Improve Your Memory Skills

Top Ten Steps To Improve Your Reading Comprehension

November 7, 2008

The ability to improve your reading comprehension depends on at least four factors: your motivation to learn; your concentration skills; and the use of a good reading method and note-taking method. In addition to these four factors, you may also benefit from the tips and strategies listed below:

1. Broaden your background knowledge. Read newspapers, magazines, books, and professional journals. Become interested in current events, particularly those happening within your career field. This will help you build a stronger mental framework for ideas and concepts.

2) Create motivation and interest. Discuss ideas with your friends, family, co-workers, and classmates. The stronger your interest in the subject, the greater your comprehension will be.

3) Be active in your reading. A great way to stay alert and active is by taking notes. It also helps to read the material out loud.

4) Highlight what you think is most important. If you want to fully understand what you are reading, reading it once is not enough. Highlight the main ideas and review them after you have read the entire piece.

5) Understand that some texts will take longer than others. Some texts will be long, difficult, and/or boring to you. You must accept what is in front of you and set a plan for reading and retention.

6) Get your environment right! It is important to manage your distractions when studying. Most people have better retention when they are in a quiet environment. It is important to have good lighting and a comfortable chair as well (but not too comfortable as you do not want to fall asleep while reading).

7) Strengthen your vocabulary. Building your vocabulary is a long process and not an event that happens overnight. However, the more you know about the language, the more you will understand. Keep a dictionary handy and look up words that are not familiar.

8) Break reading into smaller, more manageable pieces. Long and/or difficult texts can be intimidating. But, if you break your reading into small pieces, and take breaks in between reading, you will have better retention.

9) Increase your reading speed. By reading faster, you will save valuable time in your studying. As you work on different reading comprehension tips and strategies, you will improve your reading speed.

10) Use a systematic reading method, such as SQ3R! SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. If you take notes and can answerthese four things you havemastered the process!

Sources:

Bishop, Joyce, and Carter, Carol, and Kravits, Sarah Lyman (2003). Keys to Success, How to Achieve Your Goals, Third Edition