Reading an Encyclopedia Article

Chapter two

What is an encyclopedia?a book or set of books containing many articles arranged in alphabetical order which deal either with the whole of human knowledge or with a particular part of it. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Examples of encyclopedias General encyclopedias-Encyclopedia Britannica- World Book- The New Caxton Encyclopedia- Collier’s EncyclopediaSpecialized encyclopedias- The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

Similarities between textbooks and encyclopedias

1- The purpose of both is to inform the reader, so the same style of writing is used, e.g. articles start with background information about a certain topic, followed by definitions, classifications, description, comparison, contrast, explanation, etc…

2- They both provide the readers with helpful aids, e.g. headings, subheadings, outline, summary, a list of related articles, etc…3- They use special printing effects, e.g. boldface & italics.4- They both use graphics, such as photographs, diagrams, tables, charts, and graphs.5- They both follow a logical sequence in writing, e.g. paragraphs have topic sentences and relevant support.