Spotting authors' navigation aids

Learn to recognise sequence signals, for example:

"Three advantages of..." or "A number of methods are available..." leads you to expect several points to follow.

The first sentence of a paragraph will often indicate a sequence:"One important cause of..." followed by "Another important factor..." and so on, until "The final cause of..."

General points are often illustrated by particular examples, for example:

General: Birds' beaks are appropriately shaped for feeding.

Particular: Sparrows and other seed-eating birds have short, stubby beaks; wrens and other insect eaters have thin pointed beaks; herons and other fish hunters have long, sharp beaks for spearing their prey.

Whatever you are reading, be aware of the author's background. It is important to recognise the bias given to writing by a writer's political, religious, social background. Learn which newspapers and journals represent a particular standpoint.