   Location or Spatial Order   Generalization and Example   READER’S TIP: Patterns of Organization and Signal Words   Clues to the Organizational Pattern   BRAIN BOOSTER: Watering the Brain   Mixed Organizational Patterns   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 COMMUNICATIONS   “Managing Conflict” from Joseph A. DeVito SELECTION 2 HISTORY   “Barbara Johns Leads a Student Strike” from Clayborne Carson, et al. CONCEPT PREP FOR ART HISTORY   SELECTION 3 BUSINESS   “Why is Papa John’s Rolling in the Dough?” from Courtland L. Bovée, John V. Thrill, and Barbara E. Schatzman VOCABULARY BOOSTER: CAN I GET THAT IN WRITING?  
7. Inference   What Is an Inference?   What Is Required to Make a Reasonable Inference?   Implied Meaning in Humor   BRAIN BOOSTER: The Brain’s Pleasure Center and Learning Connotative Language   Euphemisms and Politically Correct Language   Figurative Language   Idioms   Similes   Metaphors   Hyperbole   Personification   Verbal Irony   Figurative Language in Poetry   Clues to Making Logical Inferences   Inferences Based on Facts   Inferences Based on the Voice of a Speaker or Narrator   Inferences Based on Action and Description   Inferences Based on Prior Knowledge   BRAIN BOOSTER: Boost Brain Power Through Collaboration  Expanding Prior Knowledge   READER’S TIP: Making Inferences   Drawing Conclusions   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 SHORT STORY   “A Dip in the Poole” from Bill Pronzini CONCEPT PREP FOR PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE  SELECTION 2 PHILOSOPHY  “Coyote” from Robert S. Ellwood SELECTION 3 PERSONAL NARRATIVE   “Fear the College Years” from John Corcoran CONCEPT PREP FOR POLITICAL SCIENCE  VOCABULARY BOOSTER: SAY, WHAT?  
8. Point of View   What Is the Author’s Point of View?   Textbooks and the Author’s Point of View   What Is Bias?  READER’S TIP: Questions to Uncover Bias   The Importance of the Reader’s Point of View   BRAIN BOOSTER: Male and Female Brains and Their Points of View What Are Facts and Opinions?  What Is the Author’s Purpose?  What Is the Author’s Tone?  READER’S TIP: Recognizing an Author’s Tone   Using Tone and Other Clues to Determine the Point of View in Editorial Cartoons  
SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 PHILOSOPHY   “Decision” from Gary R. Kirby and Jeffery R. Goodpaster SELECTION 2 SCIENCE   “Earth’s Changing Climate” from Teresa Audesirk, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers SELECTION 3 PSYCHOLOGY  “Mental Disorder and Personal Responsibility” from Carole Wade, Carol Tavris, and Maryanne Garry VOCABULARY BOOSTER: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!  
9. Graphic Illustrations   What Graphics Do  READER’S TIP: How to Read Graphic Illustrations   Types of Graphic Illustrations   Diagrams   Tables  Maps   Pie Graphs   Bar Graphs   Cumulative Bar Graphs  Line Graphs   Flowcharts   SUMMARY POINTS   SELECTION 1 PERSONAL NARRATIVE   “Little Income, Big Debt: Managing Money in College” from Trent Hamm SELECTION 2 SCIENCE   “The Risks and Benefits of Weight Loss Plans” from Jane B. Reece et al. SELECTION 3 SOCIOLOGY  “People, Technology, and the Environment” from John J. Macionis VOCABULARY BOOSTER: PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM 
10.  Critical Thinking   What Is Thinking?   What Is Analytical Thinking?   What Is Critical Thinking?   Critical Thinking Skills and College Goals  READER’S TIP: Four Habits of Effective Critical Thinkers   Barriers to Critical Thinking  Recognizing an Argument   Steps in Analyzing and Evaluating an Argument   Step 1: Identify the Position on the Issue  Step 2: Identify the Support in the Argument   READER’S TIP: Types of Support for Arguments   Step 3: Evaluate the Support   Step 4: Evaluate the Argument   Inductive and Deductive Reasoning   Applying the Four Steps of Critical Thinking   Explanation of the Four Steps   Creative and Critical Thinking  BRAIN BOOSTER: The Creative Brain   SUMMARY POINTS  Themed Readings  Technology, Crime, and Ethics   SELECTION 1 CRIMINAL JUSTICE  “High Technology and Criminal Opportunity” from Frank J. Schmalleger SELECTION 2 CRIMINAL JUSTICE   “Fighting Crime with Technology” from Frank J. Schmalleger SELECTION 3 ESSAY   “The Writer and the Troll” from Lindy West VOCABULARY BOOSTER: FOREIGN TERMS   Glossary   Credits   Index   Progress Chart for Reading Selections