Active Reading Strategies: Remember and Analyze What You Read

Choose the strategies that work best for you or that best suit your purpose.

• Ask yourself pre-reading questions. For example: What is the topic, and what do you already know about it? What time periods was this? What were the norms?

• Identify and define any unfamiliar terms.

  • Circle terms and write a synonym or short definition for it.

• Bracket the main idea or thesis of the reading, and put an asterisk next to it. Pay particular attention to the introduction or opening paragraphs to locate this information.

• Whenever using your highlighter. Make marginal notes or comments that go with it. Every time you feel the urge to highlight something, write also. You can summarize the text, ask questions, agree, disagree. You can also write down key words, symbols to help you recall where important points are discussed.

• Make outlines, flow charts, or diagrams that help you to map and to understand ideas visually.

  • See concept map below

• Write a summary of an essay or chapter in your own words. Do this in less than a page. Capture the essential ideas and perhaps one or two key examples. This approach offers a great way to be sure that you know what the reading really says or is about.

• Write your own exam question based on the reading.

• Teach what you have learned to someone else! Research clearly shows that teaching is one of the most effective ways to learn. If you try to explain aloud what you have been studying, (1) you’ll transfer the information from short-term to long-term memory, and (2) you’ll quickly discover what you understand — and what you don’t.The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning

Additional Active/Close Reading Strategies