LOOK AT TEXT FEATURES: CHECK OUT THOSE PHYSICAL FEATURES

Are you intimidated to walk up and talk to your love interest? It’s easier to begin a conversation if you know what to talk about. You can tell a lot about a person by her outside appearance and then use this information to help begin a conversation. Chances are the physical features of this person; their hair, face, clothes, and body language, can give clues to predict their interests, feelings, and behaviors.

For example, you could use her hairstyle to guess how much time she spent getting ready for the day. His outfit might leave clues as to which activities he enjoys. Even a person’s facial expressions can help you guess her mood. A person with a smile might be happy, confident, and friendly compared with a person who is looking down might be shy, quiet, or angry.

It can be just as intimidating to begin reading an academic text. However, if you take time to check out the physical features of the text before you read, you will find clues the author left to tell you what you will learn. Mature readers know to look at the text features before they read so they know what’s important.

BREAKING IT DOWN
Text features are an author’s way of advertising what is important and interesting about the text. The author uses these physical features to alert you to new vocabulary words and provide visuals to help your mind stay focused. Text features support your note taking and serve as a guide when preparing summaries. Visuals such as charts, graphs, and maps can add meaning the author did not include.

Think for a minute about four people you know. Chances are these four people look and act very different. Your mind is able to identify each person through their different features. When it comes to text features, each one is a little different in the way it looks and functions. As a result, your mind stays interested in the topic and continues to pay attention to novel (or new) information.

Authors use titles, headings, and subheading to help your mind activate everything you already know about the topic and prepare these parts of your brain to add more information. Your mind is then able to store information in an organized pattern that makes the most sense.

Some text features highlight additional information by changing the font. Introduction paragraphs, special fonts, captions, and summary paragraphs are used by the author to keep your mind alert and focused. Your mind gets bored with words that are the same size, shape, and color so the author changes the font as a way of saying, “Hey! Look at me! I’m special! I’m important!” And believe me, you are going to be glad you paid attention. (On the computer, special fonts may take you to another site. Be careful not to get too far away from your original purpose.)

Charts, diagrams, graphs, and maps allow the author to give more information about the topic in a small space. You’ve heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and this is exactly why authors choose to use them. Sometimes it is easier to explain a concept through a visual instead of with words. Make sure to FLIRT with charts, diagrams, graphs, and maps BEFORE and AFTER you read. This will help your mind condense and connect a lot of new information into a small, yet organized pattern.

Pictures, illustrations, and chapter questions support the text by providing a specific visual to help make meaning from the written words on the page. Remembering the parts of a cell is much easier when you have a picture of a cell with each part labeled.

You already know when reading nonfiction, you can scan quickly to locate the information you want to read. Authors use table of contents, indexes, and page numbers to help you locate information quickly. (If you are reading on the computer, you will want to find the site menu.) Here is a helpful hint: When studying for a test, don’t reread the whole chapter. Use the index to locate the key concepts and review only those pages.

TIME CHECK – Does your mind need a break? Stand up, walk around, get a drink and then come right back. You have two minutes.

CUT IT OUT: Reading the text features are more important than reading the paragraphs.

Do you ever start out strong with the intention of reading the whole chapter and then give up half way through either because you are too tired, too confused, or run out of time? It’s easy to get lost in the sea of academic words and abstract concepts, however, text features allow you to cut out this behavior and establish a direction for your reading.

Mature readers know text features are a set of instructions on how to find and locate specific information related to the author’s questions. When you look at text features, you are learning what the author thinks is important. As a result, you won’t waste your time trying to decide what to highlight. It’s easier to read if you know what you need to remember.

Text features are a reference point from which you can determine what ideas are important and relevant to an assignment. The more time you spend looking at the text features, the more your mind will remember.

The bad news is you must take the time to FLIRT with the text features before you read if you want to have control over your thinking. What does this mean? It means you cannot wait until the last minute to read. Reading demands time!
· Time for planning what and how you will read the text.
· Time for thinking about what you already know about the topic.
· Time for rereading difficult sections.
· Time for taking breaks when your mind is full of too much information or your eyes start to get sleepy.
· Time for drawing pictures and taking notes.

If you know you don’t set aside enough time to read, click on the post entitled: Procrastination is NOT an Option to learn more about how to change this habit.

TIME CHECK – Does your mind need a break? Stand up, walk around, get a drink and then come right back. You have two minutes.

REALITY CHECK:

Do you highlight every other word because it all seems important? When you take notes, do you rewrite everything from the text until your arm hurts? FLIRTing with the different text features before you read can help you discover the external structure of the text and identify the main ideas while you read.

Go ahead, check out those text features to identify the topic and main ideas located in the headings or highlighted with special fonts. Now, read the actual paragraph and watch for repeated words or ideas that relate to the heading. Highlight those ideas and paraphrase the concept on a post-it note. Finally, if you get confused, look on the page to get more information from the text features. There may be a picture to help you visualize the event or a diagram that helps you make sense of abstract concepts.

The next time you pick up a text, take into consideration the external clues the author left so your mind can begin to make meaning. When you FLIRT before you read, your mind stays interests in the text, creates connections between major ideas and remembers more than you ever thought possible.