Purposes for reading A student will read for many different reasons, and it is important to remember that the way reading is approached should change depending on the purpose. Glancing through a newspaper to pick out the main news items is quicker than and different from reading for study, and both involve a variety of skills. A newspaper often gives only a cursory coverage of a topic, ignoring the details. A textbook may require detailed study to extract the essential knowledge it contains. When reading, for example, it is possible to: a) read an instruction book with the intention of immediately applying the information in order to play a new stereo, use a cooker, repair a car; b) read an enjoyable, exciting novel for escapism, as quickly as possible, with no need to worry about remembering any of the story afterwards; c) skim through the pages of a magazine for the latest developments; or d) scan the pages of a newspaper to absorb the main headlines that day, disregarding the advertisements altogether. There are, of course, different ways of tackling reading, which will vary according to both the reading material and the particular task and focus. Reading is, after all, one of the basic tools of work for students. It is crucial that reading skills are developed so that you are able to get the most out of reading and importantly to make the best use of it. There are many techniques that can be used to gain a detailed understanding from a textbook or article, to identify the main themes or issues, or to get a general overview. The reading skills that you have already developed can be put to good use in academic study. 4. What do the words in bold type refer to in the text? 1. …it will be an invaluable learning tool… (paragraph 1) 2. Only by doing this… (paragraph 2) 3. …and how these are examined… (paragraph 4) 4. …and both involve a variety of skills (paragraph 5) 5. …in their everyday lives… (paragraph 7) 5. Guess the meanings of the following words and phrases as used in the reading t