Overview
This lecture is a comprehensive study guide for the T7 reading section of the TEAS exam, covering reading strategies, question types, text features, and interpreting data.
Key Reading Strategies
- Read the question before reading the passage to focus your attention.
- Identify topic sentences (usually the first sentence) and main ideas (typically the last sentence of the first paragraph).
- Supporting details make up the body and elaborate the topic sentence.
- For summary questions, check the first sentence of the last paragraph.
- Do not leave questions blank; make strategic guesses if unsure.
- Use elimination to narrow answer choices.
Types of Evidence & Inference
- Explicit evidence is directly stated; implicit evidence is implied, requiring inference.
- Make inferences by combining clues from the text with your prior knowledge.
- Draw logical conclusions from the evidence and reasoning presented.
Text Structure & Features
- Topic sentence introduces the paragraph's subject.
- Main idea conveys the core message.
- Supporting details expand and explain the main idea.
- Text features: headings, subheadings, sidebars, bold/italic/underlined text, footnotes, legends.
- Graphic aids: graphs, charts, tables, and maps have titles, axis labels, scales, and legends.
- Use glossaries, indexes, and tables of contents to locate specific information.
Analyzing Arguments & Sources
- Claims are main arguments; counterclaims oppose the main claim.
- Primary sources provide original data; secondary sources analyze primary; tertiary summarize both.
- Ethos appeals to credibility, pathos to emotion, and logos to logic.
Identifying Author's Purpose, Tone, & Bias
- Author's point of view is shaped by background and personal experience.
- Tone can be positive, negative, neutral, formal, nostalgic, tragic, or reflective.
- Bias is a personal opinion; stereotype is an oversimplified view about a group.
- Distinguish between fact (verifiable) and opinion (subjective, often with words like "should," "best," "most").
Context Clues & Figurative Language
- Context clues: definition, restatement, contrast, inference.
- Figurative language includes simile (like/as), metaphor (is/was), personification, hyperbole.
Sequence & Transition Words
- Transition words indicate order: first, next, then, finally, etc.
- Words like "occasionally" and "every now and then" suggest irregular intervals.
Themes & Types of Writing
- Theme is the underlying message or lesson.
- Writing types: informative (facts), persuasive (convince), entertaining (amuse), descriptive (paint a picture), expository (explain).
- Quantitative research uses numerical data; qualitative uses descriptions and themes.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Topic Sentence — Introduces the main idea of a paragraph.
- Main Idea — The central message or thesis of a passage.
- Supporting Details — Information that elaborates on the topic sentence.
- Inference — Conclusion drawn from evidence and reasoning.
- Explicit Evidence — Directly stated information.
- Implicit Evidence — Implied, not directly stated; requires inference.
- Ethos — Appeal to credibility.
- Pathos — Appeal to emotions.
- Logos — Appeal to logic and reason.
- Glossary — List of terms and definitions.
- Index — Alphabetical list of topics with page references.
- Table of Contents — List of chapters/sections at the start of a book.
- Bias — Personal opinion influencing interpretation.
- Stereotype — Oversimplified belief about a group.
- Quantitative Research — Research using numerical data.
- Qualitative Research — Research using descriptive data.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice identifying topic sentences, main ideas, and supporting details in reading passages.
- Review transition and context clue words.
- Take practice tests simulating TEAS timing and question formats.
- Familiarize yourself with reading graphs, tables, and text features.
- Study the differences between fact/opinion, bias/stereotype, and primary/secondary/tertiary sources.