Textbooks aren’t very exciting to read sometimes. However, you’ll need to master the art of reading scholarly literature to graduate from college. With this in mind, if you feel like you’re not retaining enough information from your reading assignments, or if you just simply want to improve your reading and comprehension skills, try these simple tips to help you master the art of academic reading.
- Set a time limit. Unlike the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going and going, our brains aren’t machines; they need rest. If you’re the type of person who just reads and reads and reads without taking any breaks, you’re probably not retaining much of the information you’re reading. In order to combat reading fatigue, set time limits for yourself and take breaks. For example, you can set a timer or stopwatch for 50 minutes and take a 10 minute break before you continue reading where you left off. When you return to your reading assignment, chances are you’ll feel more refreshed and comprehend more from your textbook.
- Be an active reader. When you read, is your main goal just to get through the assigned reading material? Do you avoid asking questions and pay little attention to the main ideas of the text? If so, you may be a passive reader. Instead, try reading actively by taking a more engaging approach to reading comprehension. Active reading’s main goal is to truly understand the text through more interactive methods. To be a more active reader, try practicing your active reading skills by writing down questions you have from the text, re-reading paragraphs you don’t understand, highlighting important information, and summarizing chapter main ideas in your own words. A good trick to remember when actively reading is to never read without a pen handy.
- Build your vocabulary. Words, words, words. Learning a new subject is a lot like learning a whole new language with a completely new vocabulary. Understanding the vocabulary of the subject you are learning will not only help you comprehend the material you are reading, but will also help you build your overall vocabulary for self-expression. With that said, the next time you have a reading assignment, don’t ignore words you don’t understand. Instead, look them up in a dictionary. This will help you better understand your reading assignment and help you build an arsenal of scholarly terms to improve your writing skills.
Learning any new skill takes time and effort. To master the art of academic reading, try improving your reading habits a little each week to see results.
