Effective Reading Strategies and Techniques

• Effective reading strategies and techniques can improve reading skills.
• Reading involves decoding symbols to arrive at meaning and builds understanding of words.
• Reading directs information towards a goal, focuses attention, and helps to understand the test as a thinking process

Reading Process

• Recognising words lead to the development of comprehension.
• It negotiates the meaning between the text and its reader.

Stages

• The process occurs in three stages: pre-reading, during reading, and final stage.
• The pre-reading stage activates background knowledge, previews the text, and sets a purpose.
• The during reading stage involves making predictions and confirming or revising them.
• The final stage allows retelling the story, discussing elements, answering questions, and comparing texts

Reading Comprehension

• It is an intentional, active, and interactive process occurring before, during, and after reading.
• It requires both vocabulary knowledge and text appreciation.
• It starts before reading the text and continues afterwards.

Skimming

• Skimming provides speedy reading for capturing general meaning by skipping over detail-heavy sentences and focusing on the main points.
• It helps in pre-viewing before detailed reading and refreshing understanding after detailed reading.

Scanning

• Scanning technique involves swiftly passing vision over the text to find specific words or phrases relevant to the task.
• Scanning is useful for introductions, the first or last paragraphs, concluding chapters, and the book index.

Detailed Reading and Note Taking

• Detailed reading helps find useful information.
• Underlining and highlighting picks out central words and phrases.
• Record questions to adopt an active method of reading.
• Note taking aids reading.

Record Main Headings

• Using keywords helps record main headings.
• Summaries can confirm understanding.
• Summaries can be checked by skimming to identify any gaps in comprehension.
• Note taking provides a useful record of reading.
• These strategies encourage active engagement and enhance concentration and understanding.

Making Inferences

• Making inferences is understanding implicit messages based on background knowledge.
• This skill enhances critical comprehension, unravelling meaning between, behind and beyond the words.

Drawing Conclusion

• Drawing a conclusion gives the reader an experience to explore after reading.
• It uses visual cues to figure out something that is not directly stated
• It puts together various pieces to formulate an accetable conclusion.
• The conclusion or ending of a story is acceptable when the story is derived from the events or scenarios in the plot.

Thesis Statement

• A thesis statement bears the main idea of an article or essary.
• Helps controls the ideas within the paper.
• It tells the reader how to interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• It serves as the map for the paper.

Analytical Thesis Statements

• An analytical thesis breaks down an issue or idea into its component parts.
• It presents an evaluation to the audience.
• The paper should explain the analysis of the college admission process and the challenge facing admissions counselors.

Expository Thesis Statements

• An expository thesis statement explains something to the audience.
• The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.
• The paper should explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.

Argumentative Thesis Statements

• An argumentative thesis takes a position asserting a writer's stance.
• High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college to increase maturity and global awareness.
• The paper should present an argument and evidence that show students should pursue community projects before entering college.

Explore effective reading strategies and techniques to improve your reading skills. Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, and interactive process. Understand the stages of reading, including pre-reading, during reading, and the final stage, to enhance comprehension.