2.1.4: Read Efficiently
- Page ID
- 25723
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To read efficiently, consider the following:
- Sit down (in your ideal setting and at your ideal time, if possible) and prepare to read.
- Do whatever you need to do to minimize distractions during your reading session. (This may include putting your smartphone and other technology in another room.)
- Have paper and pencil available to take notes.
- Read carefully, stopping and rereading sections you don’t quite understand.
- Be sure to look up words you’re not familiar with.
- This is important! Most of us are good contextual readers; that is, we can usually figure out what an unfamiliar word means based on the content around it. But in your academic, college-level writing, every word is important, and some words carry enough power to change the meaning of a sentence or to launch it into a whole new level of detail.
- Also, some words have different meanings in the academic setting than in our more casual everyday lives. When you hit a word you don’t know, stop, make a note in the margin (or on a piece of paper), and look it up.
- If you find that stopping to look up individual words is too distracting, you can make a list of all the unknown words you run into and then look them all up when you’ve finished reading.
- This is important! Most of us are good contextual readers; that is, we can usually figure out what an unfamiliar word means based on the content around it. But in your academic, college-level writing, every word is important, and some words carry enough power to change the meaning of a sentence or to launch it into a whole new level of detail.
- Keep reading until you’re done.
- Don’t be distracted.
- If you begin to feel fidgety, stop, get up, and take a five minute break. Then get back to your reading.
The more you read, the stronger your habit will grow, and the easier reading will be.
License and Attributions:
CC licensed content, Previously shared:
The Word on College Reading and Writing. Authored by: Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. Located at: https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Book%3A_The_Word_on_College_Reading_and_Writing_(Babin_et_al.)/Part_1/2%3A_Building_Strong_Reading_Skills/2.04%3A_Read_Efficiently
License: CC BY: Attribution.
Adaptions: Reformatted, some content removed to fit a broader audience.