Strategies for Reading

Habits of Good Readers

• Good readers are active readers.
• They have clear goals in mind as they read.
• They constantly evaluate whether the text is meeting their goals.
• Good readers look over the text before they begin, noting structures and sections that might be most relevant to their goals.
• They make predictions about what is to come.
• They read selectively – what to read carefully, what to read quickly, what to not read, what to reread, etc.  Every word in an article does not usually need to be read.  That is why section headings and well-constructed paragraphs are nice. 
• Good readers construct, revise and question the meanings as they read, and during breaks from reading. 
• They monitor their understanding by pausing every once in a while and figuring out main points and connecting ideas back to their world. 
• Good readers read different texts differently (cartoon, fiction, editorial, users manual, etc).
• Good readers understand that comprehension is complex and consuming.

Guidelines for Critical Reading
Preview the text to consider preliminary questions and get an overall impression.

• What does the title tell you?
• What do you already know about the subject?
• What opinions do you have?
• What do you hope to learn?
• What information can you find about the author and his or her purpose, expertise, and possible bias?
• What can you learn from considering when, where, and how the text was published?
• Consider social, political or personal forces that may have affected the writer.
• What effects do visuals, subdivisions, and headings have?
• What do you expect the main point of the text to be?
• Why was the text written?
• What purpose do you have for reading this?

Reread and annotate the text

• Mark the text up – highlight, jot notes in the margins.   If you don’t want to write in the book, use sticky notes or keep a notebook handy. 
• Underline sentences, phrases and words that seem important.
• Underline specific examples of language that is effective.
• Circle words, phrases, concepts and people you don't know.  Make a point to look them up.  If you don't you will miss key understandings and ideas.  
• Write questions in the margins about points you find confusing or unclear.
• Put check marks next to the main points and arguments.
• Note statements that you agree with or strongly disagree with.  Provide your rationale if you do not agree.
• Underline sources that are cited.
• Use arrows, lines and symbols to connect ideas in the essay that are related or depend on each other. 
• Not transitions, sentence structures, examples, topic sentences and other rhetorical moves that seem particularly effective in the essay. 

Summarize what you have read and jot down ideas and questions.

Think about genre

• What category does the writing fall into? 
• What is noteworthy about the form of the work?
• How does it conform to your expectations about the genre, or subvert them?

Think again about the author

• Who is writing?
• How does the point of view affect your response to the reading?
• How reliable and convincing does the author seem?

Analyze the text

• What are the main points? Do they match your expectation?
• What evidence does the text provide? 
• How are examples used?
• What other evidence or counter-evidence occurs to you?
• Are the sources trustworthy?
• How do the words and visuals work together?
• Was the author’s purpose accomplished?
• What is intriguing, puzzling, or irritating about the text?
• What would you like to know more about?
• Does this text illicit any emotion?

Think about the audience

• Who are the readers the writer seems to address?
• Do they seem to include you?

Reread the text and check your understanding.