Điều đầu tiên bạn nên làm là thiết lập các sự kiện. Đoạn viết này cho bạn biết điều gì? Điều gì sẽ xảy ra? Cho ai? Khi nào, ở đâu, làm thế nào, và tại sao? Nếu bạn có thể trả lời những câu hỏi cơ bản, | LESSON 1 Getting the Essential Information LESSON SUMMARY The first step in increasing your reading comprehension is to learn how to get the basic information. Like a good detective start with the basic facts. To get the facts be an active reader and look for clues as you read. Imagine for a moment that you are a detective. You have just been called to the scene of a crime a house has been robbed. What s the first thing you should do when you arrive a. See what s on the TV. b. Check what s in the fridge. c. Get the basic facts of the case. The answer of course is c get the basic facts of the case the who what when where how and why. What happened To whom When Where How did it happen And why As a reader faced with a text you go through a similar process. The first thing you should do is establish the facts. What does this piece of writing tell you What happens To whom When where how and why If you can answer these basic questions you re on your way to really comprehending what you read. You ll work on answering the more difficult question Why did it happen in Lesson 2. 19 GETTING THE ESSENTIAL INFORMATION What Are the Facts Let s start with a definition. A fact is Something that we know for certain to have happened Something that we know for certain to be true Something that we know for certain to exist Much of what you read especially today in this Information Age is designed to provide you with facts. You may read for example about a new office procedure that you must follow about how the new computer system works about what happened at the staff meeting. If you re taking a standardized test you ll probably have to answer reading comprehension ques- tions that ask about the facts in a reading passage. These facts are not always easy to determine especially if the writing is dense or complicated. To make it simpler ask yourself these questions as you read What facts am I expected to know What am I to learn or be aware of What happened What is true What exists .
