Improve your reading comprehension with 3 simple steps

A low reading comprehension can be a real bummer. It means you’ll have to spend way more time than you want to reading books that you may or may not enjoy.

But if it’s a textbook, there is a high likelihood that you aren’t thrilled about the reading. So how do you speed up your time? A great first step is to boost your reading comprehension.

While these tips aren’t a silver bullet, they’ll give you a significant boost in helping you improve your reading comprehension. Good luck.

1. Marking your spot with a note card

This is a long-term strategy to improve your reading comprehension. In the short-term, if may frustrate you.

So why do it?

You have to train your brain to comprehend something the first time you read it.

Here’s what I mean. Ever gotten to the end of a page and not known anything that you just read? Or maybe to the end of a paragraph and have no idea what it said? We all do that sometimes, and we just go back up to the top of the paragraph and start reading again.

Marking your spot with a note card makes that impossible. Once it’s read, you can’t go back. It will force you into reading with much higher concentration. Sure, it’s a pain initially. But it’s a great way to get your reading comprehension into better shape.

2. Pre-testing to boost reading comprehension

This is a great strategy for improving reading comprehension when reading a textbook. It’s pretty easy, really. You just ask yourself questions about the reading material before reading the material. It primes your mind to read more efficiently.

Not sure where to find questions? Try the end of any textbook chapter. It’ll be a sure fire way to know what the author wants you to understand.

3. Read faster to improve reading comprehension

That’s right, reading faster can help boost your reading comprehension. Now, this doesn’t mean read sloppier. It does mean that you should try to push your limits of reading speed. The faster you read, typically the more focused you are

And the more focused you are, the better your reading comprehension.

While these three tips are pretty simple, you may find that they make a big difference in the way you study. Give them a try, and let us know the impact they have on your reading comprehension.