8 Tips To Remember What You Read

My dear lovely children, 
You might complain from time to time that you can't remember what you have read. And yes, that is of course, depressing . I don't like it either, believe me. 


Despite tele­vi­sion, cell phones, and Web “twit­ter,” tra­di­tional read­ing is still an impor­tant skill. Whether it is school text­books, tech man­u­als at work, or reg­u­lar books, peo­ple still read, though not as much as they used to. One rea­son that many peo­ple don’t read much is that they don’t read well. For them, it is slow, hard work and they don’t remem­ber as much as they should. You as stu­dents, for example,may have to read some­thing sev­eral times before you under­stand and remem­ber what you have read.

So, as your teacher, I am saying this ; it is not too late. I sum­ma­rize below what I think it takes to read with good speed and comprehension.

1. Read with a pur­pose 

                - know what you are reading about.

2. Skim first.

                - go through once to get main ideas.

3. Get the read­ing mechan­ics right.

                 - the way you sit when you are reading is important. Suitable surrounding , for example ,light etc should play
                    inportant role too

4. Be judi­cious in high­light­ing and note tak­ing.

                - keep taking notes while reading, use a highlighter pen with attractive colours you like .

5. Think in pic­tures.

                 - try figure them out in pictures / story lines.

6. Rehearse as you go along.
7. Stay within your atten­tion span and work to increase that span.
8. Rehearse again soon.

Improving Your Reading Speed

Just think of the time that you could save if you read faster. The truth is that most people could read at least as half as fast again and still understand just as well. Slow readers tend to read one word at a time, often mouthing the words. Some read so slowly that by the time they have reached the end of the paragraph, or even a sentence, they might have forgotten how it began.

Here are five ways you can start helping yourself to read faster.

1. Have your eyes tested- many people turn out to need reading glasses for continuous study.
2. Make sure you don't mouth words or say things aloud as you read.
3. Try to read in "thought units" (two or three words at a time) so that your eyes only stop three or four times in a line of print instead of every word.
4. Build up your vocabulary by:
   • Reading widely.
   • Using a dictionary whenever new words crop up in your reading, noting their meaning.
   • (c) Making glossaries of words commonly used in your subjects.
5. Practise reading faster (force yourself) by:
   • Timing your reading of magazine articles of known length and test your recall of the content.
   • Reading all your study materials faster, even if you have to read them more than once. 

The aim is to vary the speed of reading according to the complexity of the material and the purpose for which you are reading it.

If you are simply trying to get the gist of a piece of narrative type writing, you should be able to read two or three times faster than when you are trying to unravel the detailed development of a complex argument. Mostly you will benefit from skimming and/or scanning the material quickly before you read it more intensively.

Don't expect every text to be fully understood the first time of reading. You may have to go through it several times. Several rapid readings will probably give you a clearer understanding than a single painstaking perusal where you try to assimilate all the points made.

Different Ways of Reading (Skimming and Scanning)

When you are at university you will be expected to read from a wide variety of sources. As you will be spending a lot of time reading it's best to learn how to read well.

Avoid thinking you have to 'plough through' a book from cover to cover. This is the least efficient way of reading. Below is a summary of some important techniques in reading.

• Flip through a book to get a quick idea if it's worth reading.
• Scan contents pages, indexes, introductions, summaries to quickly locate the specific information you are looking for (compare walking down a library aisle to locate a subject).
• Skim quickly through the text to get an overview and find 'signposts'.
• Concentrate on detailed reading of identified specific chapters, sections or points.

It is important you learn which technique to use and when. By doing so, getting through the reading list will be an enjoyment and not something to keep putting off or getting worked up about.

7 Tips on Effective Reading

Tip 1: Distinguish between total understanding and overall impression

In some cases it will be essential to have total understanding about the topic in the material you have to read. For example, if you are in the Finance team and there is a change around accounting regulations, a detailed level of understanding will be important. On the other hand if it is about production processes and you are in Finance, an overall understanding might be all that is required.

Each time you have to read something, make sure you get clear on whether you need total understanding or an overall impression.

Tip 2: Set a time limit

Most people can only read for short periods of time without a break, usually about 45 minutes. Make a habit of setting a time limit for how long you will allocate to each reading session to maximise your overall effectiveness.

Tip 3: Ask yourself what you already know about the topic

Sometimes the topic that you are reading will be completely new. Most of the time the topic will be at least familiar to you. Chances are you will have read something similar or complimentary about the topic.

To help inform your reading, ask yourself what you already know about the subject matter.

Tip 4: Read with a purpose

It is easy to fall into the trap of reading something just because it is in front of you. The alternative is to ask yourself what the purpose or goal is from reading the item. Is it:

o To gain information

o To inform a decision

o To get a different perspective

When you are clear on your outcome it is much easier to focus your attention on what matters.

Tip 5: Skim through first

A useful technique is to skim through the document first, focusing on the headings, sub-headings and conclusion to get a general feel about the content of the document.

Tip 6: Read summaries first

Most reports or long publications have a one page summary. In printed articles in professional magazines, a summary of the key themes is often given in a small box. Start with these summaries first.

Tip 7: Make notes as you go

Capturing notes as you go is an extremely effective way of keeping focus. Mind maps or checklists are particularly useful ways of capturing what you might need to refer to in the future.

Reading can become a very time consuming task but by making a few simple changes you can significantly improve your overall effectiveness.

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