In both the academic world and the professional setting, students and professionals alike need to improve their reading comprehension skills. There are those who believe the act of reading is a simple one that anyone can do. Reading, in reality, is a multifaceted process that requires a wide range of skills.
Reading comprehension, or the ability to understand what you’ve read, is the goal of reading. This is a deliberate and active aspect of reading that occurs prior to, during, and after you read something. By comprehending what you are reading, you can extract meaning from the text and gain a better understanding of the author’s message.
Text comprehension and vocabulary knowledge are two components of reading comprehension. Comprehension refers to the process by which the language is used to develop an awareness of the text’s meaning, whereas vocabulary knowledge refers to the ability to comprehend the language used.
Reading comprehension is critical for a variety of reasons and can result in numerous benefits. Effective reading skills can benefit both your personal and your professional life, as well as your overall enjoyment of reading. Understanding how to read a text can help you improve your knowledge in specific areas and accelerate your learning of new skills and information. Other additional benefits of good reading comprehension skills include being able to understand, analyze, and respond to documents and written communication in workplace or in college; improved your ability to write clearly and effectively, and the ability to comprehend and engage in current events that are in written form such as newspapers, magazines, or business reports; increased ability to focus on reading for an extended period; and better enjoyment of and motivation to read.
However, many factors contribute to the difficulty of reading comprehension. Whatever the cause, mastering the skills involved will help you get what you need from your reading. The following are two essential skills for reading comprehension to help you improve this ability.
- Become an active reader
To be a great reader, you need to be an active reader not a passive one. An active reader will always engage with text, question, and clarify the idea of the author or simply mentally and physically engaged with the text. This is called critical readers. The readers will show their agreements or disagreements over the ideas proposed by the writer in the text. They will also scrutiny the text in a way that only essential information will be perused.
- Building a strong foundation
You may not have considered this before, but critical readers are more like crime scene investigators. The truth is what matters to them, and they will not be swayed by the opinions of others in their quest to discover the truth. They collect tangible evidence and facts and use this information to draw an informed conclusion. During a crime scene investigation, it is critical to keep facts and opinions separate. For effective reading, it is also a vital skill to have.
When reading, look for hints to help you understand what the author is trying to say. What is the passage about? What are his or her points? In some cases, the authors may appear to be obscuring the meanings of their writings. When it comes to complex writing, the authors will always leave clues for the attentive reader to discover. It is your job to get the clues. When you read, be a good detective. Open your eyes and ask the right questions. In other words, read actively and carefully.
To help you become a critical reader, Golobe Education has a hands-on curriculum to help you develop the pertinent and hands-on skills.