READING DIFFICULT ASSIGNMENTS

1. Consider the author’s purpose. Identify the type of material you’re reading (Is it memoir? an editorial?) Know why you’re reading. If you plan to write an essay about the assigned reading, start thinking about what you will write from the first.

2. Make the title of the reading into a question. For example, if the title of the essay is “Two Sides of Freedom,” your question is “What are the two sides of freedom?” This will help you read actively to find the answer to your question.

3. Try to start with an open mind, rather than deciding at once that an assignment is boring or too difficult. If necessary, look for a way to trick yourself into getting interested.

4. Skim the whole essay before reading it carefully. Look for a statement of the thesis toward the end of the first or second paragraph. Then glance at the first sentence of each paragraph, looking for the overall structure of the essay. If you think you’ve found the thesis, ask yourself how the opening sentences of the paragraphs support that thesis. Read the last paragraph closely, looking for a summary of the main ideas in the essay. (If the essay is excerpted from something longer, there may be no summary at the end.)

5. As you skim the essay for the first time, formulate more questions to answer when you read more closely. Use journalists’ standard questions (who, what, when, where, and especially why) as the basis for the questions you choose. Jot the questions in the margins. The idea of raising questions is to get you started reading actively (rather than passively) so that you get involved in what you are reading.

6. Plan on reading the assignment more than once. The first time you read closely, try to answer your general questions. Read to find main ideas. Then go back to consider the overall pattern of evidence. Get involved, adding notes in the margins and underlining or highlighting some key points. Keep the highlighting to a minimum since marking almost everything will mean that you can’t easily find the material you consider important. Don’t forget to review what you’ve read.

7. Use a dictionary to check words that are unfamiliar. Add important definitions to your notes in the margins of the essay.

8. When you’re confident that you understand what you’ve read, make notes on it that indicate what you agree with and what you disagree with. Try to anticipate questions you might be asked about the essay, and make tentative plans for your responses.

Just a reminder: Do your most important college coursework when you’re at your best. Getting enough sleep and managing your time well can be a big help with understanding and remembering what you read.