05.+Reading+Strategies

> Reading Difficult Material > > //While gathering information for your extended essay, you will be reading very widely, and many of your sources will be academic research. This means challenging reading! You are going to need to develop some skills and some emotional resilience in order to get through the information-gathering phase of the Extended Essay process.// >

When you are reading material that you know is beyond your usual level, try breaking it down into steps:


 * 1. Tackle a few pages or a short chapter at a time.**

> **3. Scan for what you __do__ understand.**
 * 2. Pay attention to how the material is organized.**
 * **Notice** titles, headings, and sub-headings. Pay particular attention to topic sentences (usually the first sentence in a paragraph) to get the gist; Concentrate on graphs, charts, and diagrams.
 * **If there is a summary at the end of a chapter**, read it - maybe even first!
 * Mark what you do not understand to go over later
 * 4. As you read, practice the "look-away method:"**

**5. Look up words** Look up words whose meanings are important to your understanding of the material, but you cannot discern from the context. **6. Read to the end** **7. Organize your notes by connecting ideas**
 * Periodically look away from the text and ask yourself a stimulus question relating to the text
 * Phrase the question positively!
 * Respond, or restate, in your own words
 * Make connections and associations, but don't use this exercise to memorize--but rather understand.
 * Do not get discouraged and stop reading.
 * Ideas can become clearer the more you read. When you finish reading, review to see what you have learned, and reread those ideas that are not clear.
 * Make an outline or create a concept map. Inspiration software is brilliant for this.
 * 8. Be creative**
 * Use representations, graphics, pictures, colors, even movement to visualize and connect ideas. Use whatever techniques work to help you understand.

**At this point, if you do not understand your reading,** do not panic! Adapted from //College Reading and Study Skills// by Nancy V. Wood, Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 1991
 * Set it aside, and read it again the next day.
 * If necessary, repeat. This allows your brain to process the material, even while you sleep.
 * This is referred to as //distributed reading//.
 * **The next day, re-read the challenging section**
 * Separate out what you do understand from what you do not.
 * **If the reading is still a challenge,** ask for help from either your teacher, academic counselors, or reading specialist.

Want to read more on reading strategies? The Study Guides and Strategies website has some wonderful resources.