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Learn how to preview a text in order to familiarize yourself with its contents before you read. This will help you understand the material better and use your time more efficiently.
| 0:00 | Owl: Welcome to How to Preview a Text, an instructional video on reading comprehension brought to you by the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab. |
| 0:15 | What would you do if you were suddenly dropped into an unfamiliar place? |
| 0:19 | Would you wander around aimlessly, hoping that somehow you will find your way? |
| 0:24 | Probably not. |
| 0:25 | You’d probably want to carefully explore and investigate your surroundings so that you can gather clues and information that can help you get your bearings and decide what to do next. |
| 0:36 | The experience of reading a new text can be similar to that of navigating an unfamiliar place. |
| 0:42 | Therefore, before reading you should explore the text first to gather clues and information that can help you get your bearings. |
| 0:49 | This is called Previewing. |
| 0:52 | Previewing involves surveying or scanning a text in order to create a mental map that can help you read more effectively. |
| 1:00 | When you preview, you look for sign-posts by doing the following things: |
| 1:05 | Scan for titles, headings, and subheadings |
| 1:09 | Skim the first paragraph or introduction |
| 1:13 | Skim the last paragraph or summary |
| 1:16 | Scan the first sentence after each heading |
| 1:19 | Skim the abstract (if provided) |
| 1:22 | Make a note of graphic aids such as figures, tables, charts, graphs, and images |
| 1:30 | Make a note of typographical aids such as bold-faced or highlighted words and phrases |
| 1:36 | Scan any supplemental material at the beginning or end of the text, such as chapter outlines, chapter objectives, discussion questions, or vocabulary lists |
| 1:47 | Previewing provides some great advantages: |
| 1:51 | First, it helps you evaluate a text in order to decide if it is relevant for your purposes. |
| 1:57 | This requires you to think about what your purpose is before you read. |
| 2:00 | For instance, if you’re doing research on a topic, previewing can help you evaluate if a text provides information you need. |
| 2:08 | Second, it helps you read faster by identifying passages that you must read carefully versus those that you can skim or skip. |
| 2:16 | Generally, you want to slow down and read more carefully when a passage |
| 2:21 | covers a new topic you know very little about; |
| 2:23 | contains complicated or technical material; |
| 2:26 | is cluttered with essential visual aids like tables, charts, graphs, and images; |
| 2:32 | contains a lot of new or difficult vocabulary; |
| 2:35 | or requires a lot of visualization or interpretation. |
| 2:40 | On the other hand, you may want to skim or skip material when a passage |
| 2:44 | is easy to read, |
| 2:46 | covers material you already know well, |
| 2:48 | or covers material that isn’t relevant to your purpose for reading. |
| 2:53 | Finally, it helps you read better by helping you identify questions you may have about the text. |
| 2:59 | We’ll address questioning in another module. |
| 3:03 | Previewing is an excellent way to save time and improve your understanding of a text. |
| 3:09 | Just like you wouldn’t want to wander around aimlessly in an unfamiliar place, you wouldn’t want to wander into a text without previewing it! |
| 3:22 | Thanks for listening to this instructional video on How to Preview a Text. |
| 3:27 | Visit the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab for more support with reading and writing skills. |
The following text was sampled in this video:
OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax College. 25 April 2013. <http://cnx.org/content/col11496/latest/>.
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