Active Reading

What is Active Reading?

Reading for content and learning is very different than reading for fun. It often requires a great deal of attention to remain engaged and focused on the material before your mind starts to drift. Active reading can make your reading time more effective. Here are the steps:

How to Read Actively:

Step 1: Preview the reading

Look at the section headings, any bold or italicized print, and any charts or graphs. If its a novel, read the first line of each paragraph.

Step 2: Come up with questions you think the reading will answer

Give yourself a reason to read by coming up with some questions you think the reading will answer for you. They might be "What do weak acids have to do with buffers?" or "What's an ordinary differential equations?"

Step 3: Read each paragraph and paraphrase it before moving to the next

That's right. Read just one paragraph at a time, pausing to jot down a short summary before moving to the next. As you move to the next paragraph, fold in the information from the previous paragraph into the summary. Continue summarizing and integrating.

While this may sound like it takes a long time, it really doesn't, and at the end you have a fully integrated summary of the reading that you can review - and you won't need to go back and re-read the text. You will also retain the material for much longer.

Information on this site has been adapted from learning strategies presented by the Louisiana State University Center for Academic Success, Catalyze Your Success at the University of Washington Department of Chemistry, and the book "Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire, Stylus Publishing (2021).