Word Study: words that substitute for other words

Getting to know a textbook

Task 1. Tick Ö the written information resources you expect students to use in your course. Rank your choice from 1 to 9, with 1 being the most important. Justify your choice.

Textbooks		Journals
Lecture notes		Indexing and abstracting databases
Encyclopedias		Websites/e-learning materials
Dictionaries		Theses and dissertations
Others – specify

Task 2. Study the list of some parts of a textbook. Match the names of the parts with the correct description.

Parts of textbook	Descriptions
a) bibliography	1. the units of the book
b) title page	2. sources used by the author
c) appendix	3. a list of the main topics by chapter
d) preface/introduction	4. a list of books, articles, etc. which provide further reading on the themes covered in the book; usually found at the end
e) acknowledgements	5. an alphabetical list of topics in detail
f) content	6. additional information, often for reference purposes, found at the end of the book
g) chapters	7. selling points, author information, positive reviews
h) references	8. thanks to people who have helped with the book
i) glossary	9. the author’s aims and the coverage of the book
j) index	10. a mini-dictionary of specialist terms used
k) back cover	11. title, author and publisher
l) foreword	12. a short introduction to the book written not by the author but by someone familiar with the author’s work

Why would you read each of these parts of the textbook?

Scanning

Scanning means reading to find specific information. You have a specific target and you search the text quickly for the specific information you need. Scanning is one of the reading skills you require to locate information quickly in the index of a textbook. To do this, identify the keywords in your search item. Then let your eye go up and down in the index columns until you find references beginning with the keywords. Then focus more finely to search for the specific references you want.

Sometimes you may not be able to find the information you want in an index, although the book may contain all the information you need. If you cannot find your topic, first make sure you are using the correct keyword. (The most likely keywords in the following examples are highlighted.)

Often more then one keyword is possible. For example, “The eclipse of the Moon” may be listed in an index as following:

Eclipse, of the Moon or Moon, eclipse of

If you cannot find a very specific reference, try a more general keyword. For example, to find “The French Revolution of 1789” you may have to try any of the terms highlighted:

Task 3. Each of the following topics (1-10) come from a geography textbook; match them with a more general keyword (A-J) from the index.

Topic	Index keyword
1. Railways	A. ores
2. Cultivation of oranges	D. urbanization
3. Troposphere	C. sea routes
4. Cotton growing	D. mining
5. Underpopulation	E. transportation
6. Panama Canal	F. climate
7. Growth of New York	G. atmosphere
8. Uranium	H. population
9. Coal production	I. industrial crops
10. Rainfall	J. citrus farming

Task 4. Which page or pages should you refer to first in this extract from the index of Computers: Concepts, Implications and Applications to find information on the following? (Letters stand for sections of the book and figures for page numbers.)

1. Keys that provide direct access to some of the more common commands
2. How to locate a certain file
3. Setting document margins
4. Different ways of presenting data graphically
5. Creating an extra copy of the file
6. A key to cancel and exit most command and functions

7. Location for the titles of all menus used to control an application software

A

Application icon, WIN-8 to WIN-9

Application window, WIN-7

B

Back, WP-14

Backup, WP-29

Block text, WP-59

Button bar, WP-9

D

Data

editing, P-69

entering, P-69, P-163 to P-164

deleting, P-69

search procedures, P-101 to P-102

Data disk, creating a, P-4 to P-5

Design layout, P-127 to P-128

E

Editing, WP-30

Entering text, WP-34

Escape key, WP-11

Extension, WP-42

G

General cell format, QP-114

Graphs

bar, QP-162, QP-164

categories of, QP-161

column, QP-168

creating, QP-161

deleting, QP-183

doughnut, QP-172

Group icon, QP-8

K

Keyboard shortcuts, P-11

Key command, P-85

Key (for sorting data), P-40

M

Main group, WIN-29

Maximize, WIN-13

Menu bar, WIN-7, WIN-17

Mouse, WIN-82

P

Page breaks, QP-131, QP-143

Page numbers, QP-134

Page setup, QP-132

Parentheses, QP-70

Pie graph, QP-162

Word Study: words that substitute for other words

Writers often use different words in a text to refer to the same thing – the meaning remains the same but the words change. Study the examples that follow.

1 Before accepting information published in a book, you should spend a few minutes examining its structure. The work is likely to be authoritative if produced by a publisher who specializes in the field. The foreword, preface or introduction will often summarize the purpose of the volume.

Work and volume do not signal new topics. They are simply different words for book in this text. If you meet an unexpected change of topic in your reading, look back in the text for a possible link.

2 The index can reveal the scope of the book by listing the topics discussed and the number of pages devoted to them. It can also reveal bias by the number of references under particular topics.

To avoid repeating a noun, writers may change it to a pronoun. In this example topics becomes them, index becomes it. If you have difficulty with the pronoun, look back in the text to find a noun referred to.

Sentences which appear to have words missing may also cause problems. Sometimes writers omit words to avoid unnecessary repetition. Compare versions 3 and 4:

3 It is important to have a clear purpose when you read. If not, you may waste valuable study time.

4 It is important to have a clear purpose when you read. If you do not have a clear purpose, you may waste valuable study time.

Compare versions 3 and 4:

5 Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are important information sources. Both can be found in the reference section in your library.

6 Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are important information sources. Both dictionaries and encyclopaedias can be found in the reference section in your library.

Task 5. The following is a preface from a reference book. Study it and answer the numbered questions.

Task 6. The extract that follows is from a psychology textbook. Study it then answer the questions: Which part of the publication is it from? Which chapters in the book will provide information on these topics?

1) the origin of psychology

2) the nature and function of the brain

3) the five senses

4) sleep, mediation and hypnosis

5) theories of language development

6) social and personality development at different age

7) depression, manias and schizophrenia

8) an article “Phobic Drivers Go to Class to Learn Mastery over Fear”

9) types and methodology of psychological experiments

The seventeen chapters of this edition are organized into five parts plus an introductory chapter on history, methods and perspectives. This organization is designed to give the student an easily apprehended map of the major topic areas of psychology and their subdivisions. Part One discusses the relationship of biological processes to behavior and mental activity. Here we examine the central nervous system (Chapter 2), followed by chapters on sensation and perception (3), motivation and emotion (4), and states of consciousness (5). Part Two deals with learning and cognition, containing chapters on conditioning and learning (6), human memory (7), and thinking and language (8). Part Three focuses on social, cognitive, and intellectual development, with chapters on infancy and childhood (9), adolescence, adulthood, and aging (10), and intelligence (11). Part Four presents the area of social and personality psychology. Here chapters on social cognition (12) and social influence (13) are combined with a chapter on personality and assessment (14). Part Five surveys psychological disorders and treatment. It contains chapters on health and stress (15), psychological disorders (16), and treatment (17). Every chapter is accompanied with Psychology in the News boxes, which reproduce a current newspaper or magazine story related to the surrounding chapter material. Finally, we have provided an appendix dealing with research methods and statistics in psychology.

Task 7. Choose any textbook that you use for your courses. Study it and be prepared to describe its contents and organization.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26