Optimizing your reading method will help you read, learn, and remember effectively as you progress through your courses. Often, foundational information from one course is expected to be brought into the next.

Since repetition is the key to learning, creating a reading process will help you become more efficient.

Purpose

Have you ever realized while reading that you don’t really know what you just read? This can happen due to a lack of purpose. In order to get our brains ready to learn, we need to establish a purpose. Prior to reading, spend some time reviewing discussion questions, rubrics, and teacher announcements. The items you’re asked to write will give you clues on where to focus while you read.

It’s generally helpful to know the big objectives for your course or competency, too. Read your syllabus and find the why behind all you are reading and writing. This will help you hone in on a specific question, key word, or idea as you read.

Pre-reading

This is the step where we start to ask our first questions about the text, make predictions, and connect to our prior knowledge. Look at the title, headings, subheadings, and summaries or abstracts; ask who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Also, be sure to search your own memory for any knowledge or experience you have with the topic. New information is best remembered when you connect to information you already know.

Active Reading

Reading actively means that you are asking and answering questions about the text, monitoring your understanding, determining the main idea, and referring to our prior knowledge on the topic. Not only should you be searching for answers to the question created in the pre-reading stage, but you should be asking new ones and locating those answers for a deeper analysis. Be sure to pause every once in a while—consider setting a timer, reading in chunks—so you can make sure you’re absorbing information. Pause to write notes or bookmark important passages as you go. Remember, your writing often asks you to refer to what you read, so gather that text!

Re-reading

Re-reading does not necessarily mean we have to read the text all over again. Rather, it means we should be reviewing the questions and answers we found while we actively read. We also want to make sure we review any areas we struggled with as well as any areas we felt we could use for our assignment—the purpose. Finally, we should organize the material we plan to use in our assignment for easier retrieval. This method allows you to work with your memory as you read new material in order to make connections for more effective reading and writing. For more help on this, visit Academic Support inside your Brightspace course.