Introduction to Reading Stories and Essays

Welcome! In this chapter, we are going to explore how to read stories and essays in English. Reading isn't just about looking at individual words; it is like being a detective! Your job is to find the "big picture" (the main idea) and the "clues" (the details) that tell you what is happening or what the writer thinks. Whether you are reading a folktale from another country or an essay about the environment, the goal is to understand the gist and the key points without needing to know every single word.

1. Understanding Stories (Narratives)

A story usually tells us about events that happened to people or characters. Even if the story is short, it usually has a "flow." To understand a story, try to answer these three questions:

  • Who? (Characters): Who is the story about?
  • Where/When? (Setting): Where are they, and is it in the past, present, or future?
  • What? (Plot): What happened? Was there a problem, and how was it solved?

Quick Tip: Look for quotation marks " ". These tell you exactly what a character is saying. They help you understand how a character feels or what they are planning next!

Key Grammar Clues in Stories

In stories, you will often see past tenses (like "He walked" or "They were eating"). You might also see adjectives made from verbs (participles), like a "broken" heart or an "exciting" day, which help describe the scene.

2. Understanding Essays (Expository Texts)

An essay is a bit different from a story. Instead of characters and a plot, an essay usually explains facts or shares an opinion about a topic. This could be a "social topic" like how to protect the earth or a "daily topic" like why school lunches are important.

When reading an essay, look for this structure:

  • The Introduction: Usually tells you the main topic.
  • The Body: Gives you reasons, examples, or facts.
  • The Conclusion: Wraps everything up and often repeats the main idea in a new way.

Analogy: Think of an essay like a sandwich. The top and bottom bread are the main ideas (Intro and Conclusion), and the filling in the middle is the extra information (the details).

3. Two Ways to Read: "The Gist" and "The Key Points"

The syllabus asks us to practice two main styles of reading. You don't always have to read the same way!

A. Grasping the Gist (The Big Picture)

To get the gist means to understand the general idea of the whole text. Example: "This story is about a boy who learned to be brave."

  • Don't stop for every difficult word.
  • Read the first and last sentences of each paragraph.
  • Look at any titles or pictures provided.

B. Grasping Key Points (The Specifics)

To get the key points means to find the most important details or the reasons the author gives. Example: "The author thinks we should recycle because it saves energy and protects animals."

  • Look for "signal words" (conjunctions) like first, second, but, or because.
  • Pay attention to relative clauses (using who, which, or that). These add important details to a person or thing, like "The machine that cleans the water..."

Summary Takeaway: Use the gist to know what the topic is, and use key points to understand the "why" and "how."

4. Clues and Symbols to Watch For

English writers use special marks to help you understand the meaning without using words:

  • Exclamation Marks \( ! \): Show strong feelings like surprise, anger, or excitement.
  • Quotation Marks \( " " \): Show that someone is speaking (dialogue).
  • Connecting Words: Words like "and" (linking similar ideas) or "or" (showing a choice) help you follow the logic of the sentence.

5. Don't Get Stuck: Advice for Challenging Texts

It is totally normal to see words you don't know! The Junior High School curriculum includes about \( 1,600 \) to \( 1,800 \) new words, plus the ones you learned in elementary school. Here is what to do when a sentence looks hard:

  • Look for the Subject and Verb: Find who did what. The rest is just extra detail.
  • Use the Context: If you see the word "enormous" in a sentence about a giant, you can guess it means "very big."
  • Identify the "Job" of the Word: Is it a pronoun (like he, she, it)? Make sure you know who "he" or "it" refers to from the previous sentence!
  • Check for Comparisons: Words like "better," "best," or "more important" tell you that the writer is weighing two ideas against each other.

Quick Review Box

What should I do first? Try to get the gist (the general idea) by skimming.
How do I find details? Look for key points by watching for connecting words and punctuation clues.
What if I'm confused? Look for the main subject and verb, and don't worry about every single word.
What's the difference? Stories usually follow characters through events; essays usually explain facts or opinions.

Note: For more practice on specific types of reading, see the chapters on "Reading for required information" (finding specific dates/names) or "Practical texts" (reading emails and ads).