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Welcome to the no frames page for Surveying Your Textbook.<p>
<p class="volume_subhdr">Surveying Your Textbook</p>
<p>As soon as you buy your textbook, you should become familiar with its format<br>
and features. As you survey your textbook, think about the ways you will use<br>
the features it offers. Most college textbooks offer the following features:</p>
<h4>Table of contents</h4>
<p>This is a list of the titles of the chapters in the order in which they appear
in the<br>
book, along with their corresponding page numbers.</p>
<h4>Index</h4>
<p>This is a list of topics arranged alphabetically at the back of the textbook.
The<br>
index provides the specific numbers of pages that deal with each topic.</p>
<h4>Glossary</h4>
<p>This is a list of specialized words and their meanings, arranged in alphabetical<br>
order. Glossaries can appear chapter by chapter or at the back of the textbook.</p>
<h4>Introductions and summaries</h4>
<p>A textbook usually begins with an <em>introduction</em> that discusses the
textbook’s overall<br>
purpose and format. This introduction usually describes the features of the<br>
book. An introduction is often also provided at the beginning of each chapter.<br>
Chapter introductions often suggest questions or objectives to keep in mind
as<br>
you read. A <em>summary</em> is a brief paragraph at the end of a chapter or
section that<br>
condenses the material down to the main idea and major supporting details.</p>
<h4>Headings and subheadings</h4>
<p>Textbook authors divide complex information into smaller sections to make it<br>
easier to grasp. Each section is labeled with a heading. Some sections need
to be<br>
divided into subgroups and are given subheadings. These headings and subheadings<br>
can be turned into questions that can be answered as you read.</p>
<h4>Review questions</h4>
<p>At the end of each chapter, the author may supply a set of questions about
the<br>
main ideas, supporting details, or specialized vocabulary. Reading these questions<br>
before you read the chapter may help guide your reading by giving it purpose.<br>
Answering the questions is an excellent strategy to check your comprehension<br>
of what you have read.</p>
<h4>Typographical features</h4>
<p>Authors frequently use bold and italic type to draw attention to important<br>
ideas and terms.</p>
<h4>Graphics</h4>
<p>Graphs, tables, diagrams, maps, photographs, and other graphic aids support<br>
the information explained in the paragraphs. Graphics make the information<br>
more visually interesting and accessible to students who are visual learners.</p>
<p>Not all textbooks have all these features. However, you should take full advantage<br>
of your textbook by creating a reading plan that uses as many features<br>
as possible as you study. For example, SQ3R tells you to survey a chapter for<br>
new or specialized words; a textbook that has put its content words in bold
or<br>
italic type makes them easy to spot during your survey. If the textbook provides<br>
a glossary, look the word up and write study notes using the word and its definition.<br>
As you reread the chapter, you can add to the general definition with examples<br>
from the text as needed. By becoming familiar with an unfamiliar term<br>
in this manner, you have increased your chances for comprehension and will<br>
not be slowed down by unknown words.</p>
<p>Before you read, make a decision about how you will handle the textbook’s<br>
features. For example, is it more helpful for you to study the graphics and
the<br>
captions that go along with them before or after you read the text in the paragraph?<br>
(For more about reading graphics, see pages 687–710.) Think ahead, be<br>
systematic, and treat your textbook and its features as valuable resources.</p><br>
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