Everyone has a different technique, but
this is what I have found to work for some of my students and myself:
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Read the title of the chapter, read the
heading of each section in the chapter.
Before reading the sections completely, think about what information you
think you should get from that section.
Start reading the first section.
Try your best to make sense of every sentence you read. It may take you an hour to read one section
completely the first time you read it but that’s okay. At least you are making sense of what you
are reading. The second, third and
fourth time you read it you move faster and have a better understanding of the
material and you start to retain the information. Remember – YOU CAN’T READ IT ONE TIME AND EXPECT TO REALLY
UNDERSTAND. After you finish reading
the section, make note of or highlight the points you thought might be
important. Try to summarize the section
in your own words. Think of questions I
could ask from that section and (without reading) think of how you might answer
those questions. Also, since I have
given you study questions; you can look at my list of questions and see which
ones you can answer based on the section you read. DO NOT TRY TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS UNTIL YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND
THE SECTION THE ANSWERS ARE FOUND IN.
Continue reading the chapter section by section following the
instructions above. After you think you
understand the whole chapter, test yourself by answering the questions at the
end of the chapter and in your study guide.
If you are still confused, consult classmates (study group), get a
tutor, or come see me in my office.
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One of the mistakes students make is they
stop reading because they are frustrated after reading one time and still
feeling clueless. Frustration is normal
but don’t let that keep you from continuing to read. You will understand if you keep reading. Believe it or not, I didn’t understand this
book when I read it the first time a year ago.
I had to read each chapter at least 2 times before I was able to do
lectures. I may have read the chapter
on Photosynthesis three times before I got it.
I hated photosynthesis when I was in college ;-)
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