Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the amount of reading you have?
Do you have trouble staying focused and motivated while reading? Do you sometimes struggle to understand and remember what you read? If so, you’re not alone.
Many students face challenges with college-level reading because it’s more rigorous, complex, and time-consuming than high school.
However, using effective strategies can make your reading meaningful, focused, and productive.
Research indicates that you retain more information when you actively engage with texts, rather than simply reading passively.
Active reading strategies encourage you to interact with the material before, during, and after reading, significantly improving your comprehension and retention.
1. Know Your Purpose
Reading without a clear purpose often leads to confusion or distraction. Clarifying your purpose helps you pay attention to the right details and saves time.
Before you start reading, ask yourself why you’re reading the material. Is it to prepare for a multiple-choice test, a class discussion, or an analytical essay?
Each purpose requires a slightly different approach:
- Multiple-choice exams typically require you to memorize specific details such as dates, definitions, statistics, keywords, names of people or places, theories, and concepts.
- Essays or discussion preparation typically involve grasping the main points, analyzing arguments, understanding relationships between concepts, and forming your own opinions or questions.
Concrete examples:
2. Integrate Prior Knowledge
Yes. 👏
Activating prior knowledge is important, because new knowledge needs something to stick to, but it’s critical to recognize when this prior knowledge is very basic. https://t.co/MuBAj0Mdef
— Justin Baeder, PhD (@eduleadership) February 27, 2025
Activating your prior knowledge helps your brain absorb new information more effectively by connecting new ideas with things you already understand or have experienced.
Before you start reading, pause for a few minutes to reflect on what you already know about the topic.
This reflection creates mental “hooks” for new information, making comprehension easier and deeper.
Concrete examples:
- Suppose you’re going to read about the Industrial Revolution. Start by jotting down facts or concepts you already know: steam engines, factories, child labor, or technological advances. Ask yourself questions, such as, “How did the Industrial Revolution impact people’s daily lives?” or “What were the long-term effects of industrialization on society?”
- If you’re reading about nutrition, think about your own dietary habits or recent conversations about diets and nutrition you’ve had with friends or family. This helps you immediately connect with the material in a meaningful way.
3. Preview the Text
Previewing the text primes your brain to comprehend more efficiently by providing an outline of what you’ll read, making the text less intimidating and easier to follow.
Take a few minutes before reading to skim through your material.
This means examining titles, headings, subtitles, bolded terms, pictures, charts, graphs, summaries, and questions at the end of chapters.
Your aim here is to gain a general understanding of the structure, key themes, and overall message.
Concrete examples:
- For a textbook chapter on psychology, glance at subheadings like “Behavioral Psychology,” “Freud’s Theory,” and “Modern Therapy Approaches.” Note bolded terms like “reinforcement,” “psychoanalysis,” and “cognitive-behavioral therapy.”
- For an article on environmental issues, preview the headings such as “Causes of Pollution,” “Impact on Wildlife,” and “Global Solutions.” Quickly read the first and last paragraphs of the introduction and conclusion sections to capture the author’s overall stance or main arguments.
4. Break Reading into Manageable Chunks
Breaking down reading into shorter, structured sessions significantly boosts your ability to focus, retain information, and avoid fatigue or distraction.
Instead of trying to finish an entire chapter or lengthy article in one sitting, break it into smaller portions.
This method prevents mental exhaustion, keeps your attention sharp, and makes information processing easier.
Concrete examples:
- Use the Pomodoro Technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes of concentrated reading, then take a 5-minute break. Repeat the cycle. After four cycles, take a longer break (15-30 minutes). During breaks, stretch, get water, or take a short walk.
- For instance, if you have to read 30 pages in three days, read 10 pages daily. Even within that 10 pages, consider breaking it into two sets of five pages, separated by a short break.
5. Decide How You’ll Read (Print vs. Screen)
Your choice of medium affects your concentration, comfort, and comprehension.
Reading on a screen versus paper has different impacts on attention span, eye strain, and retention.
Assess how effectively you comprehend and retain information when reading digitally versus in print.
Many students find printed material easier to follow and annotate, which enhances comprehension.
Others prefer the convenience of digital texts but must manage distractions carefully.
Concrete examples:
- If you find digital texts difficult, print important materials (especially dense academic articles). Mark key points physically, underline and write margin notes.
- If printing is unavailable, optimize your digital environment by reducing screen brightness, enlarging fonts, enabling “night mode,” and scheduling short breaks every 20-25 minutes to rest your eyes.
6. Self-Monitor Your Attention
Maintaining constant awareness of your focus level while reading helps ensure effective comprehension.
Recognizing and addressing distractions early will drastically improve understanding.
Be vigilant about your attention. As soon as you notice your mind wandering, stop immediately.
Reflect briefly about why you’re losing focus. Perhaps you’re tired, distracted, or overwhelmed.
Take corrective action promptly to avoid prolonged inefficiency.
Concrete examples:
- If you lose focus, summarize quickly what you’ve just read. If you struggle to do so, re-read that section carefully.
- If feeling restless, move briefly, adjust your position, or change your reading location to regain focus. Consider reading aloud to yourself quietly if distractions persist.
7. Annotate the Text
Annotating means writing directly on the text or digitally commenting to actively engage and interact with the reading, ensuring better comprehension and retention.
Annotation helps you stay engaged, clarify your thoughts, identify essential points, ask questions, and connect different ideas.
Annotations are personalized notes that enhance recall and understanding, aiding significantly in later review sessions.
Concrete examples:
- Underline key terms or concepts, circle unfamiliar vocabulary, and write brief definitions or explanations in the margins.
- Place question marks (?) next to sections you find unclear and exclamation marks (!) by statements that surprise or interest you. Make short summaries next to paragraphs to clarify the main ideas.
8. Summarize Sections as You Go
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Regularly summarizing small sections helps solidify understanding immediately and makes later recall easier.
After reading a page or a short section, pause and summarize it in your own words briefly.
This step checks whether you truly understand the material, allowing you to quickly identify areas requiring additional attention.
Concrete examples:
- After reading two pages about World War II, pause and say or write a brief summary: “This section discussed how economic hardship after WWI contributed to the rise of fascism in Germany.”
- After reading a detailed explanation of a scientific process (like photosynthesis), briefly explain the process in simplified terms without looking back at the text.
9. Ask Critical Questions
Engage deeply by asking higher-level questions while you read:
- What evidence supports this argument?
- How does this concept compare to others I’ve studied?
- What’s the author’s purpose or viewpoint?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What assumptions does the author make?
This practice strengthens your analytical thinking and deeper understanding of the material.
10. Reflect and Self-Test
@reiley_dunlop The easiest 4 new memory secrets👇🏽🧠✅ As the world-leading Smart Skills coach with over 23,142 students, these 4 NEW memory methods have proven to work time and time again 🧑🏽🔬 Try these memory methods to remember what you read faster and easier👇🏽 F – Focus Concentrate fully on what you are reading. Eliminate distractions and give your full attention to the material to enhance comprehension and retention. A – Association Link new information to something you already know. Creating connections helps your brain store and retrieve the information more efficiently. S – Spaced Repetition Review the material at increasing intervals over time. This technique reinforces memory and helps you retain information longer. T – Teach Explain the concepts to yourself or someone else. Teaching forces you to organize your thoughts and deepen your understanding, making the information more memorable. I taught James the FAST method and he could effortlessly memorize all his essays and his notes for school 👩🏽🎓💯 Follow to improve your grades and your life ❤️ #student #highschool #studyhacks #memory #learning ♬ original sound – Jun Yuh
Review and test yourself immediately after finishing the reading to ensure you’ve grasped the key ideas and can recall essential details.
Reflection and self-testing solidify your understanding by forcing your brain to retrieve information actively.
This significantly boosts memory retention and identifies areas needing extra study.
Concrete examples:
- Create flashcards of key concepts, definitions, or important facts from the reading. Quiz yourself repeatedly.
- Perform a 5-minute “brain dump,” writing everything you remember immediately after finishing.
- Teach the material to someone else (or pretend to), as teaching reveals gaps in your understanding clearly.
Bottom Line
Improving reading comprehension doesn’t happen overnight, but consistently applying these active reading strategies can transform how effectively you read and learn.
Reading books specifically designed to enhance reading skills can provide helpful techniques and exercises to further strengthen your abilities.
By clearly defining your purpose, engaging actively with the material, breaking readings into manageable sections, and regularly reflecting on your understanding, you’ll become a stronger, more efficient reader—and ultimately, a more successful student.