CHAPTER 5: PREVIEWING TEXTBOOKS AND PREVIEWING CHAPTERS |
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This chapter is aimed to show you how to preview a textbook and preview a chapter before reading it so that you can read it with greater understanding.
5.1. PREVIEWING TEXTBOOKS
If you are a full-time college student, you will usually need to read, study, and learn the information in five or more textbooks each term. This may seem to be an impossible task, but it isn't - thousands of college students do it every year. The first step in studying your textbooks is to preview them soon after you purchase them using the procedures summarized below.
How to Preview a Textbook
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5.2. PREVIEWING CHAPTERS
Most students read a chapter in a textbox by turning to the first page and reading the chapter through to the last page. This is not an efficient way to read and study the chapters in textbooks. Experienced students know that it is more effective to preview a chapter before reading it. When you preview a chapter, you learn things that make it possible for you to read the chapter with greater understanding. The following is the suggestions about how to preview a chapter.
How to Preview a Chapter
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EXERCISES
Exercise 5.1: Preview of a Textbook
When you do this exercise, use a textbook you are studying for another course.
1. Title
2. Author(s)
3. Publisher
4. Date of publication
Check the items that pertain to the textbook you are previewing.
Table of Contents
It provides an outline of the topics in the textbook.
It shows that the book is divided into parts or sections.
Preface or Introduction
It states for whom the book is intended.
It describes special features that are provided to help students learn.
Appendix
It contains useful or interesting information.
There is no appendix.
Glossary
It is at the end of the book.
There is the short glossary in each chapter.
There is no glossary.
References, Bibliography, or Notes
They are listed at the end of the book.
They are listed at the end of each chapter.
There are no references, bibliography, or notes.
Index
There is a subject index and a name (or author) index.
There is only one index.
There is no index.
Exercise 5.2: Previewing a Chapter in Your Textbook
When you do this exercise, use a textbook you are studying for another course you are taking or have taken.
1. Textbook title
2. Chapter title
3. Number of pages in the chapter
4. Check the statements that are true about the chapter.
The title states what the chapter is about.
The introduction states the purpose of the chapter.
There learning goals at the beginning of the chapter.
Headings summarize the topics that are discussed in the chapter.
There are photographs in the chapter.
Exercise 5.3: The title page
Begin a preview by reading the title page. It gives exact information about the title of a book, the author or authors, the publisher, and the city in which the book was published. The title page is usually the second or third page in a book. When the title of a book is not followed by an edition number, it is the first edition; and when more than one city is listed on a title page, the book was published in the first city listed.
Answer the questions that follow the title page.
1. How many authors wrote the book?
2. At what school does Robert J. Hughes teach?
3. Who is the publisher?
4. In what city was the book published?
Exercise 5.4: The copyright page
After you have read the title page, read the page that follows it - the copyright page. A copyright page tells when a book was published. When more than one year is listed in the copyright information, the book was published in the most recent year listed. For example, if the years 1998, 1994 and 1990 are listed, the book was published in 1998. The years 1994 and 1990 refer to earlier editions of the book.
The copyright year tells you whether the information in a book is sufficiently up-to-date for your purposes. For instance, if you want to learn about the current tax laws of the United States, you will want to read a book with a very recent copyright date. However, if you want to learn how to give a speech, a book published ten years ago may give information that is sufficiently up-to-date for this purpose.
Answer the questions that follow the copyright information from Business.
1. In what year was the book published?
2. If people want permission to reproduce passages in Business, to what address should they write to request the permission?
Exercise 5.5: The table of contents
Continue your preview by reading the table of contents, which provides an overview of the organization of a book and the major topics discussed in it. When a table of contents does not follow the copyright page, look for it following the preface or introduction.
Answer the questions that follow part of the table of contents from Business.| CONTENTS PART 1/ AMERICAN BUSINESS TODAY 1
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2. On what page is there a summary of Chapter 1?
Exercise 5.6: The preface or introduction
A preface or an introduction explains why a book was written, it usually presents information about the purpose, philosophy, or contents of a book, and it often describes special features that are provided to help students learn information in the book. These opening remarks are usually located on pages following the table of contents, but sometimes they appear before the table of contents. Most books have either a preface or an introduction, some books have both.
Answer the questions that follow part of the preface of Business.
1. What challenge was the book developed to meet?
2. List three of the five features of the third edition of Business that are stated in the third paragraph.
Exercise 5.7: The appendix
An appendix, which contains supplementary material, is usually located immediately after the last chapter. An appendix in a chemistry textbook may present an overview of the mathematics that is important to know in chemistry and an appendix in an English textbook may explain how to punctuate and capitalize when writing. However, many textbooks have no appendix.
Answer the questions that follow part of the appendix from Business.APPENDIX
1. Why will the retraining of employees become increasingly important?
2. Which two occupations are expected to be in greatest demand in the future?
Exercise 5.8: The glossary
A glossary is an alphabetically arranged list of important words and their definitions. When a glossary is included in a book, it is usually located after the last chapter or after the appendix. A textbook that has no glossary at the end may have short glossaries at the end of each chapter.
Answer the questions that follow part of the glossary from Business.
1. What term has the same meaning as account executive?
2. What is an ad hoc committee?
3. Must the employees of an agency shop join a union?
Exercise 5.9: The references
The references, a bibliography, or notes are lists of publications and other sources that an author quotes or refers to in a book. References are usually listed at the end of textbook, following the glossary or last chapter. When they are not at the end of a book, they may be listed at the end of each chapter. Textbooks for subjects such as English, speech, and mathematics usually have no references.
Answer the questions that follow the notes from Business.
1. Who published the article referred to in the third note for Chapter 1?
2. What are the titles of the first three publications referred to in the first note for Chapter 2?
3. Who wrote the article referred to in the sixth note for Chapter 3?
Exercise 5.10: The index
An index is an alphabetically arranged list of subjects and the numbers of the pages on which the subjects are discussed in a book. When an index is included in a book, it is on the very last pages.
Some books have two indexes: a name index, or author index. When a name index (or author index) is included in a book, it is located before the subject index. If you do not find the name of a person in an index, look to see if the book has a name index. For instance, if you do not find Sigmund Freud listed in the index of a psychology textbook, look for his name in the name index or author index.
Answer the questions that follow part of the name index of Business.
1. On what pages are there references to the Avis car rental company?
2. On what page is there a reference to Howard Aiken?
3. On what pages are there references to AT&T?
Exercise 5.11: Subject Index
Answer the questions that follow part of the subject index of Business.
1. On what page is ad hoc committee explained?
2. On what page is manufacturer's agent discussed?
3. On what page is outdoor advertising mentioned?
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