Pre-reading:
* Activating Prior Knowledge: Thinking about what you already know about the topic. This helps you connect new information to existing schemas, improving comprehension and retention.
* Previewing the Text: Skimming headings, subheadings, bolded words, images, and the introduction/conclusion to get a sense of the text's structure and content. This creates a mental framework for understanding.
* Setting a Purpose: Determining *why* you are reading the text (e.g., to learn new facts, to enjoy a story, to write a critique). This focuses your attention and guides your reading strategy.
During Reading:
* Annotating: Actively engaging with the text by underlining, highlighting, writing notes, and summarizing in the margins. This helps to identify key ideas, track understanding, and make connections.
* Monitoring Comprehension: Regularly checking your understanding. If you get confused, reread, look up unfamiliar words, or try to explain the passage to yourself.
* Visualizing: Creating mental images of what you are reading. This enhances engagement and memory.
* Questioning: Asking yourself questions about the text, such as "What is the main idea?", "What evidence supports this claim?", and "What are the implications of this information?". This actively encourages deeper processing.
No single strategy is universally "most useful." The best approach is a flexible and adaptive one that combines several of these techniques, tailored to the specific demands of the text and the reader's learning style and objectives.