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Applying effective reading strategies can help with productive exam-prep. CREDIT: PEXELS
How to read more effectively A three-stage guide to help you develop your reading comprehension skills CHEN CHEN
W
ith exams coming up, do you still find yourself with lots of unread chapters from your textbook? Do you find yourself reading word by word, taking hours to get through the material? If so, I’ve got an effective reading guide for you! Effective reading is an essential skill that university students should practice. Here is a three-stage approach consisting of pre-reading, reading, and reviewing.
PRE-READING Prior to starting your reading session, make sure that you set yourself up in a quiet, comfortable study space. Turn off distractions such as your cell phone, email reminders, and social media notifications, so that you can better concentrate on the task at hand. Recall what you already knew about the material. Spend five minutes contemplating and jotting down some thoughts or keywords about what you already know. This step can work as a “warm up” to shift your mind to the topic of the reading material. Preview the material to capture the content structure and keywords. Take five minutes to
scan through the material. If you are reading a textbook chapter and have lecture notes or a summary of the textbook available, review that first. This can help you develop a sense of the general topics and important points in the textbook. As you are scanning through the reading material, here are some things to pay attention to: • Headings and subheadings often contain the main topic discussed in the subsequent paragraphs. • Diagrams are often used to summarize and compare the concepts explained in the text. • Keywords are often used to highlight new concepts introduced in the text. Divide the reading materials into smaller, more manageable chunks. Measure the time it will take to go through the reading and break it down into chunks that can be finished within a study session (e.g., a 25-minute session). This can help you plan your reading, avoid burnout, and give you some reflection time after your reading. You usually need to do the division before your first
reading, and then afterwards you can just follow your reading plan. Think about the questions that you want answered from your reading material. Write down the questions or make a mental note of them. One way of doing this is to turn subheadings into questions. For example, a subheading that says “Warning signs of procrastination” can be turned into the question of “What are the warning signs of procrastination?” This can help you look for the answers while you are reading.
READ Set a pomodoro timer to help you focus on the reading. ‘Pomodoro’ refers to the Pomodoro Technique, a time management system that encourages you to break your work up into intervals. These intervals are traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Dividing readings into small chunks can help you better absorb the main ideas and stay engaged with your reading. Take notes. Take notes of key words and important concepts. However, don’t mindlessly copy the text or highlight the material. Try to use active note tak-
ing strategies, such as taking note of only the keywords, stopping once in a while to reflect on the notes, and using your own words to summarize concepts.
AFTER READING Reflect on what you just read. After your reading session, ask yourself some questions: What did I just read? How does it relate to the lecture? How will my professor test me on the materials? Summarize your notes in your own words. Review the notes that you took during the reading session and then use your own words to write a summary about what you just read. You can use the reflection questions outlined
above to guide you in writing the summary. Reading is a skill that takes practice to develop. Try consciously applying these techniques and you will find that your reading muscle grows, which will help you become a more effective reader and a better student overall!
There are many other resources and techniques on reading textbooks. You can get more textbook reading tips from the University of Guelph Library or book an individual study appointment with a Learning Specialist to discuss learning strategies that may work the best for you.
Did you know...? Writing can improve your reading skills! Find out more about the benefits of volunteering with The Ontarion by going to theontarion.com/volunteer
