Reading scientific & technical texts
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Transcript Reading scientific & technical texts
Reading scientific & technical texts involves
Complex process of obtaining discipline-specific
information & retaining this information for future
use & reference
Entails basic understanding of the subject &
familiarity with the material
Should be concerned with subject-content and the
specific language used
1.Prepare for reading
Focus and concentrate
Use appropriate prediction techniques
Recall related information
Determine the time needed to complete the
assignment
2.
scan the text
To get some key information to make reading faster
and effective
To discover graphic information
Look for bibliography
listings/notes/questions/remarks
Identify non-verbal signs and aids
3.
Skim the test
to get better understanding
To ensure high degree of remembrance
To understand the gist
To discover the purpose &organisation
To understand the subject
to know about author’s central idea
To identify main points
Need detailed and thorough reading
observe the structure of text
Analyse graphic information
Respond to lexical meaning & functions of words
Understand specific details
recognize sentence patterns
Recognize logical &thematic coherence
Think critically & analytically
Read silently
Establish relationship between words and
meanings
Recognize discourse/semantic markers
Needs careful reading plan
Use note-making techniques
Topicalise[central idea/main points/supporting
points]
[Eg. Petroleum is important from an economic
stand point
Topicalised : Economic importance of
petroleum]
Copying the exact words
Transcribing what is said in the form of writing
Schematize [using graphs to organise notes]
Scientific
information in the form of
figures/classification/contrast
Description of a substance- table
Description of a process flow chart
Narrative Description- Table
Classificatory information- tree diagram
Comparative Description – table, list
Contrastive Description- table. list
Figurative information-table, list
The two best reading methods that can be used
effectively for reading scientific and technical texts
are:
ERRQ Reading Technique
The ERRQ technique was developed by Dorothy Watson
in
1985. The basic purpose of this strategy is to get the
reader to
link with new information.
Estimate
Read
Respond
Question
(what the text would be like)
SQ3R
Reading Technique
SQ3R is a well-tried and widely accepted
reading technique. This technique was
developed by F.P. Robinson in 1946 in his
book Effective Study.
Survey ( discover purpose, organisation of
text)
Question( appropriate questions)
Read
Recall
Revise (to check the accuracy of reading
recall and review notes)
Laboratory, workshop, gadgets, machines,
project work etc.
It requires the following effective reading
strategies
1. Glance rapidly through the set of
instructions to identify the nature &
purpose of the instructions
2. Scan the graphic information
3. Recognize distribution of emphasis & focus
points
4. Skim the instructions
To
skim the instructions
Identify sequence of words to understand the
coherence & logical structure of instructions
Identify Number of steps/tasks involved
Identify Main instructions
Recognize transition points in the instructions
Understand the ordering of instructions
5. skim& scan
Read carefully after skimming &scanning
6. Note the following :
Concentrate on precautions
Understand the safety points
Various
kinds of technical manuals –
guidelines to use operate, and maintain
complex system
Egs. Instruction manual/safety manuals
regulations/user manuals
Need various reading strategies
Skimming, scanning, intensive reading, critical
&inferential comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Glance rapidly through the manual to get focus on
subject, guess information of the text, aware of
the aids in the text that make reading faster
Skim before detailed reading to identify the
nature & purpose of the manual
Scan the graphic information, picture etc
Read thoroughly to get all details
Concentrate on safety part
Identify precautions to be taken
Consult glossary to know the meanings of
unfamiliar words and scientific/technical terms
Look
for contextual signal words as well as
examples that define indirectly an unknown word or
phrase
At the end recall and remember
A
technical writer uses many graphic
techniques to present technical information.
One should be able to read and interpret
these graphic information
There are generally four graphic aids used in
technical documents:
1.
Tables
2. Diagrams
3. Charts
4. graphs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Graphic aids
Tables
Bar charts/diagrams
Tree diagrams
Graphs/line charts/line
diagrams
Flow diagrams
Pie charts/diagrams
Flow charts
Functions
Organise data into group
to related information
Show comparative
&contrastive information
Show classification of data
Show trend of relationship
between two dimensions
Show steps of process
Show infmn related to
proportions or %
Present complex processes
Diagrams
and charts are used to simplify
complex information's