Effective Reading Strategies
Reading for Clarity and Understanding
Andy Gurevich
Reading to Write
Good writing begins with good reading. Every time you read, you’re exposed to someone else’s ideas and to their way of writing: their word choice, vocabulary, knowledge base, use of language, and so forth.
How do you become a reader, or a better reader?
First, read every day. In other words, don’t just vary the subject matter–vary the difficulty, too. Stretch!
Second, learn and practice the skills of effective reading (which are explained below in this section).
Third, keep reading. Every day. And use good effective reading skills.
Fourth, learn and practice the skill of reading critically. To learn more, see Reading Critically in the “Writing about Texts” section.
Fifth, keep reading. Yes, every day, putting your skills to work. (Practice makes perfect!)
Sixth, well, you know.
Reading effectively means reading in a way that helps you understand, evaluate, and reflect on a written text. As you might guess, these skills are very important to college students, no matter what field you’re going into: you’ll be doing a lot of reading.
People who read effectively use a variety of skills and techniques:
- They start by creating an optimal setting for reading. They pick the best time, place, and conditions.
- They engage in pre-reading strategies before starting to read (see pre-reading strategies later in this section)
- They read material efficiently: they pick up a piece of material, engage actively with it, and finish.
- They create a reading environment that helps decrease distraction.
- They annotate written texts (in other words, they write directly on the texts) or take notes as they read. By doing this, they enter into a discussion with the text, interacting with it.
- They research or investigate content they don’t fully understand.
- They work to discover the central meaning of the piece. They ask themselves
- What is the author’s point?
- What is the text trying to say?
- What story is the author telling?
- How does the author create and build this meaning?
- They reflect on what the text means to them, internalizing the meaning:
- How am I responding to this text?
- Why am I responding that way?
- What does the text make me think about?
- What does this information mean to me?
Create an Optimal Setting for Reading
Stop for a moment and think about yourself and the act of reading. Whether you read headlines or social media posts on a smartphone or tablet, love to settle in with the Sunday paper, devour stacks of hand-held magazines and hard copy books, or read only when forced to, what does reading look like for you?
- Consider your ideal spot for reading. Is it a favorite chair in your living room? Your bed? A coffee shop? The cool green grass in a local park?
- What’s your favorite time of day for reading?
- Do you read best in silence? Or do you like to have music playing, be around other people, or have some other sort of active distractio