Types of Reading Skills
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Introduction

Reading skills are the abilities and strategies that enable a person to understand and comprehend written language. The following main types of reading skills allow a person to make sense of the words on a page, extract meaning, and engage with the content. Strong reading skills can help a person learn new information, improve their vocabulary and comprehension, and engage with a wide range of written materials. Reading skills can be developed and improved through practice and by using various strategies, such as previewing a text, asking questions, making connections to prior knowledge, and summarizing what has been read.

List of Reading Skills

There are several different types of reading skills that are listed below for understanding and interpreting written texts. The most important reading skills include:

Time needed: 10 minutes

Kinds of Reading Skills

  1. Scanning

    This is a technique for quickly finding specific information in a text.

  2. Skimming

    This is a technique for quickly getting an overview of the content of a text.

  3. Paraphrasing

    This involves restating the ideas in a text using different words and phrases.

  4. Decoding

    This is the ability to read and pronounce words correctly.

  5. Vocabulary

    Knowing the meanings of words and how to use them correctly is an essential reading skill.

  6. Fluency

    Being able to read text accurately and smoothly is important for comprehending what is being read.

  7. Comprehension

    This involves understanding the meaning of what is being read and being able to make connections to other information.

  8. Analysis

    This involves breaking down the text and examining its parts, such as the main ideas, supporting details, and the author’s purpose.

  9. Evaluation

    This involves making judgments about the quality or value of the text.

  10. Synthesis

    This involves combining information from multiple sources to create a new understanding or interpretation.

  11. Inference

    This involves making conclusions based on what is stated and implied in the text.

  12. Prediction

    This involves making educated guesses about what might happen next in the text.

  13. Finding Context

    Discovering context clues to define unfamiliar terms and carrying good comprehension of the text.

  14. Summarization

    This involves condensing the main ideas of a text into a shorter form.

  15. Reflecting

    Reflecting on one’s own understanding and asking clarifying questions.

  16. Schema

    Making relations between the latest information and previous knowledge.

  17. Critical reading

    This is the ability to actively analyze and evaluate a text, rather than just passively accepting it.

  18. Interpretation

    This is the ability to analyze and draw conclusions from a text.

  19. Appreciation

    This is the ability to enjoy and understand literature.

  20. Evaluation

    This is the ability to assess the value or quality of a text.

  21. Annotation

    This is the practice of adding notes or comments to a text as you read it.

Use of Academic Reading Skills

Learn the above-given academic reading skills to improve your abilities and strategies of reading. They will enable you to effectively read and comprehend academic texts. These skills are important for success in higher education and research, as academic texts often contain complex ideas and dense language. So, developing strong academic reading skills can help a person more easily understand and engage with these texts, and can also improve their critical thinking and analysis skills.

By Waqas Sharif

Mr. Waqas Sharif is an English Language Teaching (ELT) Professional, Trainer, and Course Instructor at a Public Sector Institute. He has more than ten years of Eng Language Teaching experience at the Graduate and Postgraduate level. His main interest is found in facilitating his students globally He wishes them to develop academic skills like Reading, Writing, and Communication mastery along with Basics of Functional Grammar, English Language, and Linguistics.

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