Read Like A Graduate Student

The first step I took was to pace myself well I was reading. And when I would read quickly and not understand I would read the

What goes through your mind when you read? Do you read deliberately, looking for certain aspects, or do you read as a blank slate? When reading, professors expect a deliberateness that will help you to uncover meanings that are not readily apparent. Thomas C. Foster in his book “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” expands on this concept. He endeavors to instruct his readers in the way he believes they should read, in order to get the most out of each book. He concedes that, “When lay readers encounter a fictive text, they focus, as they should, on the story and the characters” but to truly read like a professor you must also divert a portion of your attention on

Then I read the chapter again, but this time I have made picture in my mind of the pages and I try to anticipate the terms and the concepts and my own examples for each concept before I read them. If I miss any, I jot them down again. Sometimes, I read the book backwards, sub-heading to sub-heading until I can see pretty much the whole

In order to master this skill I need to remember to use the SQ3R study technique. SQ3R stands for survey, question, read, recite and review. By surveying before I read it gives me an idea of what I am going to be reading about which will prepare my mind for what it is about take in. Asking questions and then answering them as I read will help information stick in my mind. When I read something, I need to remember not to get frustrated because I’m obviously not going to remember everything the first time. It’s okay to have to read things more than once. Also if I recite and review things over and over it will help me retain information as well. The more I use the SQ3R study technique the more comfortable I will become in reading. By doing this routinely it should help me improve my study skills and my academic success.

To truly be conversant, you have to form your own questions, not just scan for answers (107). When reading to absorb, and translate you must read actively and critically. (108) In order to do this you must, “pay attention to the actual words in a reading and to use them when you write” (Rosenwasser 108). This can be done by individually breaking down passages, and picking apart the meanings (108). When “Passing your eyes or highlighter over the text or generalizing about it or copying notes from someone else's power point will not teach you the skills to become an independent thinker” (Rosenwasser 108).

While reading through books I sometimes find myself just saying the words in my head and they begin to have no meaning. By trying to create a picture in my head and linking together what I am reading to something that I heard in the past I find myself able to comprehend the passages in the book. I will then have an understanding of what is being said and will be able to recall what I read at a later time. Any time that I find this happening to me I will stop get up to take a break before I sit back down to read what I missed all over

Moreover, I have learned from this class that while reading a book to write out the meaning of major events on the side of the book. So, when I need to refer to the book over something, I would not have to reread the whole book or essay, over again. Moreover, I have also learned to use a dictionary while reading in case I don’t understand the meaning of a certain word. In addition, I have learned that while reading a book that have questions, it might help to read the questions first before reading the essay. This will help you read a little bit faster and you will have an idea of the main points in the

Once the basic skills of reading are learned, like vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, there is rarely any more practice being done and most of the time is dedicated to the writing process. At the college level, professors have limited time to talk about everything, therefore reading instruction unintentionally yet easily gets ignored when professors want to move on and talk about other material. The article “Not Just for Writing Anymore: What WAC Can Teach Us About Reading to Learn” by Mary Lou Odom discusses the importance of reading to learn and how many students and faculty struggle with this concept. Odom emphasizes that students receive little to no additional instruction in reading once they have mastered the skills taught at

After reading the article, “Read like a Graduate Student, not a Mystery Fan” by Doane (2008), I realized that my notion of proper reading is incorrect. Although, from time to time, I tend to read the back and introduction of a book prior to reading or purchasing it, I never considered that particular method to be an effective reading method. Nonetheless, this specific article has provided me with interesting tools, that can enhance my reading process. Surprisingly, the information presented in the article makes perfect sense. For instance, I can see how knowing the outcome prior to reading the book can intensify one’s comprehension of the events leading to the conclusion or ultimate outcome (Doane, 2008).

Illustrating the process of reading with my avatar, being the spy reader, starts by scanning the book and looking over it at first. Then just skimming the writing she can get a feel for what the reading is about. This helps with being able to ask questions about the world you just put your self in and more important being able to comprehend the words of the world in the book. The most important thing you can do in processing a reading is to ask your self-questions and be able to answer them in full understanding. Some questions that are needed to think about are how you as a reader are feeling, if you had any assumptions about the given text and if you can identify the main plot of the story line. These can help you process the world of the

Deconstruction of a scholarly reading using such techniques as “SQ3R” are recommended to try and grasp the information. As for novels, the probability that one can read start through to finish, and fully grasp the intended message such as the storyline is high. Even an adept scholar in their chosen discipline would rarely be able to “just read through”

I believe that my strategy of being in a quiet place with no distraction is working well. Also my strategy of connection the text with my real life and other classes. I may need to work on being able to stay focused in the book if I do have to get up and do something in the middle of my reading. I am aware of this problem though so I just give myself time to do the reading all in one sitting. I do need to work on annotating the text in a more meaningful way that I can understand if I come back to the article later. Right now I just highlight what stands out to me and write connections in the margins and when I come back to the readings later I don't know what is important and what is

Reading is believed to be an easy task, something we all learning and develop through the years as we grow, however, is it really that simple? To reading and understanding are both essential when a student begins to read. It is a complex action that requires a multitude of different actions/components, all working at the same time, to become a successful reader. The components that are pertinent to reading are: comprehension, oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency and vocabulary. Without these components, reading may very well be irrelevant because it does not make sense to read and not understand what is being transmitted/relayed. According to the National Reading Panel (NRP), “a combination of techniques is effective for

Over the course of this semester, my style of reading has improved significantly. I used to read texts from front to back and really only paying attention to the plot. This semester I’ve focused a lot on the deeper meanings and underlying patterns throughout the books. While reading There Was and There Was Not, over the summer, I started to underline quotes or phrases that stood out to me. For example, the quote, “Hrant wrote that diaspora Armenians hated Turkey so much that this hatred had become like a poison in their blood” (Toumani, 91). The wording really stood out to me while I was reading, but I hadn’t made any connections until discussing the memoir in class. By the time we read Folding Beijing, I started to read and re-read to connect the ideas that stood out to me. Instead of just underlying sentences, I would make notes on the connections throughout the story. I also started to circle meaningful words. This was a very useful technique while reading Candide because I could go and research the word.

There are a few different reading strategies that can help a person become a critical reader. A reading strategy that could lead upcoming undergraduate students to become critical readers is a strategy that is called “Crap Analysis”. There are more strategies used to become a critical reader that includes increasing