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GENERAL ENGLISH · IELTS COURSE · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

SCREEN
VS PRINT
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1 Warm up
Watch this short video and answer the questions below.

1. What is the baby doing and why?

2. What does this say about how technology is changing one of our most basic skills: reading?

Work in pairs to make a list of the pros and cons of reading on screen and on paper. Think of at least
two ideas for each part of the table.

Pros

reading on screen reading on paper

Cons

reading on screen reading on paper

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2 Vocabulary

You are going to read an article about reading on screen and on paper. First, preview some of the
sentences from the article which contain words related to the theme of comparison and evaluation.
Match each word with its meaning. The * symbol marks academic vocabulary.

Group 1

1. ...it may include explicit* training in the a. easy to see and understand
reading strategies of setting goals...
2. ...reading digital texts often results in a b. incomplete and only including the most
superficial understanding of the content... obvious things
3. For shorter articles that do not require c. in a way which is possible, but which may
scrolling, content is equally accessible* to not actually happen
readers on screen and on paper.
4. The way our brains make sense of print is d. direct and clear
also pertinent.
5. Theoretically*, we should be able to e. important and relevant to make sense of a
transfer these interactions to digital texts. situation

Group 2

1. ...focusing on how to make digital texts a. find and react to written information
more like paper texts may be a distraction
from the more exciting ways we could be
harnessing this new technology.
2. ...readers are able to follow the gist but rely b. judge or assess how well something has
on memory rather than understanding to been done
answer questions.
3. Another drawback is that scrolling impairs c. the main idea
our comprehension*...
4. They read these more slowly and are also d. makes it difficult for us to understand
able to evaluate* their own understanding
more accurately.
5. To understand why, we have to consider e. something that takes our attention away
how we interact* with print texts. from an important task onto something
less important

1. Which items are new for you?

2. Which group includes nouns and verbs? Which group includes adjectives and adverbs?

3. How well do these sentences correspond with what you discussed in the Warm up?

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3 Before you read

You are going to practise an IELTS exam reading task with multiple choice and summary completion
questions. First, read the information about this section and the tips for answering these question
types.
Information: IELTS Reading Passages

• You should spend no more than 20 minutes on each reading passage and the
accompanying questions. There are a total of three reading passages.
• You are being tested on your ability to employ a range of different reading strategies
including skimming, sampling, scanning and intensive reading.
• The order of the questions in each section follows the order of information in the reading
passage.

Tips

• In the multiple-choice questions, the correct answer may not use the same words as in
the passage but reports the same meaning.
• You are being tested on the information in the passage, not on your own knowledge of
the subject.
• In the summary task, the main ideas correspond to those in the reading passage, but they
may be presented in a different order.

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4 IELTS reading
Part A: Skim or sample the text and then choose the correct option to complete the information.
1. The legal requirement to provide books in digital formats means that ...

a. book companies are investing equally in both types of formats.

b. schools and colleges have to choose resources which offer digital versions.
c. students have to use digital books.
d. students must not print out any pages or chapters from digital versions.

2. When people read, they can experience ...

a. a feeling of interest from discovering information about new places.

b. a great deal of joy from holding the book and smelling the pages.
c. a sense of movement from the letters and the text.
d. relaxation from sitting down and taking a break.

3. According to the article, readers of print texts do NOT ...

a. accurately assess their own comprehension.

b. give up when they get tired.
c. pay attention to how much time they are taking to read the text.
d. read all parts of the text in the same way.

4. According to the text, over the last decades ...

a. digital formats have become more popular with readers.

b. people have become more effective readers in digital formats.
c. people have started to read digital texts in the same way as print texts.
d. people haven’t changed their format preferences.

5. Educators can best help students to cope with digital texts by ...

a. suggesting that students modify their reading speed.

b. carrying out more research into the brain.
c. giving them frequent tests to check their understanding.
d. making it possible to print out difficult passages of digital texts.

6. Journalists and designers are working together to ...

a. test readers on their understanding of complex stories.

b. provide games at the end of long articles as a reward for readers.
c. provide more content in digital versions.
d. include innovative elements in their digital versions.

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Mind-reading in the 21st century

Digital versus paper

(A) Digital natives take on-screen reading for granted, but there was a time when there was no alternative to
reading on paper. Now it seems that there may be no escape from e-books for students. In 2009, a California
law required all college textbooks to be made available in digital versions, and Florida followed suit in 2011 with
regard to school textbooks. Publishers are now implementing a long-term strategy to promote digital texts over
print versions. These have the advantage of being cheaper, easier to update and more widely available than
physical books. However, a range of studies in the areas of Psychology, Computer Engineering and Library and
Information Science indicate that these media are not easily interchangeable.

(B) To understand why, we have to consider how we interact with print texts. Most obviously, we enjoy handling a
book, feeling its weight and flipping through the pages. Our brains process text as a kind of landscape that we are
moving through, and we recall information by remembering its physical location, for example in the top left-hand
corner of the right side of the page. The way our brains make sense of print is also pertinent. Unsurprisingly,
reading is not hardwired into our brains because it is a relatively recent innovation for humans. Our brains have
learned to treat letters and words as physical objects which we recognise in the same way as an apple or a chair.
Researchers have also found that some character-based scripts like Chinese hanzi activate motor areas of the brain
so that readers mentally experience motion even when they are sitting still with a text. To our brains, reading is
like walking around and exploring a new place.

(C) Theoretically, we should be able to transfer these interactions to digital texts. However, reading e-books
presents us with some obstacles. First of all, the flicker and glare of many screens is stressful and tiring for our eyes
and brain. Another drawback is that scrolling impairs our comprehension, possibly because it disrupts our ability
to locate information in a long text. Without the physical context of pages already read and pages yet to be read,
we feel lost. On the plus side, digital options can also offer some unique benefits: like instant dictionary references
and pop-up quizzes. Some children’s texts include games as rewards for completing a passage of reading.

(D) Researchers have discovered that people’s differing attitudes toward the two media can determine how
effective their reading is. Many readers seem to take on-screen reading less seriously and thus make less
effort. Unfortunately, this also means that they read more quickly and tend to overestimate their comprehension.
Experimental results indicate that reading digital texts often results in a superficial understanding of the content:
readers are able to follow the gist but rely on memory rather than understanding to answer questions.

(E) However, experiments show that readers have a more serious approach to print texts. They read these more
slowly and are also able to evaluate their own understanding more accurately. When answering questions about
a print text, readers rely on both memory and understanding. If not under time constraints, these readers employ
strategies like setting themselves goals, rereading difficult passages and periodically self-checking understanding.

(F) In some areas, digital and print media turned out to be equivalent. For shorter articles that do not require
scrolling, content is equally accessible to readers on screen and on paper. In addition, there seems to be no
benefit of one medium over another for fiction texts. It’s also significant that people’s digital reading speed and
comprehension have been steadily improving since 1992, closing the gap between the two media.

(G) Even so, with publishers offering more and more digital content, there is a clear need to subsidize research to
generate information about how students engage with these texts and how we can best support them. This may
be as simple as advising students to read more slowly on screen or it may include explicit training in the reading
strategies of setting goals, rereading difficult passages and periodically self-checking understanding so that readers
engage with digital texts more productively. If this is what’s missing from the digital experience, publishers and
content providers should make sure they include more add-ons like quizzes and other checks on learning as a
matter of course.

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(H) However, focusing on how to make digital texts more like paper texts may be a distraction from the
more exciting ways we could be harnessing this new technology. There is tremendous scope to turn scrolling
features into a positive instead of a negative. Newspapers like the New York Times have pioneered the use of
"scrollytelling", which uses animation effects triggered by scrolling to simplify navigation of complex texts while
engaging readers with exciting visuals and elements of surprise. A "tap essay" supports readers by staging content
as shorter units, particularly suitable for readers using mobile devices with small screens. Some designers are
working to make texts more like games, where readers make decisions to determine the outcome. If the future is
digital, we may have to rewire our brains once again.

Sources: businessinsider.com; hechingerreport.org; scientificamerican.com; shorthand.com

Part B: Complete the summary using the list of words below (A-N). Some options are extra.

(A) appeals (B) contrasts (C) controversies (D) demands

(E) differs (F) enhance (G) increase (H) issues

(I) natural (J) normal (K) obvious (L) recover

(M) reveal (N) straightforward

Reading on screen vs digital texts

Summary

The skill of reading is not at all (1) for humans. Our brains have adapted to the requirements
of reading by recognising letters and characters as things. Now, as the traditional print book is giving way to
digital versions, we are adapting yet again to the (2) of this new medium. Digital formats offer
important benefits including price, flexibility and availability. For fiction and shorter formats, readers interact
with digital content as effectively as with paper content. However, the transition to on screen reading for longer
non-fiction is not completely (3) .

One of the most problematic (4) with digital formats is scrolling. We have learned to rely on
the physicality of the page to find our way around long texts and without this, we struggle to recognise and to (5)
important information. Furthermore, we tend to read digital texts more superficially due to our
attitude and speed. We may think we’ve understood the text but in fact we have not processed the information.
This (6) with print readers, who are more able to answer questions about a text based on a
combination of memory and understanding.

Publishers are now considering how scrolling features can (7) the reading experience and support
understanding.

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5 Vocabulary development
This article contains some language which is used metaphorically, that is, the meaning has been
extended from one context to another. Match the words and definitions with their metaphorical
use.

1. flicker: shining like a flame or fire

2. hardwired: relating to the built-in functions of a computer

3. medium* (plural media): an intermediate in a chain of communication

4. native: a person who was born and raised in a particular place

5. navigation: directing a ship from one place to another

6. passage: a road that connects two places

7. pop-up: describing a book or machine that has moving parts which move up and out to become
visible

8. scroll: a long roll of paper (noun)

a. to move up and down a screen to see different information (verb)

b. a type of written or spoken communication

c. quickly showing variation in strength

d. + digital: a person who was born after computers became widely used

e. a window or list of choices that appears on screen, on demand

f. moving around a website or screen from one place to another

g. relating to an automatic behaviour that is difficult to change or adapt

h. a piece of writing that is part of a larger work

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6 Language in context

Find phrases in the article which have these meanings. The paragraphs where you will find these
phrases are given to you.

1. Para. (A) treat something as normal and not appreciate it as special

2. Para. (G) automatically, without making a special decision on each occasion

3. Para. (H) using new scientific developments in helpful ways

4. Para. (H) a lot of opportunities and possibilities

Answer these questions in pairs.

1. What’s something that you take for granted but that your parents or grandparents didn’t?
2. What features would you like a dictionary to include as a matter of course?
3. How can we harness social media technology in a less harmful way?
4. What new technology have you heard of which has tremendous scope to help with climate change?

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7 Optional extension

In Task 1 of the speaking exam, reading habits and preferences is a common topic. These questions
invite you to compare and evaluate reading options. Ask and answer the questions in pairs. Use full
sentences and give reasons or examples to explain your ideas.

Student A: ask B these questions

• Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Why?

• What are some benefits of having school resources, like English learning materials, on
paper?
• Evaluate the experience of reading on a phone, a tablet or a desktop computer. Which
is best and why?

Student B: ask A these questions

• Do you usually read newspapers or magazines online or on paper? Why?

• What are the drawbacks of having educational materials as digital versions only?
• When do you think is the best time of day or the best place to read for pleasure? Why?

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