Reading Short Stories - Art of Reading [ 2 ]

2- ] Art of Reading .

Reading Short Stories .

The before mentioned reading strategies will be especially useful when you read short stories .

Predict :

Stop every so often to guess what is going to happen next . Then , read to see if the story fits your prediction .

Question :

Ask yourself basic questions and try to answer them : Why did he / she do that ? Where is this scene taking place ? Who is he / she ?

Respond :

It is fun and helpful to put yourself in a story as you read . Would I do that ? What would I like to say to him / her right now ?

Summarize :

Make sure you understand the narrative . Stop every so often to recap what has happened .

Draw Conclusions :

When you draw a conclusion , you put details together to make a general statement about something .

Connect

1-]Great Ideas .

Feel free to borrow ideas from the story .

2-] Lessons Learned .

In a small group , take turns telling something you learned from the story that you can apply to your own family life . Then , work together to write your lessons down as part of a self-help guide .

Literary Element .

Characterization :

The character of …….

1-] What she / he looks like .2-] How she / he acts 3-] What she / he says . 4-] What other characters say about her / him ?

Theme :

It is the central message of a selection . An author might state the theme directly , but more often the theme is implied or hinted at . To discover an implied theme , think about the selection’s plot , characters and setting and ask yourself :What does this story

mean ?

With a small group , come up with four ways to finish the statement in the center of this idea web. Jot your ideas in the outer circles . Discuss the details from the story that support each completed statement . Then , work together to figure out how your four statements are related . What larger message about life do they reveal ? Write that message at the bottom .

Conflict :

Is a struggle between opposing outside forces [ external conflict ]. 1-] Person against person . 2-] Person against nature . 3-] Person against society .  4-] Person against fate .

Internal Conflict :

It is a mental struggle between opposing thoughts or feelings .

Sensory Details .

They are descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five senses . Sensory details make writing come alive by helping readers see , hear , taste , touch or smell what is being described . For example , a writer may describe the wail of a police siren on a pleasant Sunday , helping you to hear , see and feel what is happening in the story .

Foreshadowing :

When an author provides clues that hint at what will happen later in a story , he or she is using foreshadowing . Science fiction writers often use foreshadowing , or clues about future story events to create suspense and excitement as you read .

The What , Why ,How of Reading - Art of Reading [ 1 ]

1- ] Art of Reading .

Chapter Five .

The Art Of Reading .

The What ,Why And How Of Reading .

Skill & Strategy .

1-] Preview [ What is it ? ]

Previewing is looking over a selection before you read .

Why It’s Important .

Previewing let’s you begin to see what you already know and what you will need to know . It helps you set a purpose for reading .

How To Dolt .

Look at the title , illustrations , headings , captions and graphics . Look at how ideas are organized . Ask questions about the text .

2-] Skim .

Skimming is looking over an entire selection quickly to get a general idea of what the piece is about .

Skimming will tell you what a selection is about . If the selection you skim is not what you are looking for , you will not need to read the entire piece .

Read the title of the section and quickly look over the entire piece . Read headings and captions and may be a part of the first paragraph to get a general idea of the selection’s content .

3-] Scan .

Scanning is glancing quickly over a selection in order to find specific information .

Scanning helps you pinpoint information quickly . It saves you time when you have a number of selections to look at .

As you move your eyes quickly over the lines of a text , look for key words or phrases that will help you locate the information you are looking for .

4-] Predict .

Predicting is taking an educated quest about what will happen in a selection.

Predicting gives you a reason to read . You want to find out if your prediction and the selection events match . As you read adjust or change your prediction if it does not fit what you learn .

Combine what you already know about an author or subject with what you learned in your preview to guess  what will be included in the text .

5-] Summarize .

Summarizing is stating the main ideas of a selection in your own words in a logical sequence .

Summarizing shows whether you have understood something . It teaches you to rethink what you have read and to separate main ideas from supporting information .

Ask yourself : What is this selection about ? Answer who , what , where , why and how ? Put that information in a logical order .

6-] Clarify .

Clarifying is looking at difficult selections of text in order to clear up what is confusing .

Authors will often build ideas one on another . If you do not clean up a confusing passage , you may not understand main ideas or information that comes later .

Go back and reread a confusing section more slowly . Look up words you do not know .

Ask questions about what you do not understand . Sometimes , you may want to read on to see if further information helps you .

7-] Questioning

Questioning is asking yourself whether information in a selection is important . Questioning is also regularly asking yourself whether you have understood what you have read .

When you ask questions as you read , you are reading strategically . As you answer your questions , you are making sure that you will get the gist of a text .

Have a running conversation with yourself as you read , keep asking : Is this idea important ? Why ? Do I understand what this is about ? Might this information be on a test later ?

8-] Visualize .

Visualizing is picturing a writer’s ideas or descriptions in your mind’s eye .

Visualizing is one of the best ways to understand and remember information in fiction , nonfiction and information text .

Carefully read how a writer describes a person , place or thing . Then , ask yourself : What would this look like ? Can I see how the steps in this process would work ?

9-] Monitor Comprehension .

Monitoring your comprehension means thinking about whether you are understanding what you are reading .

The whole point of reading is to understand a piece of text . When you do not understand a selection , you are not really reading it .

Keep asking yourself questions about main ideas , characters and events . When you can not answer a question , review , read more slowly or ask someone to help you .

10-] Identify Sequence .

Identifying sequence is finding the logical order of ideas or events .

In a work of fiction , events usually happen in chronological [ time ] order. With nonfiction , understanding the logical sequence of ideas in a piece helps you follow a writer’s train of thought . You will remember ideas better when you know the logical order a writer uses .

Think about what the author is trying to do . Tell a story ? Explain how something works ? Present information ? Look for clues or signal works that might point to time order , steps in a process , or order of importance .

11-] Determine Main Ideas .

Determining an author’s main idea is finding the most important thought in a paragraph or in a selection .

Finding main ideas gets you ready to summarize . You also discover an author’s purpose for writing when you find the main ideas in a selection .

Think about what you know about the author and the topic . Look for how the author organizes ideas . Then , look for the one idea that all of the sentences in a paragraph or all the paragraphs in a selection are about .

12-] Respond .

Responding is telling what you like , dislike , find surprising or interesting in a selection. 

When you react in a personal way to what you read , you will enjoy a selection more and remember it better .

As you read , think about how you feel about story element or ideas in a selection . What is your reaction to the characters in a story ? What grabs your attention as you read ?

13-] Connect .

Connecting means linking what you read to events in your own life to other selections you have read .

You will get into your reading and recall information and ideas better by connecting events , emotions and characters to your own life .

Ask yourself : Do I know some one like this ? Have I ever felt this way ? What else have I read that is like this selection ?

14-] Review .

Reviewing is going back over what you have read to remember what is important and to organize ideas so you will recall them later .

Reviewing is especially important when you have new ideas and a lot of information to remember .

Filling in a graphic organizer , such as a character , diagram , as you read , helps you organize information . Thee study aids will help you review later.

15-] Interpret .

Interpreting is when you use your own understanding of the word to decide what the events or ideas in a selection mean .

Every reader constructs meaning on the basis of what he / she understands about the world .

Finding meaning as you read is all about you , interacting with the text .

 Think about what you already know about yourself and the world . Ask yourself : What is the author really trying to say here ? What larger ideas might these events be about ?

16-] Infer .

Inferring is when you use your reason and experience to guess at what an author does not come right out and say .

Making inferences is a large part of finding meaning in a selection . Inferring helps you look more deeply at characters and points you toward the theme or message in a selection .

Look for clues the author provides . Notice descriptions , dialogue , events and relationships that might tell you something the author wants you to know .

17-] Draw Conclusions .

Drawing conclusion is using a number of pieces of information to make a general statement about people , places , events and ideas .

Drawing conclusions helps you find connections between ideas and events . It is another tool to help you see the larger picture .

Notice details about characters , ideas and events . Then , make a general statement on the basis of these details . For example , a character’s actions might lead you to conclude that he / she is kind .

18-] Analyze .

Analyzing is looking at separate parts of a selection in order to understand the entire selection .

Analyzing helps you look critically at a piece of writing . When you analyze a selection , you will discover its theme or message and you will learn the author’s purpose for writing .

To analyze a story , think about what the author is saying through the characters , setting and plot to analyze nonfiction , look at the organization and main ideas . What do they suggest ?

19-] Synthesize .

Synthesizing is combining ideas to create something new . You may synthesize to reach a new understanding or you may actually create a new ending to a story .

Synthesizing helps you move to a higher level of thinking . Creating something new of your own goes beyond remembering what you learned from someone else .

Think about the ideas or information , you have learned in a selection . Ask yourself : Do I understand something more than the main ideas here ? Can I create something else from what I now know ?

20-] Evaluate .

Evaluating is making a judgement or forming an opinion about something you read . You can evaluate a character , an author’s craft or the value of the information in a text. 

Evaluating helps you become a wise reader . For example , when you judge whether an author is qualified to speak about a topic or whether the author’s points make sense , you can avoid being misled by what you read .

As you read ask yourself questions such as : Is this character realistic and believable ? Is this author qualified to write on this subject ? Is this author biased ? Does this author present opinions as facts ?

Writing a Resume -Art of Writing [ 7 ]

7- ] Art of Writing .

Writing A Résumé .

As you enter the job market , sooner or later you will need a résumé . A résumé is a combination of carefully selected information about you , presented as concisely and neatly as possible , with the goal of convincing an employer to invite you for an interview .

To write an effective résumé , think about how it will be used . Employers may receive hundreds , even thousands of résumés . The human resources department , sometimes just one person has to eliminate most of the résumés and choose a few promising people to interview . On the first pass , this person may spend less than twenty seconds scanning each résumé .

What kinds of résumé get eliminated immediately ?

1-] The messy ones .  Some people submit résumé that are hand-written or coated with correction fluid . Type your on a typewriter or use a personal computer . If you spot a mistake , type or print your résumé again .

2-] The long ones .

One page offers enough space to describe your accomplishments . After you have been working for ten or more years , you might need two pages .

3-] The ones that are hard to read .

Narrow margins , tiny printing and no white space discourage the résumé reader and often lead to rejection .

4-] The flashy ones .

Unless you are applying to be a model or a performer , do not include a picture of yourself . Neon-colored paper or “ cute” graphics will get noticed , but they will not usually get you an interview .

Example Résumé .

Full Name :

Birthday :

Address :

Phone :                                                    Mobile :

E-mail :

Objective : To obtain a position as …………

Qualification Summary :

Gained knowledge and skills as a …… and as ……during the past …years .

Certified [ Translator ] :

Experience :

From 2001 – 2004

From 2004 – 2009

Education :

References Available :

Do I have to include an objective ?

An objective is often used to indicate the kind f job you are seeking . Prospective employers will look for résumés from people who have a clearer idea of the job they want .

You might start your résumé by simply naming your career field , or you could write a qualification summary . This short section at the beginning of your résumé sums up what you offer in several bullet points . Here you can point out your strengths , including those you developed as a volunteer without tying them directly to a job you held . A qualification summary can highlight the skills you have , even though you might not have much employment experience .

Should I put my education or my work experience next ?

If you have taken courses that will help you on the job , you are applying for , put your education first and list those courses . If you have some work experience in the field in which you are applying , put your employment history first .

How can I best describe my work experience ?

Start with the job you have now or your most recent job and work backwards . Include the employer , its place , your job title and the duties you worked there . Make it easy for the reader to see at a glance where you have worked and what you did there .

Under each position do not just list the responsibilities anyone would have in that job . Explain what you did that made you a valuable employee . For example , if you work for a fast-food restaurant , the reader can guess that you take orders and cook burger . Instead , name any promotion or awards you have received . Do you supervise other workers ? Are you responsible for opening or closing the restaurant ? Mention any skills or knowledge you have gained that will help you do the job for which you are applying .

Should I explain why I quit a job ?

 No! Leave that for the interview and do not bring it up then , unless the interviewer asks .

Should I include my volunteer experience , hobbies or interests ?

No – if they are common and likely to appear on many of the résumés the employer receives . Yes – if they have helped prepare you for the new job or they show that you are a well-rounded person who contributes to the community . You can combine paid and unpaid work under a heading such as “ Experience”; you can include hobbies and interests under the heading

“Personal”.

Can I exaggerate a little ?

No! If you did not do something significant . For example , if you did not increase the sales where you work all by yourself , do not claim credit for it . Instead , you could say “ significantly contributed to a …% in sales”. If you do not actually supervise the other people on your team , do not say you do . Truth has a way of coming out , especially during job interviews . Exaggeration can cost you a job .

Should I list references on my résumé ?

You an , if you are sure they will help you make a good impression on the employer . Alternatively , you can take a list of references with you to your interview . In any case , make sure you ask your references a head of time for permission to list their names .

As you write your résumé , select information about your experience , education and skills that will convince the résumé reader to call you to set up an interview .