The example of nonfiction on the previous page was probably more difficult for you to read and understand than the fiction example. What makes a passage like this one challenging for most readers?
Given the nature of the work and the inexperience of most enrollees, accidents were inevitable, so the CCC established the Division of Safety. The division directed safety, health, sanitation, fire prevention, and compensation throughout the CCC's camps.
Some readers would be unfamiliar with a few of the words in this passage, such as enrollees, sanitation, and compensation. Also, there are important ideas that are suggested by these two sentences but not actually stated. How can you make sure that you understand all that writers of nonfiction mean to say--even the things they don't put in writing? As you watch the video below, think about which of these reading strategies you already use.
It doesn't matter how good an artist you are, you won't be able to draw conclusions from literature unless you can pick up hints and clues from the surrounding text.
Drawing conclusions refers to information that is either implied or inferred. This means that the intended significance of the information is never clearly stated. Writers often tell you more than they say directly. Look for these allusions and pointers to help you "read between the lines."
A big part of drawing conclusions is your ability to infer from what the author is implying. Don't worry--by imply, we're not talking about scary imps, but rather using clues to give you a deeper understanding of the reading. When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply. When the meanings of words are not stated clearly in the context of the writing, they may be implied--that is, suggested or hinted at. So putting it all together, when meanings are implied, you may infer them.
A good example is if something you're reading contains a vocabulary word you don't know. Let's say you're reading an article about prison sentences and you come across this sentence:
"Murderers are usually incarcerated for longer periods of time than robbers."
While you may not know what "incarcerated" means by itself, you can infer the meaning by asking yourself, "What usually happens to those found guilty of murder or robbery?" Are they given brand new cars? Are they treated to lollipops? No, they go to jail, so you can infer that "incarcerated" means being imprisoned, which makes sense in the larger article. Now you figured out the meaning of a word without even having to crack a dictionary. NICE!
Identifying the topic, or the larger conceptual framework of any piece of writing can be a sophisticated task for any reader. Being able to draw conclusions, evaluate, and critically interpret is important for overall comprehension, especially at the collegiate level. Nearly any passage of writing has a topic and main idea and being able to successfully distinguish them will give you quite the advantage.
That being said, let's define some of these terms to get you on your way to the head of the class. The topic is the broad, general theme or message, and some call it the subject, while the main idea is the key concept being expressed. Both major and minor details of the text support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many.
Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details helps you understand the points the writer is expressing. The relationship between these elements will significantly increase your comprehension, and just generally make you a big time party smarty pants.
Question
Why do you need to draw conclusions while reading nonfiction text?
