Tips to improve your reading comprehension
Topic outline
Reading is one of the first skills we are taught in school to be able to dive into the educational world. We learn to read for fun, to get informed about a specific topic, to follow instructions, to deeply understand a concept, among other reasons. What we read about and what we read for are two essential cues that can help us find the best strategies to navigate a text.
Explore the strategies suggested to learn useful tips to improve your reading comprehension.
Predicting
Predicting
Explanation
Observe the text carefully, and look at the titles, headings, pictures, images, diagrams, keywords, colors, among other graphic elements that can help you get basic information about the text. You can also use your prior knowledge on the topic to foresee some ideas.
Reading challenge
Go on social media and look for a popular newspaper. Select a post and predict information about the article by checking the title, copy, emojis, and graphic elements provided. Check the article and compare it with your predictions.
Contextualizing
Contextualizing
Explanation
Check the background! It is important
to place the text in a context. Use the
WH words to build the context of the text:
• What
• Where
• When
• Who
• Why
• What for
• Who
Reading challenge
Go back to the post you have selected
for the prior reading strategy. Use the
questions below to analyze the
context of the text:
• Where is the news happening?
• When does it happen?
• Who is involved?
Skimming
Skimming
Explanation
This is a speed-reading or fast-reading skill. You need to check the text quickly to find its main or general idea. This is a useful strategy for work or research purposes as you get the gist of the text and identify the sections of the paper you should focus on according to your interest.
Reading challenge
Look for an article online related to the topics of the course, and quickly go over the text to identify general information. What is the text about?
Scanning
Scanning
Explanation
This is also a speed-reading or fastreading skill. When scanning a text, you focus on particular or specific information by identifying keywords according to the information required. This is a useful strategy when studying, searching for information, researching, or working.
Reading challenge
Look for a popular newspaper’s social media account. Look for articles related to the corporate world. Before completing this challenge, make a list of keywords that can easily help you identify the information requested.
Summarizing
Summarizing
Explanation
Long story short! You need to briefly report the information from the text. Whether you provide a short oral summary or a short-written paragraph, you need to focus on the general ideas of the text and present information in a simple and concise manner
Reading challenge
Use one of the articles used to work on this reading challenge, write a summary focusing the main idea and general information of the text. Share your summary with your classmates during a Live Session.
A&A
A&A
Explanation
Ask and answer questions about the text before, while, and after you get to read it! Questions are a powerful tool to predict and analyze information. They can also help you expand on ideas and points of view.
Reading challenge
Go on the web and look for an article or news related to the corporate world. After reading the title and predicting information, write at least two questions you would like to ask the author. Skim and scan the text and try to answer your questions.