Primacy of Reading in the Information Age - Essay Example

Primacy of Reading in the Information Age The importance of attentive reading can never be undermined regardless of the times we lived in before or the times we are living in now. Critical reading helps students and professionals alike to grasp the essence of a subject thoroughly; form logical arguments and substantiate those arguments with adequate empirical or theoretical backing. Whichever way it may be looked at, reading skills and aptitudes reflect critical thinking capacities – a prerequisite for anybody willing to set a benchmark for excellence, be it in academic pursuits or professional fields. In today’s era of information boom, it is all the more pertinent to read in a discreet manner so as to glean only the required amount of information for a given purpose. With information aplenty in the world of Internet, there is no need to congest the brain with heaps of entropy that are of no relevance to a particular cause or causes. Rather, it is imperative to sieve information as regards its relevance and credibility. Since students are the primary recipients of information, universities, colleges and other academic centers worldwide have been rigorously trying to facilitate dissemination of knowledge across all offshoots of learning and information sharing. In-house knowledge-based campuses have been set up in many of the pioneering educational institutes around the world to help students and teaching staffs interact with each other meaningfully and on a regular basis, so that fruits of learning can be shared and circulated among diverse outgrowths of education. Similarly, multinational business ventures too have focused on utilising the available resources for reading to engage business partners, shareholders and stakeholders in a profitable communion of dealings. A student pursuing higher education in business management, for example, needs to be updated on the latest developments that are taking place in the world of finance and strategy making. There is no value whatsoever for average intake of information. Given the dynamism of global economy, any branch of business literature, just as academics, demands persistent familiarity with the current trends and developments. What reading does is it helps processing the information in a congruent and perceptible manner. Based on this premise, this paper critically discusses the importance of reading as a skill to hone on individual ability to comprehend and interpret; think; communicate and process information. Education is the backbone of success. Irrespective of whether an individual wants to pursue a career in academics or some other ventures, a sound educational platform provides technical impetus as well as personal confidence for faring well in colleges and universities. Now in order to get a commanding grasp over the various courses covered at institutes of higher education, it is imperative to develop the ability to read and comprehend complex materials. Empirical researches show that 65% twelfth graders in the United States show lack of understanding of the reading materials designated to their grade (Bosley, 2008, p.286). Similarly, Flippo & Caverly (2000) argue that there is very slim chance of passing out college-level education successfully if reading skills are neglected at high schools (p.viii). They further observe that training mid-school students to analyse a reading material from its context helped them comprehend the meaning of words in a convincing way (p.52). As mentioned earlier, academic literacy administers critical thinking ability. For mastering this ability, a person needs to understand what is being read. But this entire process of cognitive transcription is far more complicated than what it appears to be. Written words carry the subjective impression of the author. So whenever those words are read, the reader inevitably falls in a loop of perceiving reality as it is conveyed. Basics of linguistics discard the possibility of presumptuous understanding of information. In other words, when a piece of information is read, the reader reflects on the probable set of meanings and draws the one he/she thinks is correct. Therefore, critical thinking skills are based on objective interpretation of a given set of data. The reader needs to consider each and every possibility a text may carry in terms of its meaning, before the most consistent meaning can be synthesised in the cognition. The phenomenon of critical thinking does not promulgate any rigid illustration of the text. Rather, it expands the cognitive scope to weigh and measure all the coherent aspects of interpretation (Lewis, 1991, p.421). According to Gelder & Morais (1995), the study of linguistic has contributed enormously to recognise how language processing and cognition are closely interspersed with one another (p.11). Creative reading fosters ingenuity of thinking. It has been experienced many a times that different interpretations have emerged after reading the same text multiple times (McCaw, 2008, p.8). This phenomenon is particularly noticeable when reading fictional documentation of some events. Fictions focus less on providing information and more on articulating narrative elements. Therefore, a reader has to be creative in delving deep into the intertextual connotations of the narrative. As is seen often, a good fiction contains multiple layers of meanings, along with subliminal threads of consciousness in the narrative. So the reader needs to exert his/her creative reading aptitude to comprehend the connecting patterns of the plot development. However, nonfictions are easier to read and understand as they basically deal with information or factual components. Stead (2006) proposes use of the RAN strategy for students of lower grades to enable them cram information and retail them in their memory. This would help them become familiar with the process of information sharing among peers (pp.33-4). Moreover, reading nonfictions would also help young learners inculcate the reasoning skills that are necessary to go through business newsletters and other forms of informative articles quickly and proficiently. Needless to mention, such capabilities would augur well for them in their professional pursuits. Identifying relevant sources of information is the most crucial aspect of reading. In today’s era of information technology, it is important to consider a number of selection parameters before one accepts or rejects an Internet source. Research works done over the Internet need to be streamlined to suit the purpose of investigation. Hitting the exact keyphrase or keyword to maximise the chance of getting relevant search results in return is of paramount importance as far as technical aspects of research are concerned (Wiley et al., 2009, pp.1060-1). But successful completion of these technical formalities leaves the job only half done. Rice (2007) conducted an online research to gauge the students’ critical reading and thinking skills. The findings were quite staggering to say the least. The survey was based on an imaginary premise involving reading of customer reviews online and making decisions from thereon. The online mode of interaction denied the possibility for a unilateral communication. It gave the participants a chance to engage in real-time communication with target consumers and interpret what they wanted to buy or what they had to say about a particular product of their choice. But since the practice was based solely on textual interaction between the two parties, students needed to comprehend written responses shared by consumers. By and large, the exercise helped students formulate critical opinions about the authenticity of customer emotions. They also recognised two other important shortcomings involved with the process of information sharing in a nonphysical and nonverbal manner – 1) lack of answerability on the customers’ part and potential unreliability of the data shared within a virtual domain and 2) vital insights into the common selling strategies (pp.89-93). To sum the paper up, it is quite clear that developing critical reading skills is as important a learning outcome as any other mode of imparting basic education. Reading skills, if perfected by practice, helps a student assess arguments, judge for substance, defend positions and draw inferences (IRA & NCTE, 2006, p.1). In essence, one has to read to utilise the cerebral faculties of one’s mind. References Bosley, L. (2008). “I Don’t Teach Reading”: Critical Reading Instruction in Composition Courses. Literary Research and Instruction, 47 (4), 285-308. Flippo, R. F., & Caverly, D. C. (2000). Handbook of college reading and study strategy research. London: Routledge. Gelder, B. d., & Morais, J. (1995). Speech and reading: a comparative approach. Hove: East Sussex: Psychology Press. IRA, & NCTE. (2006). Standards for middle and high school literacy coaches. Newark, DE: International Reading Assoc. Lewis, J. (1991). Redefining Critical Reading for College Critical Thinking Courses. Journal of Reading, 34 (6), 420-3. McCaw, N. (2008). How to Read Texts: A Study Guide to Critical Approaches and Skills. London: Continuum. Rice, M. (2007). Using Customer Reviews to Build Critical Reading Skills. English Journal, 97 (1), 89-93. Stead, T. (2006). Reality checks: teaching reading comprehension with nonfiction. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers Wiley, J., Goldman, S. R., Graesser, A. C., Sanchez, C. A. (2009). Source Evaluation, Comprehension, and Learning in Internet Science Inquiry Tasks. American Educational Research Journal, 46 (4), 1060-1106. Read More