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Predicting and Guessing

The assumptions readers make when they read the very first few lines of a story, or a headline of a newspaper article have a huge impact on further understanding of the overall text. Phrases like Once upon a time... or Bank Crisis inflict some guesses and predictions concerning the topic and the content of the reading.

In other words predicting is guessing the content of a text based on your knowledge of the subject, the author's area of expertise and opinions, and the context. You can do this by asking yourself questions about the topic before reading.

Who - is doing this? - is going to do this? - did this?
Why - are they doing it? are they going to do it? - did they do it?
What - is it for? - will it be for? - was it for?
Where - is it happening? - is it going to happen? - did it happen?
To whom - is it happening? - is it going to happen? - did it happen?
When - is it happening? - is it going to happen? - did it happen?
How - are they doing it? - are they going to do it? - did they do it?

You can predict the content of your reading material by analysing pictures provided with the reading. This facilitates reader's imagination and encourages him or her to involve in the reading in a deeper way.