College Reading

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Of all the skills necessary to succeed in college, the two most important are:

Reading

–

Writing

–

the intake of information the production of information

In this presentation, you will learn

how to make your reading skills work for you

…

Read it!

Process it!

Use it!

Take Charge of Your Reading

      Before all else, if you don’t like to read, accept the importance of the skill and work on it. This is CRITICAL to your success!

Commit to reading goals Plan time and space to concentrate Capture knowledge and connect ideas Know how to read primary and secondary sources.

Preview and Review…

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Commit to Reading Goals

Stay positive, reading can be enjoyable.

Make the author your companion.

Pace yourself according to difficulty level.

Take breaks (10 min break every 50 minutes).

Read other sources if the assigned reading is confusing.

Keep building your vocabulary (keep a dictionary handy).

When studying for a test, skim readings for key points and terms .

Make understanding the material of prime importance .

Plan Time and Space to Concentrate

    College reading takes a great deal of concentration.

Find an environment in which you can concentrate best.

If you must read in a noisy environment, consider wearing headphones with familiar instrumental music just loud enough to block distractions.

Schedule time to read in a place where you won’t be interrupted (or distracted).

Capture and Connect

   Capture the supporting details; connect them to the main idea.

Capture what you don’t know and connect it to what you do know.

Elements of Your Reading Plan 1. Preview 2. Skimming 3. Active Reading 4. Analytic Reading 5. Review

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Know How to Read Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Source material written in some original form; more difficult reading level.

 Autobiographies     Speeches Research Reports Government Documents Scholarly Articles  Secondary Source summarizes or interprets primary sources  Magazine Articles  Textbooks

Developing Your Vocabulary

    Consider the context around new and challenging words. Jot down unfamiliar terms and find the meaning using a dictionary.

Analyze terms to discover the most meaningful part of the word (especially true in Biology). Take the opportunity to use new terms in your writing and speaking. Learn to read “outside the box!”

A Reader’s Glossary

Cause-effect Compare-contrast Draw a conclusion Context clue Implied Inference Main idea Objectivity Prior knowledge Supporting details How one thing causes another to happen How things are similar and how they are different To make up your mind about an idea Getting the meaning of a word from the words around it Suggested without being directly stated To guess or speculate to draw a conclusion The primary subject of a passage or paragraph Not influenced by personal feelings or prejudice What you already know Specific items that elaborate on the main idea

This is a lot of work! Who needs it?

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Preview

Scan the material to see what lies ahead.

Consider the context for the assignment.

Consider the length of the reading assignment and estimate how long it will take. Consider the structure and features of the reading to help you digest the material.

Consider the difficulty and plan your time accordingly.

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Reviewing

Review to remember the main points of the material.

Test yourself on your comprehension.

Some ways to review:    notes study questions flash cards  visual maps  outlines Make reviewing every week a study goal.

Skim!!!

Skimming

     Skimming covers the content at a general level.

It involves reading at about twice your normal rate.

Focuses on introductory statements, topic sentences and boldface terms.

Provides the chance for you to see what kind of information the assignment contains Enables you to gather the surface ideas if you don’t have enough time to read deeply.

Active Reading

Read us the story about the wolf Right!

Get involved in reading!

   Use it to avoid come across.

empty

reading—reading then realizing that no information has Focus on identifying the main ideas and on understanding how supporting points reinforce those ideas.

In other words, get really interested & involved!

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Analytic Reading

Reading at a more intense level.

Involves breaking ideas open and digging underneath their surface.

Enables you to try to spot flaws in the writer’s logic.

Promotes a comparison of the work to other works.

Should involve questioning the author and yourself.

In other words, active skepticism with a purpose

Highlighting Text

  Highlight :  Topic sentences, Key words, Conclusions But watch out!

   Highlighting too much can cause you to re read everything because you don’t know what’s important.

Highlighting doesn’t show you highlighted something why you You need to have the entire text review.

with you to

Important Points About College Reading

     Instructors do NOT always cover the reading material in lecture.

You are expected to read the material and understand it on your own.

Successful students complete assigned readings before class to help them understand the lecture.

Connections and overlaps between lecture and reading reinforce learning. Also, reading ahead prevents you from being embarrassed when you are called on to discuss what you’ve read!

Take that!

Unworthy adversary of reading!

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A Summary of Strategies to Improve Reading

Practice a positive attitude.

Make the author your companion.

Pace yourself according to difficulty level.

Take breaks to restore concentration.

   Read other sources if the reading is confusing.

Build your vocabulary.

Work on reading faster.