Describing Action in Progress

In this picture,* there are many people riding on a bus. Some of the people are standing and some are sitting. The bus driver is talking to a young man who is just getting on the bus. An old woman is standing in the aisle and is leaning against a post. She looks very tired. Next to her, there is a shopping cart full of groceries. Two men are standing near the old woman. They are arguing about something. On the right side of the bus, there is a bald man looking out the window, and sitting behind him is a young man listening to the radio. On the left side of the bus, there are some girls chatting happily while someone is smoking in the seat behind them. I think this looks like a typical day on the bus in Taiwan.

Describing Action in Progress:

Present Progressive Tense

He is standing. They are sitting.

There is Prepositions

There are to show movement and position

in, on, by, near, over, under, next to, in front of, on the right (side)

Opinions

I think . . . It looks like . . . They look tired. They appear to be tired.

Describing Action in Progress

In this picture,* there are many people riding on a bus. Some of the people arestanding and some are sitting. The bus driver is talking to a young man who is just getting on the bus. An old woman is standing in the aisle and is leaning against a post. She looks very tired. Next to her, there is a shopping cart full of groceries. Two men are standing near the old woman. They are arguing about something. On the right side of the bus, there is a bald man looking out the window, and sitting behind him is a young man listening to the radio. On the left side of the bus, there are some girls chatting happily while someone is smoking in the seat behind them. I think this looks like a typical day on the bus in Taiwan.

Describing Action in Progress:

Present Progressive Tense

He is standing. They are sitting.

There is Prepositions

There are to show movement and position

in, on, by, near, over, under, next to, in front of, on the right (side)

Opinions

I think . . . It looks like . . . They look tired. They appear to be tired.

How Do I Read Looking for Ways of Thinking?

1. First determine the central claims or purpose of the text (its thesis). A critical reading attempts to assess how these central claims are developed or argued.
2. Begin to make some judgements about context . What audience is the text written for? Who is it in dialogue with? (This will probably be other scholars or authors with differing viewpoints.) In what historical context is it written? All these matters of context can contribute to your assessment of what is going on in a text.
3. Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs. What concepts are defined and used? Does the text appeal to a theory or theories? Is any specific methodology laid out? If there is an appeal to a particular concept, theory, or method, how is that concept, theory, or method then used to organize and interpret the data? You might also examine how the text is organized: how has the author analyzed (broken down) the material? Be aware that different disciplines (i.e. history, sociology, philosophy, biology) will have different ways of arguing.
4. Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc) the text employs. Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument. Having worked through Steps 1-3, you are now in a position to grasp how the evidence is used to develop the argument and its controlling claims and concepts. Steps 1-3 allow you to see evidence in its context. Consider the kinds of evidence that are used. What counts as evidence in this argument? Is the evidence statistical? literary? historical? etc. From what sources is the evidence taken? Are these sources primary or secondary?
5. Critical reading may involve evaluation. Your reading of a text is already critical if it accounts for and makes a series of judgments about how a text is argued. However, some essays may also require you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. If the argument is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported? Are there gaps, leaps, or inconsistencies in the argument? Is the method of analysis problematic? Could the evidence be interpreted differently? Are the conclusions warranted by the evidence presented? What are the unargued assumptions? Are they problematic? What might an opposing argument be?

Active Skills For Reading

A=Activate Prior Knowledge
C=Cultivate Vocabulary
T=Teach for Comprehension
I=Increase Reading Fluency
V=Verify Strategies
E=Evaluate Progress
Together, this series is more than an acronym--it's one of the most "active" reading series on the market! Using thematically organized non-fiction reading passages to infuse new English readers with both proficiency and passion., these books sparkle with two-color, enticing exercises. The series aims to carefully develop students' reading skills by incorporating pre-reading activities, vocabulary development exercises, timed readings, and opportunities to increase students' reading rate. High-interest topics such as sports, culture, and technology help students connect the material to their lives outside the classroom, while texts ranging from charts to interviews solicit the diverse skills of scanning, predicting, and summarizing. Each book includes vocabulary and skill indexes. Each five-page unit follows a similar framework of exercises: Before you Read (questions centered around photographs), Reading Skill (the reading), Reading Comprehension (post-reading tasks), Vocabulary Comprehension, What Do You Think? (pairwork discussion questions), and Real Life Skill (measuring units, dictionary usage, job hunting tips, and more!).