[A handout on reading for students]

ACTIVE READING

There is no one “right” way to read and understand.

Many people believe that the meaning in a text is made in the transaction between the reader, the text (or printed page), and the context within which it is read.  This means that each of us brings our own life experiences to the texts we read.  We will each react differently to the texts and that is fine.  However, it is important to look past likes and dislikes and examine texts with a critical eye.

Reading and writing are related.

·  Reading, like writing, is a form of thinking.  It is a way of making meaning.

·  Reading and writing help you discover, learn, and clarify your ideas and experiences.

·  Similar to writers approaching a paper, readers often do a “first draft” reading, which allows them to begin to form their opinions on the text.  They follow that up with a  “revised” reading, which requires more engagement and critical thinking.

·  Readers construct the meaning of the texts they read by degrees, just as writers gradually construct the meaning of experiences they write about.

People read differently.  Active reading is not just an English skill.

I encourage you to explore and discover the type of active reading that works for you.  The sooner you discover how you learn, the better off you will be in your other course work.

A pen in hand tends to engage the mind.

·  Engage in a conversation with the text as you read it. The best and easiest way to do this is to write (in the margins) as you read.  Underline the points that you agree/disagree with.  Do you have questions for further exploration?  What does this remind you of?  Can you connect it to other readings?

·  For those of you who do not like to write in books, use Post-its to take notes as you read.  You can also use Post-it flags to mark important passages.  Or write lightly in pencil and erase later.

·  Keep a notebook with you when you read: engage in a discussion with the author and text.  A double-entry notebook would work especially well.  Draw a line down the middle of your notebook page.  On one side, take notes (page numbers, line numbers, agree/disagree) on your first draft reading.  When you go back and read again, you can refer to your notes and reflect on how your reading has (or hasn’t) changed.

·  In an essay that contains more than one point of view, you might use different colors to highlight the varying views.

Reading involves making connections.

Choose a method and make note of the connections you identify between the text at hand and other texts, your life, etc.  These connections are good starting places for your formal Reading Responses. 

Source: Donna Qualley, “Using Reading in the Composition Classroom,” Nuts & Bolts, ed. Thomas Newkirk (Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1993).

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