8 Good Reading Strategies for You

There is reading and then, there is ‘reading’. Reading is more than just staring at the pages of a book and understanding what is on it. It involves being able to commit what is read to memory for later use. Below are 8 good reading strategies for you.

Draw on Background Knowledge

Do not just jump into reading. Look closely at your topic; try to recall what you already know about it. Then try to compare and contrast your prior knowledge with the present one. Likely, you would discover a new understanding of the topic. Don’t forget to document this in your reading journal. If you need tips on how to create a reading journal, then consider learning from this one (insert link).

Develop an Interest in what You Read

Your attention will be all over the place if you have no interest in what you are reading. If you read what you love, you’ll focus on it wholly so as not to miss anything from it. Your desire to learn more will hold you down both mentally and physically.

Narrowed-down Reading

Reading widely could be tiring and boring. However, when you narrow down your reading through the use of questions, it will go a long way.  Reading with the hope of finding answers to a question can help. It will lead you to particular topics, and will make you find it easier to concentrate on what you are reading.

Meditation

Most people mistake this to mean just thinking about what you have read. To get the most from meditation, you need to consider questions like; how does this add to my prior knowledge? Of what significance is this to my research? Why was it written this way or that way? When you make use of such thought-provoking questions, your reading gets productive.

Avoid Distractions

The ability to fully concentrate while reading takes a while and great deal of practice. If you get distracted, you will likely not be able to concentrate for a while. So do not leave yourself prone to distractions. Look for places free of distraction or use a library if need be. You could even create a home library to help you more.

Use Your Imagination as you Read

Try to picture the objects, persons, animals or other entities while you read and make inferences. Take note of pictures and charts and think of how they contribute to understanding the text.

Read Out Loud and Take Notes

Reading loud has been known to aid assimilation.  As you assimilate however, make jottings for future references.

Summarize What You Read

After reading, you should try and summarize what you read. You can do this either by writing down the summary in your reading journal or try and summarize what you read to someone else. By so doing, you will certainly know if you understood what you read or not. Summarizing what you read will also help you figure out if you need to reread the book or not.

Going by these 8 good reading strategies for you will help you become a better reader.