Reading Report Definition

In the school environment and academic of the Spanish-speaking countries of America the concept of reading report is used, while in the Spanish context the concept of commentary of text.

The reading report is a report critical and detailed of a text that has been previously read by the student. Its pedagogical purpose is to develop a series of capacities: organization of information, communication written and the establishment of trials. Moreover, it is a strategy that promotes the thought critical.

The reading report helps to know the thinking of the author of the text and, in parallel, allows to establish an interaction between the reader and the text.

How to perform a reading report exercise

In the first place, it must be indicated that it is a personal creation that must arise from a reflection of the student.

The first step to follow is to make a first reading of the text to get an idea about its theme. Next, a second reading must be done in which the most significant information is underlined. In this sense, secondary data such as dates, examples or quotes from the author should not be underlined, as they are non-essential aspects of the text. After underlining, the main ideas that make up the backbone of the text should be extracted.

From the main ideas it is already possible to prepare a summary by building a short text with the own words and with a coherent approach in which the main ideas are related between Yes. Finally, the text comment is made, which is a personal assessment of the topic read. The comment must be well reasoned, in such a way that opinions without their corresponding argumentation are avoided.

In conclusion, a reading report should include the subject of the text, the main ideas, the summary and the comment.

Some considerations about the reading report

In this exercise of literacy It is convenient to take into account a series of technical aspects:

- There's no need to write on a sheet of paper or in a notebook what has been underlined.

- A clear distinction must be made between the subject of the text and its summary (the subject is the general idea and the summary is a synthesis).

- From a didactic and pedagogical point of view, the reading report is an exercise that allows the teacher know the level of comprehensive reading of the student and his ability to relate ideas and write them in a way coherent.

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