crcb ch. 1

CRCB CH.1 Reading in College


Most of us think of reading as a simple, passive process that involves reading words in a linear fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time. But reading is actually a very complex process that requires a great deal of active participation on the part of the reader. The first thing you should know about reading in college is that it bears little or no resemblance to the sort of reading you do for pleasure, or for your own edification.

Reading does require concentration. If you find that you are distracted then the ability to concentrate on the text at hand will suffer. Remember, you're reading with a purpose, so focus on the purpose and the material. If you lose interest or keep losing the place, take a break or read something else. You can keep track of where you are by following along with the hand. This simple technique helps you focus and increase concentration skills.
After three or four paragraphs stop and ask yourself whether or not you understand the text. You might need to reread the text in order to:
mark the words/terms you didn’t understand,
find some key words,
find main/specific points
and isolate supporting evidence
Learning with purpose occurs when you actively engage with what you are reading. Learning styles are points along a scale that help us to discover the different forms of mental representations; however, they are not good characterizations of what people are or are not like.