Reading to Understand

You can improve your ability to understand and remember what you read. The way of doing this is to get ready physically to read. You can do this by sitting at a desk or table, sitting straight, finding a well-lit area, reading where physical distractions are minimal, and getting paper and a pen. You can get ready mentally by starting with a positive attitude.

The second way of getting ready to read is to prepare mentally. Answering the following questions will help you prepare.

What is my purpose for reading?

How do I need to read?

What is my purpose for reading?

People read for many different reasons. You need to be clear of your purpose for reading. Some possible reasons include: to learn new facts, to have new experiences, to experience another person’s thoughts or feelings, to be entertained, to find the main idea, to summarize the information later, to retell the information to other people, to improve your reading speed, to increase your vocabulary, to criticize the ideas, to determine if the ideas are logical. You may have more than one purpose for reading. Your purpose for reading will influence “how you decide to read”.