The most successful readers use a variety of strategies to help themselves understand and remember what they are reading. This is particularly true of academic reading. Here are some strategies that you will find helpful and easy to add to your reading:
Preview - Before you start to read, look over the assignment to get the big picture.
- · What is it about?
- · How is it organized?
- · Are there any interesting pictures?
- · Look at the bold print words - do you understand them? Are they defined somewhere?
- Read any learning objectives at the beginning of the chapter for guidance about what you are to learn.
Monitor your comprehension - As you read, be aware of your attention and understanding. If either one lags, reread or take a step back and see where the information you are reading fits into the overall topic of the assignment.
Visualize - Can you picture what you are reading? This will depend on the topic, of course. But, can you see a picture of what the author is describing?
Recite - Stop after each paragraph or section and restate what you just read in your own words. Can you do that? If yes, continue on. If no, go back and reread and try again.
Review - This small step will make a huge difference. After you are done reading, take a few more minutes to think about what you have read.
For the next three postings I will go into more detail about the Three-step Academic Reading Process and different strategies you can do at the different stages.
Until then....Happy Reading!
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