Types of Reading

TYPES OF READING:
Literal comprehension is the ability to read something, and then have a real understanding of what you have read. You should be able to remember details .Literal comprehension is knowing what it says; critical comprehension is knowing what it means, being able to talk about it in the context of other ideas, and if it is relatively
The primary step in reading comprehension is identfying facts directly stated in the passage. Listed on this page are some strategies to help students with learning disabilities in this area. Literal comprehension involves what the author is actually saying. The reader needs to understand ideas and information explicitly stated in the reading material. Some of this information is in the form of recognizing and recalling facts, identifying the main idea, supporting details, categorizing, outlining, and summarizing. The reader is also locating information, using context clues to supply meaning, following specific directions, following a sequence, identifying stated conclusion, and identifying explicitly stated relationships and organizational patterns. These organizational patterns can include cause and effect as well as comparison and contrast. For example, some questions and activities may include:

What words state the main idea of the story?
How does the author summarize what she/he is saying?
Outlining the first paragraph of the story.
What happened first, second and last?
How are these things alike? How are they different?
What things belong together?

Inferential comprehension: Comprehension that involves using reasoning- drawing conclusions about the relationships between or among bits of information that are not explicitly stated. It requires relating background knowledge to what is read or applying knowledge about text structure to aid comprehension. Examples: Compare the following two sentences: 1) "The roads were icy; Mike drove very carefully." and 2) "Mike drove very carefully because the roads were icy." Comprehending the first involves drawing a conclusion about the relationship between icy roads and driving carefully (inference); the second sentence demands only literal comprehension because the relationship is explained within the context of the sentence.
The ability to make inferences is, in simple terms, the ability to use two or more pieces of information from a text in order to arrive at a third piece of information that is implicit.
Inference can be as simple as associating the pronoun ‘he’ with a previously mentioned male person. Or, it can be as complex as understanding a subtle implicit message, conveyed through the choice of particular vocabulary by the writer and drawing on the reader’s own background knowledge.
Inferencing skills are important for reading comprehension, and also more widely in the area of literary criticism and other approaches to studying texts.
Skills of inferencing are needed not just to be able to ‘read between the lines,’ to detect the unspoken hidden meaning that enrich overall understanding of a text or to draw one’s own personal conclusions about a texts. They are needed for all the other tasks that teachers want their children to do in handling texts: to understand the effects achieved through choices in vocabulary, to recognise what the writer is trying to accomplish through the whole text and to appreciate what the impact on the reader may be.
Inferential comprehension deals with what the author means by what is said. The reader must simply read between the lines and make inferences about things not directly stated. Again these inferences are made in the main idea, supporting details, sequence, and cause and effect relationships. Inferential comprehension could also involve interpreting figurative language, drawing conclusions, predicting outcomes, determining the mood, and judging the author’s point of view. The following questions are usually asked:

What does the author value?
What is the theme?
What effect does this character/event have on the story?
How do you think this story will end?
Critical comprehension concerns itself with why the author says what he or she says. This high level of comprehension requires the reader to use some external criteria from his/her own experience in order to evaluate the quality, values of the writing, the author’s reasoning, simplifications, and generalizations. The reader will react emotionally and intellectually with the material. Because everyone's life experiences are varied, answers to some of the following questions will vary:

Could this possibly happen?
Is this argument logical?
What alternatives are there?
Is this a fact or an opinion?
Do you agree or disagree with the author?
What is the best solution to this problem?

To conclude, literal, inferential and critical comprehensive reading is what makes a skilled, strong reader. This skill must be learned and developed. It does not just happen. With that thought in mind, it has also been shown that strong readers make good writers. Sustained exposure to the English language does allow for an expanded vocabulary and knowledge of correct grammar usage. When this is combined with literal, inferential and critical reading experiences, it enables writers to better express themselves.