Determine your task and purpose for reading. Are you reading for background information to supplement information that you will be learning in class? Are you reading information that is going to show up on your next exam? Your reading strategies should vary depending on what type of reading you are doing. For example, if you are reading for an exam, you should take more detailed notes and highlight terms that are likely to appear on the exam. But if you are reading for background information, absorbing the material by reading carefully works.
Outline your prior knowledge on the subject. If you are reading about something that you have learned about in the past, make sure you recall everything you can remember about what you have learned so that you can apply it to the new information you are learning as you read.
Scan the title, headings, pictures, graphs and captions before beginning to read the assigned chapter. College-level reading can be complex, so it is best if you have a basic understanding of the information that the chapter is going to present before jumping directly into the text.
Question yourself about the information that you are reading to make sure that you are comprehending the words on the page instead of simply reading them out loud. Do not hesitate to ask questions of the text as well. If something is confusing or you believe the information is incorrect, research the information in another book or online source, or ask your professor for clarification. These types of questions will help you remember what you read.
Locate key concepts and facts in the text. Being able to determine what is the most important from your reading will help improve your reading skills. You can determine which concepts are the most central to your reading to checking your class notes and looking for any information that your professor highlighted in his lectures.
Record notes in the margins. Jot down anything that you feel is important or that will help you remember what you read. For some people, writing is the best way to learn, so recording notes directly in the text as you read can help. If you need to return your book to the library or bookstore after the class is finished, try using sticky notes.
Reflect on what you read. Think about your opinions, anything new you learned, topics that you read about that you were already educated about and things you read that inspired curiosity to learn about something new.
Review the main concepts. You should have marked them in your text. Now go back and make sure that you remember all of the main ideas. You should also test yourself and determine how much of the information you retained. Some textbooks have questions at the end of each chapter to aid in studying.
Communicate with other students who were assigned the same reading material. Talk to them about what you found the most interesting, challenging and different in the text and then listen to their ideas as well.