■ Don’t get hung up on single words or sentences, but dolook up
(in the dictionary) key words that you must understand in
order to grasp an entire concept.
■ Try to grasp overall concepts rather than attempting to under-
stand every detail.
■ If you find yourself moving your lips when you read (vocal -
ization), practice reading with a pen or some other (nontoxic,
nonsugary) object in your mouth. If it falls out while you’re
reading, you know you have to keep working!
■ Work on building your vocabulary. You may be reading slowly
(and/or having trouble understanding what you read) because
your vocabulary is insufficient for your reading level.
■ Read more...and more often. Reading is a habit that improves
with practice.
■ Avoid rereading words or phrases. According to one recent
study, an average student reading at 250 words per minute
rereads 20 times per page. The slowest readers reread the
most.To Increase Your Comprehension
■ Try to make the act of learning sequential— comprehension
is built by adding new knowledge to existing knowledge.
■ Review and rethink at designated points in your reading.
Test yourself to see if the importance of the material is
getting through.
■ If things don’t add up, discard your conclusions. Go back,
reread, and try to find an alternate conclusion.
■ Summarize what you’ve read, rephrasing it in your notes in
your own words.64 How to Study