Being Literate
Literacy is commonly defined as being able to read and write; I'm sure readers would all consider themselves literate. This entry is actually for this wikiHow article on 'How to Become Literate', which really doesn't have anything to do with learning to read and write but more with cultivating the habits of reading to appear knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. I've personally exposed myself to a vast array of subjects in my readings and I found what this article describe to be very true and helpful for those who are trying to get themselves to read and profit from it.
Some of the advice there includes:
1) Just get yourself to start reading, regardless of the material you pick up, as long as they inject some form of information, storyline into your mind.
2) Then progress to harder materials and read short, newsy articles if you can't stand long novels.
3) Make it a point to talk about things you've read; it can be deliberate or unintentional.
4) If possible, make notes about the things you read, take down quotes you like.
The starter reading list they provided is pretty limited though. Go to your bookstores' Best Seller shelf and see what they have to offer. Recently my friend picked up 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte and was positively shocked by the complexity of the language arising from the fact that descriptions used were the very classical ones used more than hundred years ago. So do make sure you browse the first couple of pages or at least paragraphs before you pick the book up. As a start, choose something you believe you'll enjoy very much. After that, you might like to challenge yourself (like I always do) by reading something pitched at a higher level; for me, I pushed this frontier by forcing myself to read The Economist articles around the age of 15 to 16. Even when I don't understand the economic concepts or literature references in their articles, I make the most of my abilities and eventually read up enough of other areas to complement the articles from the magazine.
Students trying hard to appear smart or at least just to improve GP, there's really only one means with no short-cuts or substitutes for it - READ!
July 10th, 2009 - 01:26
May I inquire as to why you’re writing about, and for GP? Haha :P
Like you, the Economist was a colossal challenge for the likes of my mid-adolescent former self. It’s strangely amazing how they sometimes make no visible effort to be accessible to a wider audience. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing, though, on hindsight.
July 10th, 2009 - 18:23
Frankly I am not quite sure what you’re asking; I assume you’re just asking why I chose to write about matters that would aid in dealing with the General Paper. I would think it is more of a coincidence that I love to work with many fields of knowledge and it just happens to that GP is supposed to force people to master general knowledge.