What are effective reading strategies?

Active readers use active reading techniques -some people also call it active reading- to save time and read more. In the beginning, you must determine your purpose for reading, because this will determine the style that suits it. Let’s review in today’s article some reading styles and their relationship to their purpose.

1. Preview

Previewing the text gives you a general understanding of the text without reading the entire content and also helps you decide whether or not this text, of whatever type, is useful for your purpose.

Text preview steps:

• Title and author details
• Abstract (if available)
• Major parts such as main headings, subheadings, chapter summaries, and any highlighted texts
• Read any illustrations, graphs, or tables and their comments, as these usually summarize the content of the text.
• The first sentence in each paragraph

2. Skimming

Speed reading involves moving the eyes quickly over large portions of text. Speed reading differs from scanning in that it involves reading at the level of paragraph texts. Speed reading allows you to pick up some of the main ideas without paying attention to detail and is quick in nature, with one chapter only taking a few minutes.
Speed reading aims to quickly identify relevant passages from a large body of written material. They are useful when there are only a few headings or graphic elements to give an overview of the text.

Speed reading steps:

• Note any bold print or graphics.
• Start at the beginning of the text and sweep your eyes over the text quickly.
• Do not read the entire text, but a few words from each paragraph or the first and last sentence.

3. Scanning

Close reading means that you pass your eyes like radar over a piece of text to find specific information. The goal of skimming is to quickly locate specific information in a large amount of written material.

Here are the steps for a quick, close reading:

• After the overview and skimming, decide which texts you might need to read.
• Start reading the text quickly while examining it.
• As soon as you notice an important word or phrase, stop reading.
• When you identify information that requires focus, slow down to read that section more carefully.
• Speed reading is not a substitute for full reading and should only be used to quickly identify material.

4. Intensive reading

Intensive reading, as its name suggests, is detailed and focused, as if you were studying important pages or chapters. After examining the text and skimming and skimming, it’s time for a deep reading, right down to noticing any ambiguous text.

How do you read extensively?

• Start at the beginning of the text, underlining any unfamiliar words or phrases, but don’t stop your reading.
• If the text is relatively easy, take brief notes.
• If the text is difficult, read it at least once, depending on its level of difficulty, before taking notes.
• Be aware of the main ideas. Every paragraph should have a main idea, often present in the first sentence.

5. Critical reading

Criticism in an academic context does not mean simply criticizing or “finding faults,”  but rather understanding ideas. Here are some key features of critical reading:

• Recognize the writer’s purpose and core values (social, cultural, and historical influences).
• Recognize dialectical patterns
• Link ideas in the text to other ideas and texts.
• Explore alternatives to the mentioned idea.
• Learn about the underlying assumptions and values you bring to your readership.
• Being an active reader means being a critical reader. The purpose of critical reading is to gain a deeper
• understanding of the material. Here are some questions you should ask while reading.

What questions should you ask while reading?

As you read a section of a book or article, look for information to help you answer the following questions:

1. The objective of the author

• Why did the author write his material? Who is the target audience?
• What point of view does the author take?
• How does this point of view relate to other materials in this field?

2. Content

• What is the main topic—the thesis or argument?
• What are the main points used to support this thesis?
• What explanation or evidence is used to support the main points?
• Are the main ideas accurate?
• What aspects of the subject has the author chosen to emphasize?
• Has a particular contemporary issue or philosophy influenced the author’s argument? Has the author advanced a particular point of view?
• What are the author’s assumptions? Is this stated explicitly?
• Is there any evidence of intentional bias, such as the interpretation of material or the selection of sources?

3. The structure

• What framework is used to organize the materials?
• How does the structure reflect the topic, thesis, or argument?
• How is content organized and developed within this framework?
• How does the conclusion relate to the introduction and the rest of the article?

4. Style and shape

What is the style of writing the material? For example, is it formal or informal, simple or complex, didactic or persuasive, narrative or analytical?

6. “Reading to Remember” or the SQ3R

The SQ3R reading method, which is an acronym for “survey, question, read, retrieve, and review,” is one of the core activities of the study. You should be able to understand what you are reading and remember the main ideas when you need them. Its name in English indicates the steps that the reader follows here, which include the following:

Survey

Before you start reading, review the material to get an overview of the contents.

Question

You are more likely to remember the material if you ask questions about it:
1. Ask yourself, “What does the lecturer or teacher say about the class or topic?”
2. Come up with questions to guide your reading:
– Think of specific questions you need or would like to find answers to.
– Read any focused questions at the end of the reading.
– If there are headings in the material, turn the headings into questions. For example, if the title is Qualitative and Quantitative Research, your question might be: “What is the difference between these two types of research?”
3. List your questions for reference to help you remember what you read.

Read

Be prepared to read the material twice. First, read without taking notes:

1. Find the author’s plan. Read any headlines or summaries. This will give you an idea of the main thesis.
2. Find answers to the questions you first asked.
3. Compare the charts and illustrations to the written text.
4. Make sure you understand what you are reading. Slow down and re-read parts that are not clear.
5. If you are having difficulty understanding the text, look up the difficult words in the dictionary and re-read it.

On the second reading, start taking notes:

1. Write down the main idea(s) of each paragraph.
2. Find important details (such as supporting evidence or illustrations).
3. Take notes from the text in your language.
4. Focus your notes on the important points. This will help you in the later review.

Recall

1. You should now try to remember what you read.
2. Close the book
3. Write down what you remember.
4. Check the accuracy of what you have written by comparing it to the notes you took while reading.

Review

Review what you’ve read and check the accuracy of your notes by comparing them to the original material. This is an important stage in the process because it can help you remember what you have studied the next day:

1. Read your notes to get the key points.
2. Read the questions you have indicated and try to answer them from memory.
3. Try to do the same after a few days.

Reviewing your notes periodically will help you at exam time. The more you revise during the semester, the less you will need to practice during study periods. Which types of previous reading are your favorites, and which do you find yourself using more than others? Share your views on active reading and its impact on your academic and professional lives.

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