How can i improve comprehension skills

Sometimes it can make the most sense to read or re-read a text out of order. It is often helpful to glance backwards through a piece of text or even re-read large sections to remind yourself of any information you need and have forgotten—what happened previously, what a particular word means, who a person was Previous sentences, sections, or even whole chapters can provide helpful context clues.

Re-reading these passages will help to refresh your memory so that you can better understand and interpret later sections of the text. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar.

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Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now :. Just like with the previous step, don't feel that the only way to read and understand a text is to work through it completely linearly.

Allow yourself the freedom to take apart the text and put it back together again in whichever way makes the most sense to you. Sometimes a current confusion in a work will be explained later on in the text, and it can help you to know that explanations are upcoming or even just to read them ahead of time. So skip forward or backwards, re-read or read ahead as you need to, take the piece in whatever order you need to in order to make sense of the text.

Not everyone thinks linearly, and not everyone best understands texts linearly either. Sometimes discussing what you know so far about a text can help clear up any confusion. If you have a friend who hasn't read the text in question, then explain it to them in your own words, and discuss where you feel your comprehension is lacking. You'll find that you've probably understood more than you think once you've been forced to explain it to someone who's completely unfamiliar with the piece.

Even if no one else is in the room, trying to teach or discuss what a passage says or means with "someone else" can be extremely beneficial. In fact, software engineers call this technique "rubber duck debugging," wherein they explain a coding problem to a rubber duck. This forces them to work through a problem aloud, which has proven time and time again to help people solve problems.

You'll be surprised with how much easier it is to understand a text once you've talked it through with someone. Improving reading comprehension takes time and effort, but it can be done. Be patient with yourself, work through your reading comprehension steps, and try not to get frustrated with yourself if you feel your progress is slow or if you feel you're "falling behind.

As you begin to incorporate more and more reading into your daily life, you'll find that comprehension will become easier, and reading will become more fun. In every piece of text, there are worlds of meaning to explore, and learning how to uncover them can be the ultimate rewarding journey.

Can't get enough reading? Whether as part of your reading practice or just for fun, check out our picks for the 31 best books to read in high school. Problems with procrastination?

Whether you're studying for the SAT's or studying your reading comprehension vocabulary check out how to beat procrastination and get your studies back on track. Want to earn better grades?

Our guide will help you get that 4. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:. These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission. Courtney scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT in high school and went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology.

She is passionate about bringing education and the tools to succeed to students from all backgrounds and walks of life, as she believes open education is one of the great societal equalizers. She has years of tutoring experience and writes creative works in her free time. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process.

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What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Ask questions before, during, and after a session to encourage reading comprehension. Read about all the questions you should ask during story time here! For example:. Shop resources to improve your child's reading comprehension below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store. Parents Store Cart. School Success. The Scholastic Store. Book Clubs. Book Fairs. Please enter a valid email address. Book Sets to Improve Comprehension.

Reading Comprehension. Being able to understand, analyze and respond to documents and written communication in the workplace. Improved your ability to write clearly and effectively. The ability to comprehend and engage in current events that are in written form such as newspapers. Increased ability to focus on reading for an extended period.

There are several reading strategies that you can begin implementing today to improve your reading comprehension skills. The more you practice, the better you will become at understanding what you are reading. The following are seven simple strategies you can use to work on your comprehension skills:. Related: Ultimate Guide to Strategic Planning. Knowing what the words you are reading mean can improve your ability to comprehend the meaning of the text.

To improve your vocabulary, you can:. Asking questions about what you are reading can help improve your reading comprehension by allowing you to become invested in the text. The following are examples of questions you could pose as you read:. The more specific your questions, the more likely you will gain further insight into the text and its meaning.

To use context clues, you can focus on the key phrases or ideas in a sentence and deduce the main idea of a sentence or paragraph based on this information. Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help you determine the importance of the article. When reading, pause every few paragraphs and see if you can decipher what the main idea is.

Then, try to put the main idea in your own words for even further understanding. A great way to increase your knowledge of what you have read is to write a summary. Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your own words. Summarizing allows you to determine if you truly understand what you have read and better remember what you have read in the long term. If you are reading longer or more challenging text, consider breaking it up into smaller sections.

For example, you could read two paragraphs at a time and then pause to quickly summarize what you just read in your mind. Breaking up what you are reading can help you feel less overwhelmed and give you a better chance of truly comprehending the information in the text.

Pacing yourself is also an effective way to work on your reading comprehension skills by allowing you to set realistic goals for your reading practice and habits.

This is especially true for books or other literature that you find challenging. Set a goal for yourself that you know you can meet each day.

For example, rather than saying that you want to read an entire book in two days, say that you will read three chapters a night.