7 Simple Strategies To Improve Your Reading Comprehension

There are two components of reading comprehension: text comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary knowledge is the ability to ... FindjobsCompanyreviewsFindsalariesUploadyourresumeSigninSigninEmployers/PostJobStartofmaincontent CareerGuideCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobMoreResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobResumeSamplesPay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentCareerPathsCoverLetterSamplesCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobMoreResumeSamplesPay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentCareerPathsCoverLetterSamplesCareerDevelopment7SimpleStrategiesToImproveYourReadingComprehension7SimpleStrategiesToImproveYourReadingComprehensionByIndeedEditorialTeamJune9,2021TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailCopytoClipboardThisarticlehasbeenapprovedbyanIndeedCareerCoach Comprehensionisanimportantaspectofreading.Whenyouread,strivetounderstandandextractmeaningforbetteroverallawarenessofwhatyouarereading.Bylearningandimplementingreadingstrategiesandchanginghowyouread,youcanimproveyourreadingcomprehensionabilitiesandmakereadingeasierandmoreenjoyable.Inthisarticle,wewillexplorewhatreadingcomprehensionisandthebeststrategiesyoucanusetoadvanceyourreadingskills.Whatisreadingcomprehension?Readingcomprehensionistheabilitytocomprehendorunderstand,whatyouarereading.Thisisanintentionalandactivepartofreadingandtakesplacebefore,duringandafteryoureadsomething.Bybeingabletocomprehendwhatyouarereading,youcanextractmeaningfromthetextandbetterrealizewhattheauthoristryingtoconvey.Therearetwocomponentsofreadingcomprehension:textcomprehensionandvocabularyknowledge.Vocabularyknowledgeistheabilitytounderstandthelanguagebeingused,whiletextcomprehensionisusingthislanguagetodevelopanawarenessofwhatthemeaningisbehindthetext.Whyarereadingcomprehensionskillsimportant?Readingcomprehensionisimportantforseveralreasonsandcanprovidemanybenefits.Beingabletoeffectivelyreadcanimprovebothyourpersonalandprofessionallifeandcanincreaseyouroverallenjoymentofreading.Knowinghowtounderstandatextcanhelpboostyourknowledgeincertainareasandhelpyoulearnnewskillsandinformationfaster.Additionalbenefitsofgoodreadingcomprehensionskillsinclude:Beingabletounderstand,analyzeandrespondtodocumentsandwrittencommunicationintheworkplaceImprovedyourabilitytowriteclearlyandeffectivelyTheabilitytocomprehendandengageincurrenteventsthatareinwrittenformsuchasnewspapersIncreasedabilitytofocusonreadingforanextendedperiodBetterenjoymentofandmotivationtoreadRelated: TheValueofIncreasingYourBusinessVocabulary7readingstrategiesyoucanusetoimproveyourcomprehensionskillsThereareseveralreadingstrategiesthatyoucanbeginimplementingtodaytoimproveyourreadingcomprehensionskills.Themoreyoupractice,thebetteryouwillbecomeatunderstandingwhatyouarereading.Thefollowingaresevensimplestrategiesyoucanusetoworkonyourcomprehensionskills:Improveyourvocabulary.Comeupwithquestionsaboutthetextyouarereading.Usecontextclues.Lookforthemainidea.Writeasummaryofwhatyouread.Breakupthereadingintosmallersections.Paceyourself.Related: UltimateGuidetoStrategicPlanning1.ImproveyourvocabularyKnowingwhatthewordsyouarereadingmeancanimproveyourabilitytocomprehendthemeaningofthetext.Toimproveyourvocabulary,youcan:TakeanonlinevocabularyquiztoassessyourcurrentlevelofvocabularyunderstandingUseflashcardstoquizyourselfonwordsyoudon’tknowonceortwiceaweekMakeapointtousenewlylearnedwordsinverbalandwrittencommunicationReadasmuchaspossibletoimproveyourabilitytoguesswhatawordmeansinacertaincontextMakealistofunfamiliarwordsasyoureadandlookthemupinthedictionaryReadmore: 10EasyWaystoImproveYourVocabularySkills2.ComeupwithquestionsaboutthetextyouarereadingAskingquestionsaboutwhatyouarereadingcanhelpimproveyourreadingcomprehensionbyallowingyoutobecomeinvestedinthetext.Itcanalsobroadenyouroverallunderstandingofwhatyouarereadingbyenablingyoutoexplorethemes,motifsandothercomponentsoftextthatyouotherwisewouldn’tinquireabout.Thefollowingareexamplesofquestionsyoucouldposeasyouread:Whydidtheauthorbeginthebookatthatlocation?Whatkindofrelationshipdothesetwocharactersshare?Whatdoweknowaboutthemaincharacteruptothispointinthebook?Arethereanythemesthathaveconsistentlycomeupthroughoutthebook?Ifso,whatdotheymean?Themorespecificyourquestions,themorelikelyyouwillgainfurtherinsightintothetextanditsmeaning.3.UsecontextcluesUsingcontextcluesisagreatwaytounderstandwhatyouarereadingevenifyoudon’tknowallthe vocabularybeingused.Contextcluescanbefoundinthewordsandsentencessurroundingthewordthatyouaren’tfamiliarwith.Tousecontextclues,youcanfocusonthekeyphrasesorideasinasentenceanddeducethemainideaofasentenceorparagraphbasedonthisinformation.Youcanalsolookfornearbywordsthataresynonymsorantonymsofthewordyoudon’tknow.4.LookforthemainideaIdentifyingthemainideaofaparagraphorarticlecanhelpyoudeterminetheimportanceofthearticle.Understandingwhywhatyou’rereadingisimportantcangiveyouabettercomprehensionofwhattheauthoristryingtoconvey.Whenreading,pauseeveryfewparagraphsandseeifyoucandecipherwhatthemainideais.Then,trytoputthemainideainyourownwordsforevenfurtherunderstanding.5.WriteasummaryofwhatyoureadAgreatwaytoincreaseyourknowledgeofwhatyouhavereadistowriteasummary.Summarizingrequiresyoutodecidewhatisimportantinthetextandthenputitinyourownwords.Summarizingallowsyoutodetermineifyoutrulyunderstandwhatyouhavereadandbetterrememberwhatyouhavereadinthelongterm.6.BreakupthereadingintosmallersectionsIfyouarereadinglongerormorechallengingtext,considerbreakingitupintosmallersections.Forexample,youcouldreadtwoparagraphsatatimeandthenpausetoquicklysummarizewhatyoujustreadinyourmind.Breakingupwhatyouarereadingcanhelpyoufeellessoverwhelmedandgiveyouabetterchanceoftrulycomprehendingtheinformationinthetext.7.PaceyourselfPacingyourselfisalsoaneffectivewaytoworkonyourreadingcomprehensionskillsbyallowingyoutosetrealisticgoalsforyourreadingpracticeandhabits.Thisisespeciallytrueforbooksorotherliteraturethatyoufindchallenging.Setagoalforyourselfthatyouknowyoucanmeeteachday.Forexample,ratherthansayingthatyouwanttoreadanentirebookintwodays,saythatyouwillreadthreechaptersanight.Thisallowsyoutoreachyourgoalsandalsoprovidesadequatetimeforyoutoprocesswhatyouarereadingbetweeneachsession.TipstomakethemostofyourreadingcomprehensionpracticeReadingisafundamentalpartofeverydaylife.Themoreyouincorporateandprioritizereadingandunderstandingwhatyouread,thebetteryouroverallreadingcomprehensionwillbecome.Thesetipscanhelpyoumakethemostofyourtimewhenpracticingyourreadingskills.EliminatedistractionsWhenyouaredistracted,yourabilitytocomprehendwhatyouarereadingisnegativelyimpacted.Whenreading—evenifit’sasimpleemail—eliminatedistractionsandfocussolelyonthetext.Thiswillhelpyoulearntoholdyourattentiontowhatyoureadandenableyoutoknowwhetheryouunderstandwhatyouarereading.ReadabookbelowyourreadinglevelStartingwithbooksbelowyourreadinglevelwillallowyoutodevelopabaselineofyourreadingcomprehensionandbuildon that.Insteadofstartingwithbooksorothertextthatyoufindchallenging,readsomethingthatiscomfortableandthatyoucaneasilycomprehend.Youcantakeanonlinequiztoestablishthereadinglevelyouarecurrentlyat.Re-readtexttoensureunderstandingIfyoufinishasentenceorparagraphandrealizethatyoudon’tunderstandwhatitwastryingtoconvey,takethetimetore-readituntilyoudo.Trytoreadmoreslowlythesecondtimearoundandlookupdefinitionsforanywordsyoudon’tknowthemeaningof.ReadaloudReadingaloudincorporatesbothvisualandaudiolearningintoyourreadingcomprehensionpractice.Italsoforcesyoutoslowdownandgivesyoumoretimetoprocesswhatyouarereading.ReadMoreHowToImproveCandidateExperienceinNineSteps50QuotesToInspireBusinessGo-GettersQ&A:ShouldYouGetanAssociateDegreeinMedicalAssisting?RelatedArticlesNavyEnlistedClassification(NEC):WhatItIsandHowIt'sUsedOKRsandBalancedScorecards:WhatTheyAreandHowToUseThemCommonOccupationalTherapistSkills:DefinitionsandExamples