Reading for a Purpose:
Strategies to Make Your
Reading Time More
Effective and Efficient
Karen L. Wold, M.S.Ed.
Learning Disabilities Specialist
Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES)
1207 S. Oak St.
Champaign, IL 61820
217-333-8705
kwold2@illinois.edu
Description
This powerpoint presentation will
present a variety of purposes for
reading and corresponding strategies
to match those purposes. Strategies
will include: skimming, scanning, and
active reading strategies.
Presentation Topics
Why is having a purpose for reading so
important?
How to determine a purpose for reading.
Reading for class discussion: skimming
strategies
Reading for a paper: scanning strategies
Reading for an exam: active reading
strategies
Questions? Comments?
Why is having a purpose for
reading so important?
Having a purpose for the reading you do
allows you to focus on specific reading
strategies to make your reading more
effective.
Reading “just because I have to for class”
or “the professor said so” is not a
sufficient purpose for reading!
Having a purpose will also help to
motivate you to get the reading
completed.
How to determine a purpose for
reading.
Some classes are heavily dependent on
lecture notes and the book or books are
used as supplementary material.
Some reading (usually textbooks) is
critical to read because the information
will be discussed in class, or the
information will not be discussed in class
but you are still responsible for knowing
the information for an exam.
Sometimes you can choose what to read
to write a paper.
How to determine a purpose for
reading – part two
Just reading the words in a textbook is passive
activity that will not allow you to remember and
recall what you are learning. You need to take a
more active role in the reading process.
Questions to consider: What information do I
need and where can I get it? For example:
lecture notes, text/readings, both? Lab
workbook?
Reading for Class Discussion:
Skimming Strategies
Read the summary first, if there is one.
Read the headings and subheadings.
Read the words in bold or italics.
If you have more time, read the first
paragraph and the last paragraph of a
section and the first and/or second
sentence of every paragraph in between.
Reading for Class Discussion:
Skimming Strategies
“Focused skim” method:
– Know what information you need
– Where might you find this info in the text?
– Look at your syllabus and/or class notes to
locate the info more specifically
– Skim chapter titles and summaries to see if
the info you need is there
– Skim-read the text by looking only for the info
you need
For “big picture” concepts, look at the introduction
and conclusion of the chapter
For details, look for the terms in bold or italic type.
*Modified from Learning Outside the Lines by Jonathan
Mooney and David Cole, 2000.
Reading For a Paper:
Scanning Strategies
Scanning is much more precise than skimming in
that you are only looking at certain parts of the
text, not the whole selection.
Once you have an assignment for a paper, you
can scan the readings to locate information
related to the subject of your paper.
Look at the Table of Contents and the Index to
quickly locate information.
If that does not help you to find what you need,
read the syllabus to find the topic and read the
headings/subheadings of the chapter or other
readings that cover that topic.
Read your class notes on the relevant topic.
Demonstration of skimming strategy.
Reading for an Exam:
Active Reading Strategies
1.
Decide whether to read your notes or book(s) first. If the
test will not focus on one source over another, start with
whichever source makes the most sense to you. Then you
can move on to the source that makes the least sense to
you and it may make more sense.
2.
Preview chapter or lecture notes by looking at the
headings and definitions/concepts (as well as
pictures/diagrams if they make more sense to you then
the text).
3.
Turn headings/subheadings into questions and answer
them. For best results, write these down or type them
into a computer. By doing this, you will create your own
study guide and better remember the information.
4.
Engage or converse with the text – agree, disagree,
question, note comments. This is essential if you want to
remember the information for an exam! You won’t
remember much if you just passively read the words.
Reading for an Exam: Active
Reading Strategies (cont.)
5. Read at least headings, subheadings, intro and
summary paragraphs before class.
6. After class, use lecture notes to determine most
important points to look for in reading.
7. As you are reading, if there is something that
you do not understand, put a post-it note by the
section where you have a question (you can even
write the question on the post-it) and continue
reading. You can go back and get your question
answered by the TA or prof by email, office hours
or class at a later time.
Reading for an Exam: Active
Reading Strategies (cont.)
8.
Some students in math, or math-related classes, read over their
notes and try to work on homework problems first. If they get
stuck, then they look at the relevant section of the text and/or
their notes to try and find out how to solve the problem.
9. After you finish reading each section, stop briefly to mentally
review what you just read. You can also review the answers to
the questions you posed from the headings.
10. In case of narratives or text with no headings, note characters,
plot, other key information, etc. You can also use the first
sentence of a section and turn that into a question to answer by
the time you finish a chapter or section.
11. In the case of math text, read headings but work on math
problems, instead of turning headings into questions to check
your understanding.
Resources
Books
College Reading and Study Skills, 8th ed., Kathleen McWhorter,
2001.
Learning Outside the Lines, Jonathan Mooney and David Cole,
2000.
Web sites (Reading and other Study Skills Strategies)
http://www.studygs.net/reading.htm
http://wwhttp://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/reading.ht
ml
Questions, comments?
Thank you for coming to tonight’s
workshop!