Reading Techniques

Did you know there is a difference between active reading and passive reading? Think back to a text book you were reading recently. Your eyes were reading the words but your mind was elsewhere – you were thinking about the last basketball game, conversation you had with your friends or fight you had with your girl friend. Whatever was distracting you, your mind was not entirely focused on the material. You somehow convince yourself that if your eyes are reading the material then your brain is absorbing it – even if you aren\’t concentrating on it.

You were passive reading.

One of the most important reading techniques that students must practice is active reading. Active reading means that your mind is fully focused on the material in the book before you. Reading actively also means reading for details. You might try using a highlighter and underlining important points as you go along. Don\’t make the mistake of using the highlighter for everything and drifting off to thinking about your girl friend again though.

Before getting started reading any material you will want to ask yourself why are you reading and how much do you need to absorb. By having the answers to those questions you can more accurately determine the type of reading necessary. Knowing the information you require will also help you determine whether the book you choose is going to help you answer those questions. Is the book too easy or too difficult? Does it assume you know too much or would another book better meet your standards.

Different types of information require different ways of reading. For instance, a short math section describing a concept with practice problems requires more active reading than a short fiction piece you are reading for fun. If you have a good understanding of the layout of the material you will be able to extract the information more easily and quickly.

For instance, if you are getting through articles from newspapers or magazines you will notice that the articles often cover only the highlights and interesting parts because that\’s what sells copies. Scan the table of contents or index and get right to the article that interests you. If you are reading specific articles you will find that news type articles have the information you need in the first two paragraphs, opinion pieces have supporting information in the middle of the article and feature articles are written for entertainment purposes.

If you are reading technical documents then keep a glossary close by so you understand the concepts and text. It is usually good to make notes as you go through the process so you don\’t lose the concepts you now understand.

The key strategies are to know what you need to know before starting so you are effective and efficient in your reading. Know how deeply you must read to get the information – can you skim, scan or study? Use the supporting documents such as table of contents and glossaries to extract as much information as you can before starting and understand the best way to extract information from different types of material before you start.

It is essential that all students develop reading strategies and techniques that help them learn, understand, retain and retrieve important information and concepts. These skills give them the ability to become stronger and more critical readers that only improve their overall skills as a student.