The Art of Reading Articles

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ 
УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
"РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ НАРОДНОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА
И ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ СЛУЖБЫ
ПРИ ПРЕЗИДЕНТЕ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ"
ЮЖНО-РОССИЙСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ – ФИЛИАЛ РАНХиГС 
Кафедра иностранных языков и речевых коммуникаций
Котова Н.С.
Гельпей Е.А.
The Art of Reading Articles
Учебное пособие
Ростов-на-Дону
2023

©	 Котова Н.С., Гельпей Е.А., 2023.
©	 Ростов н/Д: ЮРИУ РАНХиГС, 2023.
УДК 802.0
ББК 81.2 англ я73
ЮЖНО-РОССИЙСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ – ФИЛИАЛ
Кафедра иностранных языков и речевых коммуникаций
Авторы-составители:	
Котова Н.С., Гельпей Е.А.
The Art of Reading Articles. Учебное пособие. Ростов н/Д.: Изд-во ЮжноРоссийского института управления-филиала РАНХиГС, 2023. 58 с.
ISBN 978-5-6051022-2-9
В пособии представлены стратегии, тексты, упражнения и тесты, 
цель которых научить студентов применять эффективные технологии 
при работе с текстом с полным пониманием на разных этапах обучения, 
расширять лексику в области политологии.
Предназначено для магистрантов и аспирантов, обучающихся на факультете политологии.
Печатается по решению кафедры.
Протокол № 2 от 11сентября 2023 г
2 
 

 
 
Unit 1 - EFFECTIVE WAYS OF READING ARTICLES
Task 1 Reading strategies
The information on reading strategies and their usage algorithm is 
given in the format of text and tables.
Read the text on reading strategies, make sure you remember the 
information. 
Since there is a mass of professional literature in the modern world, 
the reader has to carry out a critical analysis of information, use certain 
strategies of effective reading. You, the reader, must learn to appraise the 
work of others objectively. Here are some more detailed strategies which 
may help you get the most from the time and develop your own style of 
reading and work out your own strategies. 
There are three common types of reading strategies: skimming, 
scanning and in-depth reading.
Skimming and scamming are fast reading techniques. 
Skimming: at fast rate a reader can gain the general idea. The 
necessary skill is to find quickly all important or key words of the text and 
then try to get the idea. It is good for selecting relevant information. While 
skimming you go through the whole text. It is used when you go through the 
document for the first time.
Scanning is used for searching some specific information. The skill 
of scanning involves pattern recognition technique. Many people use it 
searching for some information in smartphones.  While scanning you 
search for the specific text or pattern. Scanning is used for the text which 
the reader is aware of. For example, you want to find a particular quotation 
in the text.
In-depth reading: it is a detailed reading for understanding all 
concepts and arguments the text contains. It is used for deeper 
understanding and comprehension of information, when you research or 
read on difficult problematics. 
Remember the algorithm of purpose reading.
There are several common purposes for professional reading for 
which different styles can be used:
Reading Purpose
Reader's style
Reader's actions
to locate some specific 
information in the text, 
skim reading
run your eye quickly over 
the text picking up only 

 
to decide which sections 
of books or articles best 
match different sections 
of your plan for an 
assignment
enough to recognize what 
the text is about until you 
see a relevant piece of 
information
to 
inform 
yourself 
generally, say before a 
lecture or before making 
a plan for an assignment 
on a new topic
read steadily without 
noting
get the big picture
to gather material for an 
assignment
read 
sections 
very 
carefully, 
making 
notes
make 
notes 
about 
specific 
ideas 
and 
examples you can use, 
skipping over material 
that is not relevant
to 
completely 
understand a particular 
experiment, say, where 
you have to make a 
presentation 
on 
an 
article to your class
read the aims and 
methods first, making 
notes as a diagram
make a diagram or a 
map, then read the results
Frame working essential texts 
Steps and Phases
Action 1
Action 2
Result 
1. Try to discover the 
meaning 
by 
previewing 
the 
article
look at the title
decide if it describes 
the study briefly
it will save your time
2. Read the abstract
pay attention to the 
main results and how 
they were discovered
read 
the 
interpretation of the 
results
it 
will 
give 
you 
understanding if it is 
worth reading
3. 
Read 
the 
summary/conclusion
if this section does 
not exist, skim-read 
the discussion
as you read, ask 
yourself 
how 
this 
information can be 
used for your own 
purpose (i.e. Where 
does it fit into my 
assignment? 
How 
it will indicate if the 
article is useful

 
 
does it relate to the 
report 
I 
am 
preparing?
4. Before reading the 
whole 
article 
ask 
yourself 
another 
series of questions
What do I expect to 
find out from this 
section of the article? 
What is the overall 
aim 
or 
desired 
outcome 
of 
the 
experiments 
performed 
by 
the 
author?
it will assure you 
whether you should 
read the article or not 
How is the study 
relevant 
to 
the 
specific issues and 
the broader ones?
Task 2 Read the article in the field of your professional interest. While 
reading answer the following questions:
1)
What specific professional problem is being addressed to?
2)
What methods have been used to investigate the problem?
3)
What are the aspects of the article?
4)
What are the limitations of the information given in the article? 
(if there are any)
5)
What are the details you should pay attention to?
6)
Is statistics presented?
7)
What conclusions has the author drawn from the results?
8)
Has the study contributed to an increase in understanding the 
area of your study?
 
1. DEFINING POLITICS
The word 'politics' is derived from polis (Greek), literally meaning citystate. (Ancient Greek society was divided into a collection of independent 
city-states, each of which possessed its own system of government). The 
modern form of this definition is therefore 'what concerns the state'. To 
study politics is in essence to study government, or more broadly, the 
exercise of authority.
Politics is what takes place within a polity, a system of social organizations 
centered upon the machinery of government.
Politics is therefore practiced  in  cabinet  rooms, legislativechambers, 
government departments and the like and it is engaged in by a limited and 
specific group of people. Businesses, schools and other educational 

 
institutions, community groups, families and so on are in this sense 
'nonpolitical' because they are not engaged in 'running the country'.
The definition can be narrowed still further. This is evident in the tendency 
to treat politics as equivalent of party politics. In other words, the realm of 
'the political' is restricted to those state actors who are consciously 
motivated by organizations such as a political party.
The link between politics and the affairs of the state also helps to explain 
why negative images have so often been attached to politics. This is 
because in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the 
activities of politicians. But brutally, the politicians are often seen as 
power-seeking hypocrites who conceal personal ambitions behind the 
rhetoric of public service and ideological conviction. This rejection of the 
personnel and machinery of conventional political life is clearly evident in 
the use of derogatory phrases such as 'office politics' and 'politicking'. But 
without some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, 
society would simply disintegrate into a civil war of each against all. The 
task is therefore not to abolish politicians and to bring politics to an end, 
but rather to ensure that politics is conducted within a framework of checks 
and constraints that ensure that government power is not abused.
Thus, politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and 
amend the general rules under which they live.
Politics is also an academic subject, it is clearly concerned with the study 
of this activity.
Politics is also linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation (the 
existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs and opposing 
interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live). 
This is why the heart of politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict 
resolution, in which rival views or competing interests are reconciled with 
one another.
Comprehension questions
1. What is the origin of the word 'politics' and what is its modern 
definition?
2. Where is politics practised?
3. Who are the main actors of politics?
4. What is considered to be 'political', 'nonpolitical' and why?
5. How does politics differ from party politics?
6. Why have negative images always been attached to politics?
7. What lies behind such derogatory phrases as 'office politics' and 
'politicking'?
8. Why should politicians be abolished or politics brought to an end?