2. PAY ATTENTION TO DESCRIPTION AND DETAILS.PAY ATTENTION TO ACTIONSCA...
2
. Pay attention to description and details.
Pay Attention to Actions
Carefully follow the action
in the text you’re reading. Who is doing what,
and how? Then, picture that “who” actually performing those actions in
the way that the text describes. (If there’s no specific “who,” picture your-
self
in that role.)
Let’s bring back a passage that you’ve seen before as an example. Read
it carefully, paying particular attention to the actions. There’s no clear
“who” in this passage, so picture yourself as the “employee.” Imagine
yourself experiencing each of the consequences described for employees
who test positive:
A new mandatory drug testing policy will take effect at
our Detroit office on July 1. Under this new policy, all
employees will be required to take a urine test four times
throughout the year. These tests will be unannounced.
Employees who refuse to take the tests will be automatically
suspended without pay.
An employee who tests positive for substance abuse will
face several consequences. To start, the employee will be
immediately suspended without pay. In addition, the employ-
ee must issue a statement explaining how he tested positive for
illegal substances. Then, a 3-member employee panel will be
assigned to review the employee’s case. A “typical” violator
might be permitted to return to work on probationary status
and be required to attend counseling.
The new drug testing policy may seem strict, but it is
designed to improve the health and safety of all employees of
Data Management Co. Indeed, our attempt to create a drug-
free workplace is modeled after the programs that have
improved overall workplace safety for other companies
around the country. Furthermore, we feel that a drug-free
workplace will improve employee morale while it reduces
sick days and down time.
As part of the policy, we have added a counselor to our
staff. Dr. Jennifer Jenkins has extensive experience as a work-
place counselor, particularly in dealing with substance abuse.
Her office is located next to Denise Robinson’s in Human
Resources.
If you read this text and picture yourself going through these actions,
you’re much more likely to remember the policy—especially because it’s
not a situation you’d ever like to see yourself in. By visualizing, you make
an “action movie,” so to speak, of the text, and that makes it come alive.
Now you not only have the words but a picture to match them as well.
Pay Attention to Description and Detail
By paying attention to description and detail, you can create a clear pic-
ture of the people, places, and things you read about. Of course, some
texts will be very short on description and detail. In that case, there’s not
much you can do. But writers will often offer descriptions and details like
the following:
size
time
type/kind
shape
location
material
color
texture
origin/source
style
sound
name
design/pattern
smell
age
temperature
brand name
gender
date
taste
144
R E A D B E T T E R
,
R E M E M B E R M O R E
P
RACTICE
1
Look around the room and write down as many details and descriptions
as you can, using the list above as a guide. For example, you might write:
“The rug is light brown. It has a coffee stain here by the wall.” Try to write
at least a dozen observations, and try to be as specific as possible. For
example, don’t just say “book”—give the title. Don’t just write “red”—
describe the exact shade. Crimson? Scarlet? Brick red?
Answers
Answers will vary, of course. You should have a wide range of details and
descriptions, the more specific the better. Here’s a sample response: