Tips on reading newspapers effectively
Teachers, journalists and fellow students all have one thing in common – when it comes to advising you on how to improve your English, they always direct you to the newspapers. Although it is true that the newspapers, with its precise language, in-depth analysis and multiple perspectives, do serve as prime reading material, it is quite impossible for us to read the paper back-to-back every single day. So, how do we read smartly to get the most out of the daily reading and actually incorporate it into our studies?
Choose a variety of articles
Reading the entire paper may be too time-consuming for us, but it does not mean that skimming through the banner headlines would be useful. Rather, come up with a selection of around two to three long reports or a few more small articles from the headline section, local and international sections, and the op-ed column. If you are interested in finance or sports or other pages of the paper, throw that in the concoction as well! The variety of articles would keep you updated and makes news interesting to read. For those who are studying English through debating and social issues, being aware of daily affairs would no doubt enhance the content of your arguments and your opinion when you are writing. As for those studying English through sports communication, have a look at what kinds of sports are in fashion! Thus, by sparing a bit of time every day, you won’t have to worry about coming up with examples or different ways to comment on issues.
Always look up the dictionary
Always look up the dictionary for words you are unsure of its meaning! With a phone dictionary so handy, this would not be a hard thing to do at all. The more important part is to find a notebook to mark the words and their meanings down. Also, make sure that you copy out the sentence to see how the words are applied, and take note of the context of the article too. Just learning of the existence of the word is not that useful unless you know how to use it as well. This would be useful for English writing across all electives as this exercise expands your vocabulary base. Even if you selected the Language Arts electives, don’t think it won’t work for you because newspapers are too factual and informative! The vocabulary that you learn would make your short stories much more colourful.
Write news reflections
Make it a habit to write news reflections at least biweekly, and if you are up to it, make it a weekly assignment for yourself. They don’t have to be long or too tedious a task, as the aim of writing a reflection is to deepen your understanding of an issue. Try to focus on enhancing your critical thinking by coming up with opinions, or arguments in support or against a view quoted in the newspapers. This would be beneficial to your analytical skills in Liberal Studies, and would help you structure your writing better across all electives, be it writing a letter or an opinionated writing. Moreover, you could use this exercise to apply newly learnt words and figure out how you could actually fit them into writings to grasp their meaning and usage better.
With these few tips at hand, you can read the newspapers effectively and purposefully, knowing what you could walk away from it and how it applies to your studies. Once news reading becomes a habit, not slacking off from it even after exams is going to broaden your knowledge base and create more common topics with other people. So, get going and open up your newspapers (or apps)!
