Reading and Writing Crash
Course
•Read Like a PRO
•10 Deadly Sins of Writing
•Proofreading
6/30/2016
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1
Read Like a
PRO!
Critical Reading Strategies
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What is PRO?
 Prepare to read (pre-reading)
 Read Actively
Hey – Am I
 Organize to Learn
a PRO?
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Part 1: Pre-reading Strategies
Concentrate
Preview
Use Prior Knowledge
Ask pre-reading questions and make
predictions
 Choose a reading strategy
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Concentrate
 When is the best time during the day
for you to read and study?
 Where is the best place for you to
read and study?
This is what
happens to
me when I
study at
night!
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Preview
 Title
 What does each word in the title mean?
 What does the phrase mean as a whole?
 Author information
 Who is the author ?
 When did s/he write the piece?
 Headings, Notes, Pictures, or Side
Panels
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Use Prior Knowledge
 How do you relate to the piece you’ve
previewed?
 Are there any similarities between
you and the author or any of the
characters?
 Have you read or heard any of the
information elsewhere before?
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Ask Questions/Predict
 What do you want to learn?
 What can you predict the author will
discuss?
Hum…I’m
guessing the
author will
discuss
something
about how
cute babies
are!
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Choose a Reading Strategy
 What is the purpose in reading this
text?
 What is the level of difficulty?
 How will I actively read the text?
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Part 2: Reading Actively
Reading Actively means…
annotating and making
connections
between the material
and what you already
know or have
experienced
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Becoming an Active Reader
 Devote time to fully focus on
comprehending the text
 Apply strategies that will swiftly
engage you with a text and keep your
concentration
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Preparing to Become an
Active Reader
 Be aware of the environmental factors
that enhance and hurt concentration
 Be realistic about how long reading
certain texts will take and set aside
time for that reading
 Plan to keep a Reading Log for every
difficult text/document you are
required to read
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Strategies for Reading Actively
 Keep a Reading Log
 Orient yourself to the text
 Create a Discussion Web
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What Are You Looking For?
 Note the subject matter and author’s
purpose
 Recognize the organization of the text,
structure and genre
 Determine the context of the text
 Find the connections to the course
 Decide your purpose and goal
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Remaining Active
 Interact with the author as you read
 Try to figure out the author’s stance
 Monitor your comprehension and act
when your concentration flags
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Dealing with Demanding Texts
 Identify the major problem and
resolution
 Research the subject matter
 Look up unknown words
 Ask your peers, family, and friends for
help
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Part 3: Organizing to Learn

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

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Apply Post-Reading tips
Create a Semantic Map
Form a Discussion Group
Mark Your Text
Outline
Chart
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Apply Post-Reading Tips
 Decide if you achieved your goals for
reading
 Discuss the accuracy of your predictions
 Summarize major ideas
 Research additional information
 Distinguish between relevant and
irrelevant ideas
 Paraphrase relevant details
 Reflect and personalize the text
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Create a Semantic Map (SM)
 Helps the reader to identify important
ideas
 Shows how the ideas fit together
 Uses comprehension/concentration
skills and evolves in a note taking
form
 Represents visually the content of
your reading
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Three Components of SM
 Core question or concept
 Strands
 Supports
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SM - Spider Map Example
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SM – Fishbone Map Example
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Form a Discussion Group
 Brings out new ideas you’d previously
not considered
 Takes existing ideas or concepts
about the reading and expands upon
them
 Allows your interpretations to be
challenged and will fill in some of
your “blind spots” regarding what you
just read
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Mark Your Text
 Read first and then mark selectively
 Box transitions and number important
ideas
 Circle specialized vocabulary
 Jot down main ideas in the margin
 Write questions as you read
 Make brief summaries at the end of
each section
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Outline What You Read
 Place major/general points to the left
 Indent each more specific point to the
right
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Chart What You Read
 Organize categories into columns
 Record information into the
appropriate category
 Tracks conversations and dialogues
 Reduces amount of writing
 Provides easy review
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Practice
THEME FOR ENGLISH B - By Langston
Hughes
The instructor said, Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you--Then, it will be true. I wonder if it's that
simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in
Winston-Salem.
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Cont…
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:
It's not easy to know what is true for you or
me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on
this page.
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Cont…
(I hear New York too.) Me---who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in
love.
I like to work, read, learn, and
understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records---Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me
NOT like
the same things other folks like who are
other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
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But it will beOffered by and
Learning
a part of you, instructor.
Cont…
You are white--yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That's American.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to
be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me--although you're older---and white--and somewhat more free.
This is my page for English B.
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Grammar Mechanics: The
10 Deadly Sins of Writing
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A Quick Note
Don’t worry! This
workshop was
designed to address
the most common
grammatical and
compositional errors
in writing. That’s
why we’re here; to
make all of us,
including myself,
better writers.
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SIN #1: The Sentence Fragment
 A sentence fragment is a partial or
incomplete thought that is used as a
complete sentence. In most writing,
sentence fragments are the result of a
less formal, more conversational tone.
 Ex: When I tripped on the curb.
 Re: When I tripped on the curb, I split my
pants right down the middle.
 TIP: Look at your writing. Do you have any sentences
that cannot stand alone?
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Sin #2: The Run -On
 The run-on occurs when two (or more)
complete thoughts or phrases are
written as a single sentence without
separation. Run-ons are generally a
result of simple carelessness.
 Ex: Dave went to the store to buy some
beer he forgot his wallet.
 Re: Dave went to the store to buy some
beer, but he forgot his wallet.
 Tip: Run-ons are not confined to longer sentences;
check the structure of short sentences, too.
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Sin #3: The Comma Splice &
Fused Sentences
 This is a type of run-on sentence in which two
(or more) complete sentences are connected
with only a comma. These types of fused
sentences are usually the result of the writer
trying to tie a complex thought together.
 Ex: Collin works out, he is the strongest guy in the
class.
 Re: Because Collin works out, he is the strongest guy
in the class.
 TIP:
Review your work. If one sentence can easily be read
as two complete sentences, it is probably a comma splice or
fused sentence.
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Sin #4: Lack of Agreement
 A lack of agreement occurs when the subject
does not agree with the verb (both are not
singular or both are not plural).
 Ex: The girl run fast down the street.
 Re: The girl runs fast down the street

TIP: Try to pay close attention to the verb and its subject(s) or
a pronoun and its antecedent(s). Do they agree?
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SIN #5: Inconsistent Tense
 You can have inconsistent tense when the
tense of two (or more) verbs in a sentence do
not agree.
 Ex: She forgot that she needs to do some homework
for her math class.
 Re: She forgot that she needed to do some
homework for her math class.

Tip: When you have multiple verbs in one sentence, pay close
attention to the tense.
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SIN #6: Poor Parallelism
 Poor parallelism is a grammatical
mistake whereby there is an awkward
lack of balance in the creation of lists
and series.
 Ex: I glanced out the window and saw an
elm tree, a tree with bright red fruit, and a
large bush.
 Re: I glanced out the window and saw an
elm tree, an apple tree, and a large bush.

TIP: When making a list or series, pay close attention to
the grammatical structure of the nouns.
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Sin #7: Dangling Modifiers
 Simply put, dangling modifiers describe
or reference words that never actually
appear in a sentence.
 Ex: Driving down the street, the weather
seemed to be changing rather quickly.
 Re: Driving down the street, I noticed the
weather seemed to be changing rather
quickly.
 Tip: Try not to carelessly add descriptive phrases to a
sentence. Pay attention to the phrases in a sentence
and what they modify.
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Sin #8: Passive Voice
 With passive voice, the subject of a
sentence becomes the receiver of the
action. Basically, nothing or no one is
performing the action.
 Ex: The haunted house at the top of the hill
was greatly feared by us.
 Re: We feared the haunted house at the
top of the hill.
 Tip: Unless you absolutely need a passive verb,
change it to the active voice.
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SIN #9: Redundancy
 As the term implies, redundancy is the overuse
or needless use of words.
 Ex: She was totally the tallest girl in the classroom.
 Re: She was the tallest girl in the classroom.
 Ex: To fix the car, you will need both a wrench and a
screwdriver.
 Re: To fix the car, you will need a wrench and a
screwdriver.

Tip: Go through your work and look for descriptive words you
often use when speaking; these tend to be redundant in
writing.
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Sin #10: Inexactness/Imprecision
 When writing, make sure you use words
and phrases which correctly convey your
meaning.
 Ex: In an attempt to levitate the situation,
the police officer backed off a few steps.
 Re: In an attempt to alleviate the situation,
the police officer backed off a few steps.
 Tip: Don’t try and stretch your vocabulary. If needed,
grab a dictionary to find the best word. Also, try and
avoid extremely pretentious wording.
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Additional Resources
 CTL http://www.uis.edu/ctl/writing/tutorials.html
 Grammar Punctuation and Spelling http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/gram
mar/
 Grammar and Punctuation –
http://www.grammarbook.com/
 Writing World Grammar Resources http://www.writingworld.com/links/grammar.shtml
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