Reading Strategies
As a Capella learner, you may be worried about your ability to read and understand all the material in your courses and in your field. Perhaps you think you don't read as well as some of your classmates, or that you don't understand what you are reading as well as you should. You may have some concerns about your own reading skills, process, or strategies, or maybe simply because you are curious about how to be a better reader. This resource is designed to help you find reading strategies to make your reading, in school and out, as efficient as it can be.
Before you get started reading the material in this resource try Activity 1, which will help you put what you find here into the context of your own reading. You'll learn more about getting the big picture later in the module as well. Before you get started reading the material in this resource, try the pre-reading activity below, which will help you put what you find here into the context of your own reading.
You probably have some reading strategies that already work for you, even if you do have concerns about your reading in general. It is useful to review reading strategies if only to remind yourself of what you already know and where your strengths already lie. Everyone reads differently, and you will read differently in different situations and when faced when different reading tasks. So use this resource to identify what works for you.
What is Good Reading?
- The Reading-Writing Connection: Both reading & writing are active processes that ask you to negotiate meaning.
- What Good Readers Do: Good readers understand the reasons they are reading, consciously choose different strategies for different reading tasks, and monitor their comprehension as they work.
Getting Ready to Read
- Get Comfortable: Remember that you are most efficient when you are calm, comfortable, and actively engaged in your task.
- Focus on Efficiency: The efficient reader is not trying to read quickly. The efficient reader is trying to read well.
- Read with Purpose: Understanding why you are reading, which varies each time you sit down to read, is one of the best ways to improve your reading.
Third Time's the Charm
- Get the Big Picture: Previewing, skimming, and predicting will make your reading more efficient.
- Read Actively: Annotating, note-taking, and questioning your reading can improve your comprehension.
- Re-read, Review and Summarize: Reviewing, elaborating, and summarizing will help you learn.
Different Types of Reading
- How Reading Textbooks is Different: Textbooks may require different strategies than other types of reading you do.
- Reading Scholarly Journal Articles: Learn to read one of the most important types of reading you will encounter in school.
- Reading in Different Disciplines: You will need to read differently for different areas of study.
More Information
- Putting it all together: Remember, actively practicing these strategies will help you develop your own toolbox.
