Passage 5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books
5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books
by Shaunacy Ferro
Though e-book1 readers have become a more common sight around town, traditional books still have their evangelists.2 According to The New York Times, e-book sales have been falling in 2015. Print definitely isn’t dead. In fact, according to some research, it may actually be a better choice for some readers. While scientists are still trying to tease out exactly how digital reading affects us differently, here are five ways e-books might be inferior to their dead-tree cousins.
E-books can reduce reading comprehension.
In a study of middle schoolers, West Chester University researchers found that students who read on iPads3 had lower reading comprehension than when they read traditional printed books. They discovered that the kids sometimes skipped text in favor of interactive features in the e-books, suggesting that certain multimedia in children’s e-books can be detrimental to the practice of reading itself. However, the researchers noted that some interactive features in e-books are designed to enhance comprehension, and that those might be more helpful than game-type interactive graphics.
Young kids can get distracted by e-books.
Similar results were found by a small study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center that consisted of 32 kids reading e-books and print books with their parents. It found that “enhanced” e-books might be distracting. Kids who read enhanced e-books—ones with interactive, multimedia experiences—were more engaged with them physically, but in the end they remembered fewer narrative details than those who read print books or basic e-books.
You remember less about a book’s timeline.
Another study of adults also found that e-books can be hard to absorb. The researchers asked 25 people to read a 28-page story on a Kindle4 and 25 to read the story in paperback, then asked the readers to put 14 events from the story in chronological order. Those who read the story on a Kindle performed worse on the chronology test than the book readers, though they performed about the same as print readers in other tests. Earlier research by the same scholars, from Stavanger University in Norway, found that Norwegian 10th graders also remembered more about texts if they read them in print rather than on a computer screen.
They’re not great as textbooks.
While e-book textbooks are often cheaper (and easier to carry) than traditional door-stop5 textbooks, college students often don’t prefer them. In some surveys of college kids, the majority of students have reported preferring print books. However, a 2012 study from the UK’s National Literacy Trust of kids ages 8 to 16 found that more than 50 percent of children reported preferring screen reading.
They’re tiring.
Staring at a lit screen can be tiring for the eyes and the brain. A 2005 study from Sweden found that reading digitally required a higher cognitive workload than reading on paper. Furthermore, staring at LED6 screens at night can disrupt sleep patterns. A 2014 Harvard study found that people who used e-readers with LED screens at night slept worse and were more tired the next day. So, if you’re going to go for an e-book, go for one without the backlight.
The take-away message? If you’re really trying to absorb material, you might want to go for a physical book. And if you’re going to be up all night studying, turn off the backlight.
However, all this may not mean that reading on a Kindle is really going to melt your brain. For instance, reading an e-book on a computer is a much different experience than reading on a Kindle, which is specifically designed for consuming books. So, too, is playing with an interactive e-book on an iPad, compared to using a simpler e-book device that only presents the text, with no opportunities to click away into digital distractions.
And some studies have found that part of the difference between the way people absorb information from e-books versus paper might be due to approaching e-books differently—in one test, participants didn’t regulate their study time with digital books like they did with paper texts, leading to worse performances. It’s possible that our expectations of e-book reading—as well as the different designs of the digital reading experience on a computer or iPad or Kindle—might affect how we approach the text and how much effort we put into studying them. As generations of e-book readers evolve, and people become more accustomed to the idea of sitting down with a digital textbook, these factors could change—for better or for worse.
“5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books” by Shaunacy Ferro from MENTAL FLOSS, October 2, 2015. Copyright © 2015 Mental Floss, Inc.
1e-book: an electronic book, a publication made available digitally for reading on a computer or other device
2evangelists: advocates or supporters
3iPads: tablet computers
4Kindle: device for reading e-books
5door-stop: a reference to the idea that some textbooks are large and heavy enough to hold a door open
6LED: Light-emitting diode; LEDs are often used as a backlight for electronic devices such as smart phones and tablets.
Question
The details in paragraph 1 convey a central idea of the passage by noting that
- Afewer people are buying e-books than printed books.
- Bprinted books have some advantages over e-books.
- Cprinted books rely on natural materials more than e-books.
- Dsome people recommend buying printed books over e-books.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks how the details in paragraph 1 convey a central idea of the passage. A specific central idea that needs to be identified in order to correctly answer this question is that reading a digital book “might be inferior” (paragraph 1) to reading a traditional book.
A. Incorrect. In paragraph 1, the author notes that despite the popularity of e-books, their sales fell in 2015, leading to the author’s statement that “print definitely isn’t dead.” While these statements suggest that readers still purchase and enjoy printed books, sales information between print and e-books is not compared. Therefore, these details do not convey a central idea of the passage.
B. CORRECT. The author states in paragraph 1 that “according to some research,” reading a traditional book “may actually be a better choice for some readers” because “digital reading affects us differently.” The author then supports this statement throughout the passage, detailing five advantages that printed books have over e-books. This detail helps convey a central idea of the passage.
C. Incorrect. In paragraph 1, the author refers to printed books as “traditional books” and the “dead-tree cousins” of e-books. Although these references suggest that printed books rely on natural materials more than e-books do, the author does not provide additional details in the passage to convey this idea. Therefore, this detail does not help convey a central idea of the passage.
D. Incorrect. Although the author states in paragraph 1 that “traditional books still have their evangelists,” the author does not provide additional statistics or details in the passage to convey the idea that some people recommend buying printed books over e-books. Therefore, this detail does not help convey a central idea of the passage.
Question analysis
This central-idea question asks how the details in the opening paragraph of a magazine article comparing printed books and e-books convey one of the passage's central ideas. Students must connect the introduction to what the rest of the article goes on to develop, while each choice seizes on something the first paragraph mentions.
- Grade level
- Grade 6 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Below grade 7 Connecting an opening paragraph to a central idea is a grade 6 and 7 skill. This article is plainly organized, with a short introduction and bold headings, so the task is lighter than typical grade 7 central-idea work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 829 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 46 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 1 packs four separate details into five sentences, and three of them become wrong choices: the falling e-book sales, print's “evangelists” and the joke about dead trees. The question rewards checking which detail the rest of the article develops, and the five bold headings that follow each name a way print beats the screen. Students who judge each choice against paragraph 1 alone can find support for all four.
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The right choice recasts “may actually be a better choice” and “e-books might be inferior” in new words, while the wrong choices echo “sales”, “evangelists” and “dead-tree cousins”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question
Paragraph 1 is playful, calling print's supporters “evangelists” and paper books “dead-tree cousins”, and both phrases must be read as jokes rather than as claims. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Read paragraph 1, then skim the bold headings to see which of its statements the rest of the article develops; a central idea is one the passage keeps returning to.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Taking figurative language literally: A choice reads a figure of speech or image at face value.
The wrong answers, classified
A Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Reads “e-book sales have been falling” as print outselling e-books, a comparison of sales the paragraph never makes and the rest of the article never mentions.
C Taking figurative language literally (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes “dead-tree cousins” as a point about what books are made of, when it is a joking name for paper books and the article never discusses materials.
D Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Rests on the opening remark that print still has its “evangelists”, a single detail about supporters that the article drops in favor of research findings.
Working it out, step by step
Know what a central idea is
A central idea is a main point that the whole passage keeps coming back to. So you need a detail in paragraph 1 that the rest of the article develops. A detail that shows up once and is then dropped doesn’t count.
Read paragraph 1 closely
Paragraph 1 makes several points. It says e-book “sales have been falling.” It says print still has its “evangelists,” which the footnote explains means supporters. Then comes the key line: print “may actually be a better choice for some readers.” The paragraph ends by promising “five ways e-books might be inferior,” or worse, compared with paper books.
Use the headings as a map
The bold headings show what the rest of the article is about. Two of them are “E-books can reduce reading comprehension” and “They’re tiring.” Each heading names one way paper books may beat e-books. So the point the article develops is that print has some advantages.
Check each choice
- B fits: the five sections that follow each give one advantage of printed books.
- A is wrong because the paragraph says e-book sales fell, not that fewer e-books than print books are sold.
- C is wrong because “dead-tree cousins” is a joke name for paper books, and the article never discusses materials.
- D is wrong because the supporters are mentioned once, and the article reports research instead of advice.
Watch out: A starts from a real detail but adds a comparison the paragraph never makes.
Choose the answer
The article keeps returning to the ways print may be better than e-books. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D comes close, because paragraph 1 does say print has supporters. But the article never returns to them. Instead, every section after paragraph 1 gives research showing one way print may beat e-books. That is why B, “printed books have some advantages over e-books,” is the central idea.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books” as printed (pages 58–59)
