The best way to advance your reading and writing skills is to read a variety of material. Embrace literature in different genres and from different time periods. By digesting different texts you are not only improving your reading comprehension but also expanding your vocabulary, developing a sense of how professional writers organize ideas, and familiarizing yourself with texts that reflect and influence history and current events.
Students with self discipline can memorize information through flashcards. However, keep in mind that constant review is necessary to maintain the knowledge. Creating interest in the topic being studying should not be underestimated, which is why vocabulary games work well; making learning fun promotes positive reinforcement and can help a student remember the information.
In order to develop writing skills, it is sometimes best to complete timed writings. Every high school student with the intention of going to college will eventually take the SAT, which includes a timed writing section. By familiarizing themselves with the time restraints and basic requirements of a timed writing, students will learn to get drafts of their essays written quickly. Once a basic draft is written, students should reread their papers and revise. Hindsight provides a wonderful opportunity for students to identify their strengths and fix their weaknesses.
Read your essay out loud with a pencil in hand. Reading aloud allows writers to catch mistakes and awkward sentence structure better than if they simply read silently to themselves. Mark mistakes as you read and go back to fix them later.