College reading often involves skimming a text, which means looking over parts of it in order to get an understanding of the main points, according to Studyskills.com. When skimming, read the first and/or last sentence or paragraphs in a section, according to 42explore.com. Also try to find the main points in an article or chapter and skip side points, according to Swarthmore College.
Scanning is a technique that college students can use to look for answers to a question or query. While you are scanning, look for specific words or phrases within a body of text.
When reading a text for a college class, find ways to stay interested in the material you are reading. Choose sections that relate directly to what you are studying, which you can do by examining the introduction and chapter headings for certain concepts, according to Mindtools.com.
When you are reading a piece, eliminate other distractions, such as chat and networking programs. If you are talking on the phone or chatting with someone on Facebook while you are reading, you will likely not remember what you have read later or will have to read the text several times.
When you are reading texts for college, look for flaws within them or ways that one author contradicts another. As you are reading, come up with your own questions and conclusions and write them down so that you can talk about them later in class.
When you are reading a text for class, highlight certain portions that you find to be important, take notes or make chapter outlines so that you can find main ideas more easily later.
Visualizing the text that you are reading can help you to remember what you have read later. As you are reading about a topic, think about the text as being similar to a play, according to Nancy Bell of the California State Polytechnic University.
If you do not understand a concept when you are reading, do not just move past it if you think it is important to what you are learning. Look up the word or phrase you do not understand in a dictionary or encyclopedia.
When studying a text for a test, work with a study group. Going through a piece with other people can give you a chance to discuss ideas you do not understand with them, according to Collegeboard.com.
After you have finished reading a section of a text, make sure that you have understood what you have read by writing down or reciting major concepts.