Reading Across the Disciplines

Preface

Ten Success Strategies for Learning and Studying Academic Disciplines

Strategy 1 Understand the Importance of Reading in Each Academic Discipline

Strategy 2 Manage Your Time and Balance Your Life

Strategy 3 Develop New Skills for Each Academic Discipline

Strategy 4 Learn the Language of the Discipline

Strategy 5 Communicate, Network, and Collaborate

Strategy 6 Demonstrate Academic Integrity

Strategy 7 Make the Most of Online Courses and Assignments

Strategy 8 Develop and Use Electronic Study and Information Resources

Strategy 9 Focus Your Research

Strategy 10 Learn to Take Tests

 

Part One

A Handbook for Reading and Thinking in College

 

1 Active Reading and Thinking Strategies

1a Active Reading: The Key to Academic Success

1b Previewing

Reading: Body Gestures, Joseph A. DeVito

Reading: Treating Wounded Soldiers: Polytrauma, Joan O’C. Hamilton

   1c Activating Background Knowledge

   1d Writing to Strengthen Your Reading and Recall

   1e Checking Your Comprehension

   1f Strengthening Your Comprehension

 

2 Vocabulary Building

   2a Using Context Clues

   2b Learning Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes

   2c Learning Unusual Words and Idioms

 

3 Thesis, Main Ideas, Supporting Details, and Transitions

   3a Identifying the Thesis

   3b Finding Stated Main Ideas

   3c Recognizing Supporting Details

   3d Understanding Implied Main Ideas

   3e Recognizing Transitions

 

4 Organizational Patterns

   4a Definition

   4b Classification

   4c Order or Sequence

   4d Cause and Effect

   4e Comparison and Contrast

   4f Listing/Enumeration

   4g Mixed Patterns

   4h Other Patterns of Organization

 

5 Textbook Learning Strategies

   5a Strategies for Reading Textbooks

   5b Use the SQ3R System for Learning from Textbooks

   5c Use Learning and Recall Strategies

   5d Highlighting

   Reading: What Is Crime? John D. Carl

   5e Annotating

   5f Paraphrasing

   5g Outlining to Organize Ideas

   5h Mapping to Show Relationships

   5i Summarizing to Condense Ideas

 

6 Making Inferences

   6a Making Inferences from the Given Facts

   6b Making Inferences from Written Material

   6c How to Make Accurate Inferences

 

7 Critical Reading

   7a Is the Material Fact or Opinion?

   7b What Is the Author’s Purpose?

   7c What Is the Tone?

   7d Is the Author Biased?

   7e How Strong Are the Data and Evidence?

   7f How Is Connotative Language Used?

   7g How Is Figurative Language Used?

   7h How Reliable Are Printed and Electronic Source Materials?

 

8 Reading and Thinking Visually

   8a Reading and Analyzing Photographs

   8b A General Approach to Reading Graphics

   8c Tables

   8d Graphs

   8e Charts

   8f Diagrams

   8g Maps and Time Lines

   8h Infographics: Combined Photos, Charts, and Diagrams

   8i Cartoons

 

Part Two

Readings for Academic Disciplines

Introduction: Reading Across the Disciplines

 

9 Social Sciences

Tips for Reading in the Social Sciences

SELECTION 1 A Surveillance Society, William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey

SELECTION 2 Childfree by Choice, Kelly J. Welch

SELECTION 3 Are Sports Fans Happier? Sid Kirchheimer

 

10 Communication/Speech

   Tips for Reading in Communication/Speech

   SELECTION 4 Talking to Koko the Gorilla, Alex Hannaford

SELECTION 5 Movie and TV Genres, John Vivian

Selection 6 Relationships and Technology, Joseph A. DeVito

 

11 Arts/Humanities/Literature

   Tips for Reading in the Arts/Humanities/Literature

   SELECTION 7 Censorship of Offensive Art, Paul Zelanski and Mary Pat Fisher

SELECTION 8 Little Brother™, Bruce Holland Rogers [Short Story]

SELECTION 9 The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost [Poem]

 

12 Political Science/Government/History

   Tips for Reading in Political Science/Government/History

   SELECTION 10 When Theodore Roosevelt Saved Football, Bruce Watson

SELECTION 11 Camping for Their Lives, Scott Bransford

SELECTION 12 Reporting the News, George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry

 

13 Business/Advertising/Economics

   Tips for Reading in Business/Advertising/Economics

Selection 13 The Super Bowl: The Mother Of All Advertising Events—But Is It Worth It? Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong

SELECTION 14 Mapping, and Sharing, the Consumer Genome, Natasha Singer

SELECTION 15 Product Placement and Advergaming, Michael Solomon

 

14 Technology in Academic Disciplines

   Tips for Reading about Technology

SELECTION 16 DNA Fingerprinting: Cracking Our Genetic “Barcode,” Elaine N. Marieb

SELECTION 17 Interface Facts, Katie L. Burke

SELECTION 18 The Robot Invasion, Charlie Gillis

 

15 Health-Related Fields

   Tips for Reading in Health-Related Fields

SELECTION 19 Medical Technology and Ethical Issues, William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey

SELECTION 20 When Living Is a Fate Worse Than Death, Christine Mitchell

Selection 21 A Step Beyond Human, Andy Greenberg

 

16 Life Sciences

   Tips for Reading in Life Sciences

SELECTION 22Can Technology Help Us Put an End to Animal Experimentation? George Dvorsky

SELECTION 23 Species Extinction: One Found, Many Lost, Teresa Audesirk, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers

SELECTION 24 And Incredibly Bright,Holly Haworth

 

17 Physical Sciences/Mathematics

   Tips for Reading in Physical Sciences/Mathematics

   Tips for Reading Word Problems

SELECTION 25 A Statistician’s View: What Are Your Chances of Winning the Powerball Lottery? Ronald L. Wasserstein

SELECTION 26 “Hope It’s in Your Backyard!” Neil deMause

SELECTION 27 Additional Renewable-Energy Options, Richard T. Wright and Dorothy F. Boorse

 

18 Career Fields

   Tips for Reading in Career Fields

SELECTION 28 Lift the Cell Phone Ban, David Rapp

SELECTION 29 Trial Lawyers Cater to Jurors’ Demands for Visual Evidence, Sylvia Hsieh

SELECTION 30 Eco-tourism, John R. Walker and Josielyn T. Walker

 

PART THREE

Classroom Simulation: Textbook Reading and Writing

   Preparing for the Lecture

Reading the Assignment

Reviewing the Reading Assignment

Attending the Lecture and Participating in Class

Writing about the Reading

Taking Quizzes

Taking the Exam