Tips for Reading Essays

Essays can sometimes be difficult to read. Here are some helpful tips for increasing comprehension when reading an essay. Read the title. This seems like a no-brainer, but often times the writer will provide a general idea of what the entire essay will be about. Try to find as much background information about the author to detect any bias. Also figure out when the essay was written to find any cultural bias of that era. Mark important areas of the text that help define the essay. Be sure to ask yourself questions about the essay to ensure comprehension. Make a summary of the essay as a tool to retain the information. Finally, be sure to read to comprehend. Don’t just absent-mindedly read the words printed. Read the meaning of the text.

When reading an essay to comprehend it well, there are several tips you should pay attention to help with your comprehension.

First of all, look at the title. This will give you an idea of what the essay is about.

Then, proceed to find some background information. Find some background information on the author. Get an idea of where that author is coming from, whether they’re generally biased in what they write.

Also, find out when the essay was written, so that you can better understand the setting that the author is writing this from. Look for important areas and mark those areas.

If it’s okay for you to write on the essay, then by all means do. Underline important points and put asterisks next to those important points. If you take time to read an entire essay, you don’t want to have to go back and read that entire essay again. You want to be able to go back and just look at the important areas, the parts you’ve underlined or put an asterisk next to, so that you can get an idea of what the essay is about again without having to read it all over.

Ask yourself questions as you read. Ask yourself things like, “What is the author trying to say?” and “Why is this important?” This will all help you comprehend what you are reading better.

Also, make a summary. Look back at the important points you’ve underlined or put an asterisk next to, then take a page and write a summary of the essay. Again, if you’ve taken the time to read the essay, you do not want to have to read the whole essay over again. You want to be able to look at your summary page and get a good idea of what the essay was about.

Then, finally, read to comprehend. All the other points we’ve discussed focus on this one main point: to read to comprehend. If you’re not going to learn what you’re read, and you’re not going to remember what you read, then what’s the point of reading an essay? You want to follow all of these points so that you can comprehend and retain what you read.

When reading for comprehension, those are some points you should pay attention to.

169166

 

by Mometrix Test Preparation | This Page Last Updated: February 23, 2022