Arranging Ideas As A Reading Strategy

Arranging Ideas as a Reading Strategy
Sometimes informational texts will include some really interesting or surprising information, but it isn't actually
importantit's simply used to grab the reader's attention. For instance, a science chapter on fungi might
mention a man hunting for truffles with a pig on a leash. While this would definitely be a sight to see, it
distracts readers from the important information that should be focused on, comprehended, and remembered.
In order to avoid these types of distractions, readers cannot passively follow along, hoping to merely absorb all
that they read. They need to be actively engaged with the text by:
Identifying the main ideas of each section
Clarifying confusing or unknown words or phrases
Understanding the relationship between different concepts
Summarizing information covered
Arranging ideas in an outline after reading a text will help readers do this, and it will also create a study guide to
help them remember the important information covered. A traditional outline with Roman numerals and capital
or lowercase letters, like this one, can be an effective way to arrange and organize ideas. However, there are
many ways to create an outline, and they don't always need to be this formal.
Outlines can be tailored to fit a specific reader's needs. Some people prefer jotting down key sentences, while
others prefer writing down short phrases or only key words. As long as the main ideas are listed in the order
they are written about, with key details beneath each sub-section, then the overarching concepts can be
summarized and the important information from the text can be understood and remembered.
Sometimes readers think that they can approach an informational text like a novel, reading the information once
and then moving on. But the best way to fully comprehend and retain the information covered in a textbook,
news article, or scholarly journal article is to follow these three steps:
1. Read the article or chapter through once, noting any words or phrases not understood and finding their
definitions for clarification.
2. Read the article through a second time. This time, take notes, starting with the topic and writing the
thesis or main point that the author wants to make in your own words. Beneath that, begin arranging the
key concepts covered based on section titles, bold subheadings, or the main idea communicated through
each paragraph. Under each section title or main idea, list important details related to that sub-topic.
3. Go back over the article, checking that you've noted all of the main ideas and key details. Then,
summarize the main idea of each section in a word, phrase, or sentence.
Taking the time to really comprehend the text and put it into your own words greatly improves comprehension
and retention. Developing habits as an active reader can seem time-consuming at first, but over time, it helps
readers automatically search for and identify the important concepts and key details without getting tripped up
on seductive attention-grabbing starters that distract from the main idea of the text.
Visual learners, who learn well using illustrations, diagrams, and charts, can better understand and process
information when it is arranged using a graphic organizer like this hierarchical model. Although the formal
outline using Roman numerals shows the hierarchy of important ideas using Roman numerals and capital letters
to arrange concepts, a graphic organizer creates a picture of this ranked structure. When readers are able to
organize information from a text into a hierarchical structure, it shows that they understand the relationships
between main ideas and supporting details.
When using an outline to take notes, keep in mind:
For purposes of review, it helps to give your outline a title.
Your outlines dont have to be formally correct; mix up the symbols any way you want, as long as you
understand them.
Indenting is crucial for showing relationships; for instance, items that line up underneath one another are
equal in importance.
Abbreviate wherever you can but not so much because you dont know what you meant after a few
weeks have passed.
Outlines usually work best with very detailed material that has a clear underlying structure.
This is a passage that seems right for outlining:

A study conducted between 2002 and 2007 in hospitals in North Carolina found that patients were frequently
the victims of medical errors. The most common problems cited were errors in how procedures were performed,
inappropriate drug dosage, and the spread of hospital-acquired infections. The lead author of the study Dr.
Christian Landrigan also emphasized that he did not believe hospitals in other regions of the country would fare
better in such a study. The results of the study appeared in 2010 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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Arranging Ideas as a Reading Strategy

Identifying the main ideas of each section

Clarifying confusing or unknown words or phrases

Understanding the relationship between different concepts

Summarizing information covered

For purposes of review, it helps to give your outline a title.

This is a passage that seems right for outlining:

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