QUESTION 1
You have completed studying Unit 1 of your Academic Literacy textbook. As you start Unit 2, you come across the heading “Academic reading strategies”. You aren’t sure how much you already know or can remember about the topic from high school, so you decide to stimulate your memory with a brainstorming exercise.

List the questions you will ask yourself during brainstorming. (9 marks)

Unit 2 – p. 50
• What do I know about the topic? 
• What are my beliefs, feelings and ideas about the topic,  and how have these been shaped? 
• How would I attempt to answer questions on this topic? 
• In which context did I gain my existing knowledge on the topic? 
• What are the main sources of my existing knowledge? 
• Are these sources suitable and reliable to be referenced for academic purposes? 

• What sub-topics or related topics are relevant to the subject matter? 
• What questions do I have on this topic? 

Explain the academic benefits of brainstorming. (7 marks)

Unit 2 – p. 49
• It allows you to develop knowledge and consciously form opinions on the subject matter. 
• It is particularly important when learning entirely new information,  but can also serve to expand your existing knowledge, or to consolidate information for research or other academic. 
• It allows you to generate thoughts freely,  thus allowing to construct new ‘schemata of knowledge’ on the subject matter 

QUESTION 2
Two students, Leroy and Mbali, started reading the same article at the same time. However, Leroy only took 15 minutes, while Mbali took 45 minutes.

Assuming that Leroy read the topic passively, while Mbali tried to engage with the text actively, outline the comprehension skills that Mbali applied when reading the topic, to ensure active engagement. (6 marks)

Unit 2 – p. 52
• Inferring meaning from text – seeing and understanding information that is not always stated explicitly
• Clarifying the text – reading text in detail and thoroughly analysing it, to gain as much understanding as possible 
• Questioning the text – Questioning validity, reliability and relevance of the text being read 

• Searching for and using tools to answer questions – Identifying, locating and selecting other reading materials that are appropriate, reliable and relevant to the text

• Summarising text – reading a text, understanding its meaning and then rewording it in a more shortened and simplified form
• Visualising text by using graphic organisers – re-organising information in a new visual format 

QUESTION 3
As an Academic Literacy student, you are required to be familiar with the process of annotating electronic materials.

Below are five (5) annotation icons you are likely to use when annotating an electronic PDF document. Identify (name) each icon and explain its function. (10 marks)

Your answer should be set out as follows:
EXAMPLE
3.6 Highlight text – Allows you to highlight particular parts of the text in a chosen colour. 

Get Answers on questions on Academic Literacy

Answer 1: The questions that I will ask during a brainstorming exercise in order to stimulate my memory are how academic reading strategies are beneficial for a student, how is it possible to recall specific academic strategies that I learnt in the past, what strategies are useful in enhancing comprehension etc.

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