Grasping Reads

an essay by Roger B Rueda

Most people even have complicatedness reading reads that aren’t very difficult. This is possibly because of the lack of practice and fluency. Training our wits to grasp what we read in the fastest means possible is a dexterity we need to have.

Here is how to get better at reading comprehension. Resort to the following three-step progression: The first is previewing. You preview the book by looking through the table of contents to see how the concepts are well thought-out. Too, look for any study aids, such as an answer key at the end of the chapters, glossary, questions…. Preview the chapter by spending ten minutes scanning the subsequence: headings, diagrams, charts, terms in bold, questions at the end, summary, and otherwise. Consider what you already know concerning the topics in the chapter. A preview can help construct your curiosity and centre of attention in the text, much as a movie preview builds concern in a movie

The second is through dynamic reading. How should you read? Certainly, bring to mind the paragraph or the section (three or four paragraphs under a heading) as your unit of meaning. Do not look back over when you are bemused about a word or sentence—read on. The next sentence will often elucidate the meaning. If you are still confused at the end of a section or paragraph, stop at that point to check through or to look up important, unfamiliar words. For a knowledge or procedural book, think of the charts and diagrams as the mind of the text, with sentences basically explaining what is offered visually

In passing, how should you mark books with many headings? Well, turn the heading into a question and read that section to find the answer. Stop at the end of the section and ask yourself what’s most important that you didn’t know earlier. Write a note in the margin, underline the important ideas, or do together. Do not mark as you go or you will end up marking too much. Hold off marking until you finish reading a paragraph or section. Most students find that a mishmash of highlighting and notes in the margin works best. Caution: when you do underline, mark words and phrases rather than whole sentences. Number parts or items (for example, 3 parts of a definition, 4 causes of something, 3 requirements, etc.). Take a look at how other people mark their texts.

After that, how should you mark books that have few or no headings? Find out your professor’s intention in assigning the book (look at the course outline or ask). For instance, the three paperbacks in a history class may have been assigned so that you can learn how historians work and think, not with the intention that you memorize dates. Decide whether you should read the book quickly or more slowly. Ask the professor or simply note how many class meetings are devoted to the book. Stop at the end of each paragraph and ask yourself the most important point. This will help you concentrate because you have something to do besides moving your eyes across the page. In most cases, we do not underline this kind of book, preferring to write notes in the margin or brief notes in a notebook. If you use a notebook, do not stop to write at the end of each paragraph; hold off until you have read a few pages. If you will be writing a paper about the book, include pages references in your notebook entries.

Thirdly, you weigh up: Spend ten minutes scanning back over the headings and your own markings when you come to the end of a chapter or reading session.

Start in on self-testing if time allows. (Turn a heading into a question and try to answer it; then look to see if you are right.) Compare your marked text with your lecture notes. Consider forming a study group to discuss the material with others and to study for exams.

Here is a comparison for the reading progression: So let’s take a jaunt. You foretaste: Look at a map before you go. You need to take a look at the whole territory so you will understand how one part relates to the others. You also need a sense of what you should look for on your trip. For dynamic reading, take pictures as you go. These “pictures” (your highlighting or notes) will not show the entire jaunt but will act as “memory pegs” to help you call to mind your jaunt. You review by examine your “pictures” and recall your trip.

Preview your book by first reading a cut down version (a review book or outline book, a high school text, an encyclopaedia entry, etc.) when you are reading thorny books. For example, if you find that you’re having trouble reading  Gémino H Abad or Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo or Jaime An Lim or Danton Remoto or Edith Tiempo or Leoncio Deriada or Rosario Cruz Lucero, stop and read a succinct summary of his/her ideas and then return to the original text. This can help terrifically. If a text is awfully difficult, read it twice rather than doing a single deliberate reading. (If you read too slowly, you may begin to lose sight of the main concepts.) Undertake to read aloud. Get help. Confer with your professor or tutor or fellow student. For a lasting way out, work on building your vocabulary. Take a vocabulary course, buy a vocabulary book, write vocabulary cards, or read a more challenging magazines, such as The New Yorker or Philippine Panorama or The Sunday Times or Home Life. Or read Jose “Butch” Dalisay, my favourite writer in the Philippine Star.