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Reading Strategies |
This workshop focuses on some quick reading tips necessary for college success. Reading concentration Do's and Don'ts are highlighted, along with effective summary writing, vocabulary development, speed reading and critical thinking techniques. Various strategies on how to read a textbook effectively are also included. A survey of personal reading habits can be completed online. A bibliography on how to improve reading skills is available.
The Do's and Don'ts for Improving Reading Comprehension
Glancing is a device used to assess the overall reading assignment itself. It is a technique that the reader uses to get a general idea of the layout of the text and the location of information. Glancing can be used to evaluate entire textbooks as well as chapters. In this case, after looking through the textbook itself, you might want to get a general idea of how the chapter is laid out. Glance at the outline that precedes the chapter and read the abstract if one is provided. Read the bold headings; look for checklists or visuals; note the exercise and any summary that closes the chapter. And of course, do not forget to count the pages so that you can use time management skills to plan your reading sessions.
Skimming is a device used to locate main ideas during the preview stages of reading. Previewing is not a substitute for reading. It is a technique used as a preparation for a more thorough reading of the material. Yes, that's right. An active reader goes through the text twice in order to have a better understanding of the information being presented. A simple way to practice skimming is to read, as quickly as possible, the first few sentences of every paragraph and the last few sentences of every paragraph. The more you practice this method, the easier it will become because you will find yourself looking for key verbs and nouns. After skimming, try to formulate a main idea sentence, right in the text, or in your reading notebook.
Scanning is a device used to locate details--specific answers to specific questions that may be asked at the end of the assignment. In order to practice this technique you must know how information is arranged in a reading. For example, if you are working on a history assignment, you should be aware that historical information is often arranged in chronological order or as a cause-effect relationship. When trying to answer questions that begin with the word WHEN, the reader would look in the text for sentences containing words dealing with time markers: before, next, later, prior; or words that suggest aspecific timeframe, for example, years, months, or time periods. When trying to answer WHY questions, the reader looks for words that suggest a casual relationship--because, for that reason, as a result, consequently. Again, by reviewing the questions before reading the text, you will have some idea of what you will be learning during that more thorough reading. Remember to use those margin marks to record the location of the answer to the question. In your reading notebook, you might want to begin a chart of questions and answers to be used as a study guide before tests. You, as the reader are doing a great deal of work preparing for a test in the early stages of the course, but the reader definitely saves time during midterms. Instead of cramming and spot-reading material, the active reader can just open that reading notebook and review material, not learn it for the first time during exam week.
What type of material can you include in your reading notebook? If you
followed the directions above, you should already have a main idea statement
and some review questions and answers. In addition, you may want to include
a purpose for reading: I am reading this selection to learn _____________.
Simply fill in the blank and you have the beginnings of a main idea statement
that you can develop further following the reading. Your reading notebook
might also include a statement concerning background knowledge. In what
course or during what period of my life did I come across this material?
What do I already know about this topic? Never under estimate the importance
of background experience. Prior subject knowledge serves as a building block
to learning new material. You have a frame of reference. Be sure to use
it. Your reading notebook might also include an outline of the chapter,
as well as information gained through glancing. It might also include a
summary of what you have read.
As the DO's mentioned above help you to focus on material, the DON'TS dealwith eliminating distractions. The major DON'T concerns a conscientious effort on your part to avoid situations that interfere with your concentration. If a blaring TV or radio does not enhance your study habits, move to a more quiet environment. In fact, moving to a more professional setting may increase your concentration and perhaps total study time. Avoid your room and that comfortable bed that invites sleep rather than reading. And DON'T be dishonest with yourself as a reader. Try not to work longer than your realistic time limit. Try not to work longer than your attention span. For how to turn reading DON'TS into overall study DO'S, consult the time management and test-taking sections of this website.
Summary Writing
Whether or not your professors require you to write formal summaries, this reading-to-writing skill is an important one even for personal study goals. Summaries written after every long reading assignment become study guides to be used for midterms or final exams, or for final papers. And you already should have a built-in organized place to keep all these summaries for all your courses--Collect them in that reading notebook mentioned above.
Summary writing incorporates the skills mentioned in the DO'S: annotating, skimming and scanning for main ideasand details.
Steps to Effective Summary Writing
Highlight the chapter title and rewrite it in the form of a goal question.
Answer the question; this answer should encompass the main idea of the chapter. State the answer as a main idea statement--IN ONE SENTENCE ONLY!
Review the heading and subheadings that correspond to the sections. Write a main idea sentence for each. Begin leaving spaces as you will want to fill in details under each main idea. Yes, we have begun an outline.
Use those scanning skills to pick out important details and list them under the main idea sentence you have formulated above in step 3. Try arranging them in order of appearance in the text. You might want to indicate the page number next to each one since you are compressing information and you can use these numbers at a later date for referral for more information if needed.
While filling in the details on the outline, look for patterns of information. Group items together; delete repetitive information.
You might want to type up a revised copy of this summary at a later point, in order to have a clear study tool. If so, use a general rule: The revised summary should be one-quarter in length of the original chapter.
Try reading your summary into a tape recorder and making summary tapes. This way, while walking across campus you can review your notes by listening to a cassette of the information you need to know. Try listeningto the tape right before class or right before bed in order to increase your memory skills. For more information on Memory and Learning, visit that section of the website.
Learning new vocabulary is a chore most students hope not to have to do past junior high school, but vocabulary development is intrinsic to each course. A Spanish student must know his Spanish words in order to speak, read, and write in Spanish. The psychology student must know his psychology words in order to speak, read, and write for psychology. The student MUST learn the language of the course in order to be proficient in the course itself.
Yet, stopping every minute to look up a word in a dictionary can hinder our reading rather than improve the concentration we have been trying to establish. The first place to start learning unfamiliar technical words is in the textbook itself. If new words are not written in bold-face, pick up that pen and circle them yourself. Put stars in the margins or the word def. to indicate that you need to know the terms in order to clearly understand the material. Instead of heading for that 50 pound dictionary of general definitions, you may want to use your textbook. Look to see if the word is defined at the end of the chapter or in the glossary at the end of the textbook. These definitions are more suitable for study use, since they have been narrowed down to reflect the meaning of the word in that field of study.
Suppose on the remote chance your text does not have a glossary or you do not own a dictionary--(That should be the first DO!)--how can we learn new words without exerting too much physical effort, but lots of mental effort?
WAYS TO LEARN NEEDED VOCABULARY WITHOUT USING A DICTIONARY
Look for the definition right in the sentence. This technique is called context clues:
METHODS TO EFFECTIVELY READ A TEXTBOOK
- Sometimes the author will define the word using a synonym, or word that means the same, surrounded by commas.
- Sometimes the author will define the word using an antonym, or word that means the opposite. This type of context clue implies a contrast and the author may use contrast clue words--but, or, although, however.
- Sometimes the author will define the word while giving examples, as illustrations, and will place them close to the unfamiliar word, cueing the reader with the words like or as.
- Sometimes the author will define the word indirectly by associating the unfamiliar word with a more familiar situation. Here you are expected to use your background knowledge to help define the item. Context clues of this type often draw upon the reader's perception of material and his or her extensive reading framework.
Following are four methods which have been developed by reading specialists over the years. All four methods use the basic principle of previewing material as mentioned above in the speed reading section. You might want to practice a different technique for every reading assignment you are given. Then decide on the one method that works best for you and adapt it to fit the needs of that course.
SQ4R- Survey, Question read, (w)Rite, recite, review
Survey the layout of the chapter, making particular note of boldfaced items, subtitles, outlines, or summary information.
Questions can be created from the subtitles or topic sentences of each section and written in either the margins of the text or in your reading notebook.
Read the chapter, taking note of the answers to the questions you have written above.
(w)Rite the answers to each question in your reading notebook.
Recite the questions and answers after reading the chapter in detail.
Review all the material before every quiz or test.
PRWR- For a less involved strategy, you may want to try this one:
Preview the material as in the survey above.
Read the material as in read above.
Write a summary of the information read.
Review the material as in review above.
KWL- This strategy draws from the reader's background experience of the topic and provides the reader with the opportunity to reflect on the reading by asking pertinent questions.
This strategy was developed by Dr. Donna Ogle, Chairperson of the Department of Reading and Language at National-Louis University, Evanstown, Illinois.
Chapter Title: _______________________________________
| What I Know (K) | What I Want to Know (W) | What I Learned (L) |
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STEPS IN CREATING THE KWL CHART
- After reading the first paragraph in the text, and perhaps the first and last sentences in each paragraph, complete the K-Section(What I Know About the Subject) with as much information as you can think of. However, you are not restricted to what you have read. Draw upon your past academic experiences with the subject, or upon your general knowledge.
- In the W-Section (What I Want to Know), write purpose questions.Your questions should be phrased so that after reading the chapter, you can actually answer them with substance, not just with a yes or a no. These questions can be used for study purposes later on.
- Read the chapter. While reading, you may want to annotate your text using a similar system to the one below, designed by Robert Hladky, when he was a freshman business major at Marist.
This method was devised by Dr. Walter Pauk, professor emeritus of Cornell
University and is noted to be the simplest and most effective way of getting
to the heart of a textbook assignment. Below is an explanation of the single
step version of the Basic Q system: When reading a textbook chapter, pay attention to the individual paragraphs.
After reading each paragraph, write a basic question in the margin of the
text. Be sure to write a question that you will need to know the answer to
in order to understand the reading. After writing the question in the margin,
underline or highlight the answer. If you are ambitious, you can transfer
the questions to your reading notebook by dividing the note paper in half
and listing the questions on the left side of the sheet. After completing
the entire reading assignment, see if you can answer the questions on the
right side of the sheet. This entry in your reading journal can then act as
a study guide for later review. Again, the trick is to write questions that force you to give facts, to interpret
information, to analyze and synthesize the reading and then to apply the information
learned to another area. Critical thinking and reading involve a purposeful examination of what you
have read and a good place to start is to use the question format from the
section above when reading articles, as opposed to traditional textbook material. All methods to evaluate information usually begin with the type of reading
and purpose for reading. For example, am I reading a piece that asks me to
analyze an issue or to solve a problem? Is the reading itself one that is
organized as an issue or as a problem-solution piece?
Purpose: An author's reason for writing is called the purpose of the
selection. An active reader recognizes an author's purpose in order to effectively
understand and evaluate the reading. Four common purposes are: THE BASIC Q SYSTEM
PURPOSE FOR READING AND METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Methods of Development: Once the
author has decided upon a purpose, he or she begins to organize the information
into a structure and develops the material using a pattern. Below is a list
of methods that authors use to get the purpose across to the reader:
Tone: It is also important to take a look at the author's tone of voice. How he/she says something is just as important as what is being said. From the author's tone, we can determine if the author is being serious, witty, or sarcastic. If the language used is loaded, the author may be trying to persuade us to a certain viewpoint. Tone is related to purpose.Tone is often determined by word choice and sentence length.
How to Analyze an Issue: Think of issue analysis as a court case. In any court case, the jury is asked to define the offense (the main idea of the issue itself), weigh the evidence (supporting details), evaluate the arguments (the pro/con viewpoints) and decide on a verdict (draw a conclusion). Issues we are often asked to analyze include free speech on the Internet, or the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
How to Solve Problems: Students are asked to evaluate global problems and read about solutions in all their content courses, but they do not necessarily have the opportunity to test the solutions or provide their own. This method gives you a format to use in order to do both those things. Of course, when reading about problems, you must be able to define the problem and identify the alternatives. You need to look at what the advantages and disadvantages are of each alternative and you must evaluate the solution(s) offered. You might want to consider how well the solution is working and take the time to come up with your own solutions to problems. Do not underestimate your own judgments here if you can present them in an educated and professional way based on your past knowledge of and experience with the problem.
Evaluating Sources:In addition to the methods above, the critical reader also looks at the source of the material and tries to decide how credible the source is and how reliable the information is. For example, a product reviewed by the staff of Consumer Reports is more credible and reliable than that same product mentioned in a print advertisement. The purpose of the Consumer Report piece is to provide consumers with an objective evaluation of the product; the purpose of the ad campaign is to sell products in a more subjective manner.
Evaluating Research:The critical reader then looks to see that research is conducted in an organized manner on a known and representative sample. If the study is a scientific one, the reader looks for control groups. The reader also tries to distinguish fact from opinion and to identify and rule out false and hasty generalizations or arguments that appeal to emotional bias.
For more information on critical thinking, refer to the ALCUIN bibliography or consider registering for Critical Reading and Thinking.