RDG 100 – Critical Reading

The following resources will be helpful throughout your RDG 100 course.

Interactive Practice Exercises

The following links are to the English Language Centre at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.  These exercises give you a chance to read short passages and then answer questions to measure your comprehension.  The “quiz” will grade itself immediately so that you can go back to re-read if you need to.

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/reading/
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/200/reading/

Reading Help

The Library has numerous helpful tools like dictionaries, thesauri, etc. available at its Research link on the Library homepage (www. tridenttech.edu/library.htm).  From the Research page, click the link to General Reference.

Books

The Library has circulating copies of several books which you may find helpful.  They contain exercises to help you practice your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.  The following are a few of these titles:

Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day by Elizabeth Chesla.  LC Call no. LB1050.45 .C45 1998

501 Reading Comprehension Questions.  LC Call no. LB1050.45 .A15 1999

1100 Words You Need to Know by Murray Bromberg.  LC Call no. PE1449 .B67 1993

The Library also has similar books available online 24/7.  You can access these e-books (electronic books) through the TTC’s NetLibrary database.  The following is an example of the e-books:

How to Read and Remember More in 20 Minutes a Day by Elizabeth Chesla.  LC Call no. LB1050.45 .C443 1997 EB

For access to NetLibrary while off campus click here. (Note: A TTC ID card is needed for off campus access).  To access the databases while on campus click the online databases link from the library’s homepage. For help in using the databases and other online resources see the tutorials and guides section of the library webpage found  under the Research link.

WEB SITES

The following links have been suggested by your instructor:
General Comprehension
http://www.ablongman.com/smith
http://www.readingmatrix.com/directory/pages/Reading_Comprehension_Advanced/
http://the_english_dept.tripod.com/exos.html
http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/~don/Study/7read.html
http://www.essortment.com/all/readingimprovin_rmln.htm
http://www.nelliemuller.com/reading_comprehension.htm
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/exercises/main/reading.html (main idea, details, inference)
http://college.hmco.com/devenglish/resources/reading_ace/students/index.html

Literature / The Short Story
http://www.quia.com/tq/212071.html
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/elements.html
http://staff.fcps.net/tcarr/shortstory/plot1.htm

Vocabulary
http://www.ablongman.com/vocabulary
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/vocabulary.htm
http://www.wordcentral.com/
http://www.vocabulary.com
http://syndicate.com/
http://www.wordfocus.com/vocabulary-resources.html
http://www.wordsmith.org/words/today.html

Dictionary / Thesaurus

http://thesaurus.reference.com/
http://www.barteby.com/61/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.dictionary.net/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://www.wordsmyth.net/
http://www.merriam-webster.com/

More Resources

The Research link from the library’s web page provides resources such as an MLA citation guide, web site evaluation guide, and statistical information.  You will also find specific course resource pages and subject guides.