Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Read the tutorial
• Part 2 of 3: Practice Active Reading
• Part 3 of 3: Plan Time for Reading, Reviewing, and Memorizing

Reading material from a textbook can seem like a very daunting task. Problems will be caused by a dry language of presentation, as well as a lot of unknown words and phrases. You may also be intimidated by the number of pages to be read. However, there are several ways to read the textbook more conveniently and calmly. You need to get acquainted with the book (before starting the assignments), provide for the required amount of time, practice active reading, and also revise the material covered.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Read the tutorial

1. 1 Examine the cover. Do all of these images and drawings provide a hint of the topics covered in the book? What about the title? Is this a textbook for beginners or advanced learners?
   • The title of the textbook will tell you the main subject of the course. If this is a history book, will you be studying world history or the history of your home country? What do you already know on the subject?
   • View author, publisher, and publication date. Is this an old or new tutorial?
2. 2 Examine the table of contents, index, and dictionary. How many chapters are in the textbook, how long are they? How many subsections? What are the sections and paragraphs called?
   • Does the tutorial have a dictionary or apps? What is indicated in the bibliography? What words are listed in the alphabetical index?
3. 3 Scroll through the tutorial, paying attention to images and headings. Skip through the pages. What immediately caught your attention? Note the section titles, bold words, glossary, photographs, drawings, diagrams and diagrams. What can they say about the information in the textbook?
   • You can also flip through the textbook to appreciate the complexity of the texts. Pick one random page without images and read it carefully. Time your elapsed time.

Part 2 of 3: Practice Active Reading

1. 1 Read the end of the paragraph first. Everything is correct. Skip to the end of the paragraph to read the findings and questions. This is a great way to get an idea of ​​what you will learn in this paragraph.You will prepare your brain to better sift through and understand the detailed information in this paragraph.
   • Then read the introduction to the paragraph. It will also help you prepare for the influx of data to be processed.
2. 2 Divide the assignment into blocks of 10 pages. After each block, go back and look at everything that you have underlined, written in the margins and in your notebook. This will move the read data into non-volatile memory.
   • Complete the rest of the 10-page blocks in this paragraph. When you have read and repeat 10 pages, move on to the next block. You can also take a short break and then resume work.
3. 3 Highlight the text. If this is your textbook (you did not borrow or borrow it from the library), then you can select the text in it. Carefully study the recommendations for the correct selection of information.
   • Do not highlight the text or make notes during the first reading. This disrupts the flow of understanding and may lead you to emphasize unnecessary information.
   • Read to the end of the paragraph or short excerpt (depending on the presentation of the material), then go back and select the text. This will help you better isolate important information.
   • Don't highlight one word (too few) or an entire sentence (too many). One or two phrases per paragraph will be enough. The point is that after looking at the highlighted phrases in a month, you could remember the essence and not re-read the entire page.
4. 4 Write questions in the margin. In the margins or note paper (if this is not your textbook), you should write one or two questions for each paragraph or passage that you should be able to answer. Examples: "Which years span the Renaissance?" or "What is metamorphosis?"
   • After reading the entire assignment, you should return and answer these questions without re-reading the text.
5. 5 Take notes. In the exercise book, write down the main ideas of the passage you read IN YOUR OWN WORDS. It is very important to take notes in your own words.
   • If you do not mindlessly rewrite the text from the textbook, you can avoid plagiarism while writing the test and be sure that you really understood the material you read.
6. 6 Take your notes and questions with you to class. This will allow you to better prepare for a class discussion or better understand a lecture on a topic. Do not forget to follow and actively participate in the lesson, as well as make new entries! Your instructor may suggest that exams will be based on textbook or lecture material, but sometimes they do not say so and then it is better to be prepared for everything.

Part 3 of 3: Plan Time for Reading, Reviewing, and Memorizing

1. 1 Multiply the number of pages in the assignment by 5 minutes. This is exactly how much it takes an ordinary student to read a page of a textbook. Keep this in mind when planning your reading time.
   • For example, if you need to read 73 pages, that's 365 minutes, or roughly six hours of reading.
2. 2 Take breaks. If you estimate that it will take four hours to read, then we do not recommend that you read all the material in one sitting. You can get tired and lose concentration.
   • You can read for an hour at lunchtime and an hour in the evening. Try to break the assignment into parts, not forgetting how many days you have left to read a given number of pages, as well as how many planned hours will be required.
3. 3 Read every day. If you fall behind schedule, you will start flipping pages and even accelerating the pace of reading, which will lead to missing important information. Set aside time to read each day so that you can slowly and calmly complete the assignment.
4. 4 Read without distractions. It is very important. You won't be able to absorb a lot of information if it is noisy around.
   • Try not to read in bed. For the brain, bed is most often associated with sleep, which is why it is so easy to fall asleep while reading in bed.Sleep specialists also say that if you do “work” in bed, you may experience sleep disturbances. In bed, you should read and perform actions only for relaxation purposes, so that later you do not suffer from insomnia.
   • Read in the quietest room in your home, library, quiet café, or park. A distraction-free location is best for you. If you live with relatives (or roommates) or have a lot of chores around the house, it's best to go somewhere else. If the presence of people prevents you from reading, and at home it is calm enough, then stay at home. Choose what is more convenient for you; experiment and choose the best option.
5. 5 Understand what criteria will be used to score. Do you have to write an essay or do you have a test in which all the given material will be considered? If the latter, then did the teacher give you a teaching aid? Consider all of these factors to keep you focused on the right things while you work through the textbook.
6. 6 Reread your notes several times. If you read carefully, highlight text, and take notes, you won't have to reread the textbook. It will be enough to re-read the highlighted phrases, notes and / or questions in the margins and in the notebook.
   • Read this information as many times as necessary to fully understand the material. If your notes are not the most literate, then you may need to re-read the text.
7. 7 Discuss the material under study with others. Research proves that talking out loud about what you are studying gives you a huge advantage.
   • Divide into study groups with classmates, or discuss what you have read with friends and family.
   • Remember to attend all classes, not just essay and test days. Usually in the classroom there is a discussion of material from the textbook, which is extremely useful for long-term memorization of information.
8. 8 Do your homework completely. If the teacher has asked math exercises or short written answers to questions that will not be graded, then these should also be done. All tasks have a specific goal - a deeper understanding and assimilation of the material from the textbook.