Reading Skills Strategies and Techniques:

Enhancing Comprehension and Speed.

Jessica García Cardona.

Introduction:

Reading skills are crucial for academic and professional success.

Effective reading skills enable better comprehension, critical thinking, and
information retention. Proficient readers can quickly grasp the main ideas,
extract key information, and make connections within texts. This document
explores essential reading strategies and techniques to enhance reading
proficiency.

Abstract:

This document explores essential reading skills strategies and

techniques aimed at enhancing comprehension and speed. It emphasizes
the importance of developing good reading skills for academic and
professional success. The strategies covered include skimming, scanning,
inference, and prediction. Skimming involves quickly grasping the main
ideas and general content of a text. Scanning enables the quick search for
specific information. Inference involves drawing logical conclusions based on
evidence within the text. Prediction entails making educated guesses about
what might happen next. Additionally, the document provides strategies for
improving reading skills, such as pre-reading, chunking, note-taking, and
re-reading. By incorporating these techniques, readers can enhance their
reading proficiency, including the ability to extract key information and
make connections within texts.

Key Words: reading skills, comprehension, speed, skimming,

scanning, inference, prediction, academic success, professional success,
strategies, techniques, pre-reading, chunking, note-taking, re-reading.
1. Skimming:
Skimming is a reading strategy that involves quickly and selectively
looking over a text to gain a general understanding of its main ideas and
overall content. When skimming, readers focus on the headings,
subheadings, topic sentences, and other prominent features of the text. The
goal is to get a sense of the structure, main arguments, and key points
without reading every word. Skimming is particularly useful when time is
limited or when you need to assess whether a text is relevant to your
needs. It helps you to determine the overall purpose and main themes of
the text and decide whether to delve deeper into the details.
Example: Skimming a newspaper article to understand the headline,
reading the first and last sentences of each paragraph, and glance at any
bolded or highlighted text to get a quick understanding of the main points.

2. Scanning:

Scanning is a technique used to locate specific information within a

text quickly. Instead of reading the entire text, scanning involves moving
your eyes rapidly over the page to search for particular words, phrases,
numbers, or other specific details. Scanning is effective when you have a
specific question or need to find specific information, such as dates, names,
statistics, or keywords. By focusing on the relevant parts of the text, you
can save time and retrieve the required information efficiently. Scanning is
commonly used when conducting research, reviewing documents, or looking
for specific details in textbooks or articles.

Scanning is useful when you are looking for details or specific

answers to questions within a text. Instead of reading the entire text, you
focus on locating specific information quickly.

Example: Scanning a research paper to find a specific statistic or a

particular quote for reference. You might quickly move your eyes over the
text, looking for the specific information you need, such as numbers, dates,
or specific keywords.
3. Inference:
Inference is the process of drawing logical conclusions or making
educated guesses based on the evidence, clues, and information provided
in a text. It involves reading between the lines and using your background
knowledge and reasoning skills to fill in the gaps and understand the
implicit meaning. Inference allows readers to go beyond literal words and
understand the underlying messages, intentions, or emotions conveyed by
the author. By making inferences, readers can uncover the deeper
meaning, make connections between ideas, and gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the text. Inferences are based on the
combination of the explicit information in the text and the reader's own
prior knowledge and experiences.

Inference helps readers understand implicit information, make

connections between ideas, and uncover the underlying meaning in a text.
It involves using clues from the text, combined with your own background
knowledge and experience.
Example: Inferring a character's emotions based on their actions and
dialogue in a novel. You analyze the character's behavior, tone of voice,
and the context of the situation to understand what they might be feeling,
even if it is not explicitly stated.

4. Prediction:

Prediction is the act of making logical guesses or anticipations about

what might happen next based on the information provided in the text. It
involves using clues, foreshadowing, and patterns to make educated
guesses about the future events, outcomes, or developments within the
text. By actively engaging with the text and making predictions, readers
become more involved in the reading process and can better anticipate the
direction of the narrative or the course of an argument. Predictions can be
adjusted and refined as new information is revealed, allowing readers to
continually engage with the text and assess their understanding.
 Prediction helps readers engage actively with the text and anticipate
its future developments. It involves using clues from the text,
foreshadowing, and your own knowledge to make educated guesses about
what might occur.

Example: Predicting the outcome of a story or an experiment based

on foreshadowing or prior knowledge. You analyze the events, characters,
and circumstances to make an informed guess about how the story might
unfold or how the experiment might turn out.

5. Strategies for Improving Reading Skills:

Pre-reading: Pre-reading is a strategy that involves preparing your mind

before diving into the actual reading. It includes activities such as
previewing the text, scanning the headings and subheadings, and activating
your prior knowledge related to the topic. Pre-reading helps set the context,
create a mental framework, and generate expectations about what you will
encounter in the text. By engaging in pre-reading, you prime your mind to
better understand and absorb the information, making the reading process
more efficient and effective.

Example: Preview the text, look at headings, and activate prior knowledge
to prepare your mind for what you will read.

Chunking: Chunking is a technique where you break down the text into
smaller, manageable sections or "chunks." By dividing the text into
meaningful units, you can focus on understanding one section at a time,
reducing cognitive overload, and improving comprehension. Chunking can
involve dividing the text into paragraphs, sections, or even individual
sentences, depending on the complexity and length of the material. This
strategy allows you to process information in a more organized and
systematic manner, facilitating better understanding and retention.
Example: Break down the text into smaller, manageable sections to better
comprehend and remember the information.

Note-taking: Is a valuable strategy that involves jotting down key points,

questions, summaries, or personal reflections while reading. It helps to
actively engage with the text, improve comprehension, and enhance
information retention. Effective notetaking can involve underlining or
highlighting important passages, writing marginal annotations, creating
concept maps, or summarizing main ideas in your own words. The act of
taking notes helps you to process and synthesize the information, making it
easier to remember and refer to later.

Example: Jot down key points, questions, or summaries while reading to

aid in understanding and retention.

Re-reading: Refers to the act of going back to specific sections, sentences,

or paragraphs of the text for a more thorough understanding or clarification.
Sometimes, certain parts of the text may be complex, require deeper
analysis, or contain critical information that you might have missed during
the initial reading. By re-reading those sections, you can solidify your
understanding, clarify any confusion, and extract the intended meaning
more accurately. Re-reading is particularly helpful when encountering
challenging or technical texts that demand a higher level of comprehension.
Example: Go back to difficult sections or important passages for better
understanding and clarification.
Conclusion:

By incorporating these strategies for improving reading skills, you can

enhance your overall reading proficiency. Pre-reading helps you approach
the text with a focused mindset, chunking enables better organization and
comprehension, note-taking encourages active engagement and retention,
and re-reading allows for a more thorough understanding. These
techniques, when practiced consistently, can significantly improve your
ability to extract key information, make connections within texts, and
enhance your reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Remember that the effectiveness of these strategies may vary

depending on the nature of the text and your individual reading goals. It is
important to experiment with different approaches and adapt them to suit
your specific needs and preferences. Regular practice and deliberate
application of these strategies will contribute to continuous improvement in
your reading skills.
References:

Anderson, N. J. (1999). Exploring second language reading: Issues and

strategies. Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading.

Pearson Education