Steps to Make Reading Easier and Effective

You might be wondering, why do people put down the book and turn on the TV? Well, the answer lies in identifying how to make reading easier. Then choose the one that’s going to work for you.

Why Is Reading Important?

Reading is a part of a balanced lifestyle. It is an activity that helps the mind relax, develop, and learn. It is important to understand and grasp concepts, express your personality, and understand other people.

It’s equally important to stay informed, master literacy, and understand the language you read. Reading helps you retain what you’ve read better and enables you to expand your knowledge. It also makes you a better listener as you consume more than one type of media. If you can’t read and comprehend efficiently, it is harder to become a well-rounded individual.

Reading relaxes the mind and transforms the comprehension process. It allows you to develop the ability to process and assimilate new information independently.

As we age, reading becomes more important as it is associated with quantity and quality of memories, improved vocabulary, and enhanced career success.

Is Print Reading Better Than Online Reading?

The answer is no. There are general pros and cons to both reading print and online. However, it is advisable to use both forms effectively. Reading on the couch in a comfy spot with a warm blanket may appeal to some people.

Others may prefer to read a hard copy on a digital device at the library. The option is up to the individual, but both methods of reading can be effective!

Moreover, it’s important to remember that reading is how we learn. Not only is it important to read in general, but it is essential to read with a specific goal in mind.

Someone who’s not an avid reader might find both forms of reading challenging to comprehend. The question is – how to make reading easier for them? You can follow multiple practical steps to make reading easier for you, be it screen or print.

How to Make Reading Easier: 5 Simple Steps

With so many choices, services, and information today in society, reading has become a challenge to everyone. It is especially difficult for adults who have a tough time sitting still with attention-consuming devices like laptops and tablets.

Perhaps you need to learn how to make reading more accessible and enjoyable. Breaking down reading tasks into smaller parts makes the reading process less daunting.

Here are five simple steps to start reading and improve your reading skills:

1. Know your Purpose for Reading

First and foremost, you need to find a purpose for your reading to make it easier and more effective. It’s more about working smart rather than working hard. Without a goal, you will easily be deviated from the central idea and end up remembering nothing you have read.

Before you start reading a book, know if you’re reading it for entertainment, explanation, knowledge, or persuasion. Determine if the content is relevant to what you’re looking for and worth reading.

Once you get the answers to your questions, choose the content you want to read. Then invest some time skimming through the content before diving into the details. This will give you an idea of the content you should expect in the text and help you engage with the information.

2. Extract Key information

If you only need the crucial facts and figures from a text without going in detail, find effective ways to extract key information.

You can scan the headings, titles, graphs, and illustrations to gain an overall understanding of the text. It will help you locate the segments with the important information and make your reading more purposeful.

The key idea is often expressed in the introduction of opinion articles, backed by arguments and evidence. So, once you have read the beginning and the end, it will help you decide how much to read from the middle.

However, featured articles often contain critical information in the body paragraphs. So you may want to decide where to start based on the type of content you’re reading.

3. Deepen Your Understanding

Reading through the introduction and summary won’t suffice when you need to extract critical information and analyze a text thoroughly. To gain a deeper understanding of a text, you must explore the content in detail.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t speed read, but make sure not to overlook the main points. Pay attention to the important words, diagrams, charts, and graphs that visualize complex ideas more easily.

It is good to keep notes and highlight the important phrases. It ensures you’re reading at a level of depth required to serve your purpose.

4. Read, Review, and Recall

If you need to organize your thought and ideas in a more structured way, turn towards the SQ3R approach. It will help you critically analyze a text to extract detailed information.

This is a process of actively reading a text in a systemized way which involves the steps – survey, question, read, recall, and review.

• Survey the material to gather the necessary information to guide you towards your goal of reading the text.
• Question the key points to help your mind concentrate and look for the answers improving engagement with the text.
• Read through the content to fill in the gaps with information and improve your text comprehension.
• Recall what you know and understand after reading each section of a passage to retrain your mind and retain information better.
• Review the ideas you have organized in your mind after you complete reading a text to refresh your memory.

Another helpful strategy is to take detailed notes of what you read to record prime information. This is an excellent method to boost your reading comprehension.

5. Choose the Ideal Reading Environment

Your surrounding plays a vital role in understanding the content you’re reading. If you’re reading to relax your mind, you may want to grab a book and lie down in bed before sleeping.

However, you want a more organized and comfortable setting without distraction for in-depth analysis and understanding of a text. It would be best to choose an area with the right temperature, seating arrangement, and light to help you concentrate.

Therefore, choosing the right environment for reading is very important. An appropriate surrounding will improve your reading skills and boost confidence as well.

Conclusion

Despite what many people believe, reading isn’t a chore, and it doesn’t take a lot of time to make it more effective. If you’re willing to put in a little effort, you can make reading more efficient.

Reading is vital to success, and success is always worth the effort! This article discusses various steps on how to make reading easier. You’ll be able to better understand what you’re reading. By doing these simple steps, you will find that your reading skills are much better than before.