1. Janet Estep
Project EXCEL
A Federally Funded TRIO Program
R e a d i n g

3. READING FASTER
Reading faster improves concentration.
Average reading rate is 250 wpm.
Use of visualization engages the right hemisphere of
the brain, increases concentration, and reduces sub-
vocalization.

4. ONE WRITER’S
BEGINNINGS
EUDORA WELTY

5. SQ3R
 Survey
 Question
 Read
 Recite
 Review

6. With hocked gems financing him,
he defied all scornful laughter that tried to
prevent his scheme. “Your eyes deceive,” they
said. “It is like a table, not an egg.” Now
three sturdy sisters sought truth. As they
forged along, sometimes through calm
vastness, yet more often over turbulent peaks
and valleys, their days became weeks as many
doubters spread fearful rumors about the edge.
At last, from nowhere winged creatures
appeared, signifying the journey’s end.

7. QUESTION
 Turn each section heading from the chapter
into a brief, simple question.
 Write the question in the margin of your book.
 When reading, look for the answer to the
question in the material.

8. READ
 Read slowly and carefully, one section at a
time.
 Don’t skip unfamiliar terms.
 After reading, determine the main idea of the
section or paragraph.
 Summarize the main idea with a note in the
margin.
 Highlight the main idea.

9. THE LEARNING MYSTIQUE, GERALD COLES, 1987.
Many researchers have concluded that differences in memory
performance are “a reflection of different processing, or encoding,
operations being applied to information, rather than to different
‘capacities’ of various memory storage systems.”45 Or, simply put,
learning-disabled children have problems remembering things not
because of a general inability to hold information in their heads or
from insufficient memory room but because of the way they
process and store information. The LD explanation for memory
deficits might be compared to storing food in a freezer: the
freezer works fine and has lots of space, but the food will keep
and will be easy to get out only if it is wrapped properly and
organized well within the freezer. Processing here means the
strategies used to memorize information, such as: “rehearsal
(repeating items over and over), elaboration (thinking of verbal or
visual associations), clustering items by meaningful relationships,
or proper apportionment of study time by using the study-test-
study method.”46

10. RECITE
 At the end of each section, say aloud the
important points in the material you’ve just read.
 If this is difficult, you may need to re-read the
material.
 Reciting helps you monitor your comprehension.

11. REVIEW
 Review a chapter immediately after reading it.
 Survey the chapter again.
 Review any notes in the margins.
 Re-read what you’ve highlighted.
 Answer the questions from the “Question” step.
 Review the chapter before attending the lecture
on that topic and at least once before your pre-test
review.

12. USE A VARIETY OF READING
TECHNIQUES
Social Sciences •Facts/Definitions
•Common Patterns
•Fact/Opinion
•Questions/Answers
•Synthesize/Evaluate
Humanities •POV of author
•Make inferences
•ID style, theme, etc.
•Note personal reactions
•Analyze, evaluate,
interpret
•Write papers, participate
in class discussions
Mathematics •Know terms/symbols
•Translate formulas
•Learn new concepts
•Contrast problems
•Solve problems
•ID & evaluate strategies
•Analysis of problems
Natural Sciences •Common patterns
•Define terms
•Examples
•Analyze sample
problems
•Solve problems
•Compare types of
problems
•Describe processes
•Classify information
Learning Skills Center, The University of Texas at Austin

13. READING FICTION
 Read quickly for an awareness of the story’s
meaning.
 Read as many times as necessary to identify the five
elements of fiction. (Plot, Character, Point of View,
Style, Theme)
 Make notes from your reading. Highlight key
words/passages.
 Use your book in class to note key points from the
lecture. Circle page number or turn down page
corners to mark key pages. Use sticky markers.
 Review lecture and reading notes often. Make study
guides.

14. CRITICAL THINKING & READING
 To read with full understanding, you must leap
beyond the text. You must analyze relationships
and come up with, or construct, your own ideas.
--Reading with Meaning, Dorothy Grant Hennings.

15. CRITICAL THINKING & READING
 Apply—Relate ideas to real life.
 Compare—How are things alike and different.
 Infer—How do clues lead to new information.
 Conclude—Why is this important? Why did it
happen? What is the overall meaning?
 Judge—Do I agree or disagree? Is this accurate?
Is this good or bad?

16.  There may be such a thing as pure,
true history—what actually, really, definitely
happened in the past—but it is unknowable.
We can only hope to get somewhere close.
The history that we have to make do with is
the story that historians choose to tell us,
pieced together and handed down, filtered
through every handler’s value system and
particular axe that he or she chooses to grind.
--Great Tales from English History, Robert Lacey

17. Good readers are able to think critically when
they read. Don’t be afraid to challenge the
author’s viewpoint.
1. Offer independent views in discussions.
2. Approach writing assignments by disputing
the author’s viewpoint.
3. Don’t just repeat what the author says.
4. Don’t assume that everything you read is
complete, accurate, or up-to-date.
5. Distinguish between fact and opinion.

18. USEFUL WEB SITES
http://www.readingsoft.com/index.html
Provides a timed reading test and a comprehension test.
http://www.sparknotes.com
Provides study guides, many of them free.
http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/lrnres/handouts.html#stustr
Provides information about study skills.

19. RESOURCES
 Reading with Meaning, Dorothy Grant Hennings,
1999.
 Keys to Effective Learning, Carol Carter, Joyce
Bishop & Sarah Lyman Kravits, 1998.
 How to Study in College, Walter Pauk, 1993.