how to improve critical thinking in reading

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Critical Reading and Reading Strategy

What is critical reading.

Reading critically does not, necessarily, mean being critical of what you read.

Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘ critical ’ about some idea, argument, or piece of writing - claiming that it is somehow faulty or flawed.

Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking yourself questions such as, ‘ what is the author trying to say? ’ or ‘ what is the main argument being presented? ’

Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument that evaluates and analyses what you have read.  Being critical, therefore - in an academic sense - means advancing your understanding , not dismissing and therefore closing off learning.

See also: Listening Types to learn about the importance of critical listening skills.

To read critically is to exercise your judgement about what you are reading – that is, not taking anything you read at face value.

When reading academic material you will be faced with the author’s interpretation and opinion.  Different authors will, naturally, have different slants. You should always examine what you are reading critically and look for limitations, omissions, inconsistencies, oversights and arguments against what you are reading.

In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to understand different viewpoints and make your own judgements based on what you have read.

Critical reading goes further than just being satisfied with what a text says, it also involves reflecting on what the text describes, and analysing what the text actually means, in the context of your studies.

As a critical reader you should reflect on:

• What the text says:  after critically reading a piece you should be able to take notes, paraphrasing - in your own words - the key points.
• What the text describes: you should be confident that you have understood the text sufficiently to be able to use your own examples and compare and contrast with other writing on the subject in hand.
• Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be able to fully analyse the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole.

Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of the writing, the language used as well as the content.

Critical Thinking is an Extension of Critical Reading

Thinking critically, in the academic sense, involves being open-minded - using judgement and discipline to process what you are learning about without letting your personal bias or opinion detract from the arguments.

Critical thinking involves being rational and aware of your own feelings on the subject – being able to reorganise your thoughts, prior knowledge and understanding to accommodate new ideas or viewpoints.

Critical reading and critical thinking are therefore the very foundations of true learning and personal development.

See our page: Critical Thinking for more.

Developing a Reading Strategy

You will, in formal learning situations, be required to read and critically think about a lot of information from different sources. 

It is important therefore, that you not only learn to read critically but also efficiently.

The first step to efficient reading is to become selective.

If you cannot read all of the books on a recommended reading list, you need to find a way of selecting the best texts for you. To start with, you need to know what you are looking for.  You can then examine the contents page and/or index of a book or journal to ascertain whether a chapter or article is worth pursuing further.

Once you have selected a suitable piece the next step is to speed-read.

Speed reading is also often referred to as skim-reading or scanning.  Once you have identified a relevant piece of text, like a chapter in a book, you should scan the first few sentences of each paragraph to gain an overall impression of subject areas it covers.  Scan-reading essentially means that you know what you are looking for, you identify the chapters or sections most relevant to you and ignore the rest.

When you speed-read you are not aiming to gain a full understanding of the arguments or topics raised in the text.  It is simply a way of determining what the text is about. 

When you find a relevant or interesting section you will need to slow your reading speed dramatically, allowing you to gain a more in-depth understanding of the arguments raised.  Even when you slow your reading down it may well be necessary to read passages several times to gain a full understanding.

See also: Speed-Reading for Professionals .

Following SQ3R

SQ3R is a well-known strategy for reading. SQ3R can be applied to a whole range of reading purposes as it is flexible and takes into account the need to change reading speeds.

SQ3R is an acronym and stands for:

This relates to speed-reading, scanning and skimming the text.  At this initial stage you will be attempting to gain the general gist of the material in question.

It is important that, before you begin to read, you have a question or set of questions that will guide you - why am I reading this?  When you have a purpose to your reading you want to learn and retain certain information.  Having questions changes reading from a passive to an active pursuit.  Examples of possible questions include:

• What do I already know about this subject?
• How does this chapter relate to the assignment question?
• How can I relate what I read to my own experiences?

Now you will be ready for the main activity of reading.  This involves careful consideration of the meaning of what the author is trying to convey and involves being critical as well as active.

Regardless of how interesting an article or chapter is, unless you make a concerted effort to recall what you have just read, you will forget a lot of the important points.  Recalling from time to time allows you to focus upon the main points – which in turn aids concentration. Recalling gives you the chance to think about and assimilate what you have just read, keeping you active.  A significant element in being active is to write down, in your own words, the key points. 

The final step is to review the material that you have recalled in your notes.  Did you understand the main principles of the argument?  Did you identify all the main points?  Are there any gaps?   Do not take for granted that you have recalled everything you need correctly – review the text again to make sure and clarify.

Continue to: Effective Reading Critical Thinking

See also: Critical Analysis Writing a Dissertation Critical Thinking and Fake News

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How to Encourage Critical Thinking Skills While Reading: Effective Strategies

Encouraging critical thinking skills while reading is essential to children’s cognitive development. Critical thinking enables them to engage deeply with a topic or a book, fostering a better understanding of the material. It is a skill that does not develop overnight but can be nurtured through various strategies and experiences.

One effective way to cultivate critical thinking in children is by sharing quality books with them and participating in discussions that facilitate an exchange of ideas and opinions. Through these conversations, children can draw on their existing knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and experiences to expand their understanding of a subject.

Parents and teachers help kids think more deeply about things. They can do this by answering questions that help kids compare different ideas, look at things from different angles, guess what might happen, and develop new solutions.

Importance of Critical Thinking Skills in Reading

Critical thinking helps us understand what we read better. It helps us ask questions and think more deeply about the text. Critical thinking skills can help us analyze, evaluate, and understand what we read.

By incorporating critical thinking, readers can differentiate between facts and opinions, forming their views based on logical reasoning and evidence. This ability is particularly crucial in today’s information abundance, where readers are often exposed to biased or unreliable content. According to Critical Thinking Secrets , using critical thinking in reading allows learners to exercise their judgment in assessing the credibility of the information.

Furthermore, critical thinking promotes creativity and problem-solving skills. Practicing critical thinking allows learners to devise new and innovative ideas to address various challenges. This skill improves academic performance and prepares young minds for future professional endeavors.

Engaging with quality books and participating in thought-provoking discussions can nurture critical thinking abilities in children. Reading Rockets emphasizes the importance of exposing children to texts that challenge their thinking and encourage them to ask questions, fostering the development of critical thinking skills over time.

Teachers also play a significant role in promoting critical thinking in the classroom. Employing various instructional strategies, such as problem-based learning, asking open-ended questions, and providing opportunities for group discussions, can help students cultivate critical thinking habits.

Developing a Reading Environment That Fosters Critical Thinking

Creating a reading environment that promotes critical thinking enables students to engage with texts more deeply and develop essential analytical skills. The following sub-sections outline strategies for choosing thought-provoking materials and encouraging open discussions.

Choosing Thought-Provoking Materials

Selecting suitable reading materials is critical to stimulating critical thinking among students. Teachers should look for texts that:

• Are relevant and relatable to students’ lives and interests
• Present various perspectives and diverse characters
• Pose challenging questions and open-ended problems

By incorporating such texts into the classroom, students can be exposed to new ideas and viewpoints, promoting critical thinking and engagement with the material. For instance, in Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking , teachers are advised to choose compelling topics and maintain relevance to foster critical thinking

Encouraging Open Discussions

Fostering an environment where open discussions occur is essential to promoting critical thinking skills while reading. Teachers should:

• Create a culture of inquiry by posing open-ended questions and encouraging students to form opinions and debates
• Facilitate discussions by asking students to explain their thinking processes and share their interpretations of the text
• Respect all opinions and viewpoints, emphasizing that the goal is to learn from each other rather than reach a “correct” answer

Students who feel comfortable participating in discussions are more likely to develop critical thinking skills. The Reading Rockets emphasizes the importance of reading together and engaging in conversations to nurture critical thinking in children.

Active Reading Strategies

Active reading is an essential skill for encouraging critical thinking skills while reading. This involves consciously engaging with the material and connecting with what you know or have read before. This section discusses key strategies that can help you become an active reader.

Annotating and Note-Taking

Annotating the text and taking notes as you read allows you to engage with the material on a deeper level. This process of actively engaging with the text helps you to analyze and retain information more effectively. As you read, it is important to make marginal notes or comments to highlight key points and draw connections between different sections of the material.

Asking Questions While Reading

One important aspect of critical reading is questioning the material. This means not taking everything you read at face value and considering the author’s interpretation and opinion . As you read, develop the habit of asking questions throughout the process, such as:

• What is the author’s main argument?
• What evidence supports this argument?
• How is the information presented in a logical manner?
• What are the possible opposing viewpoints?

By asking questions, you can better understand the author’s viewpoint and the evidence presented, which helps to develop your critical thinking skills.

Summarizing and Paraphrasing

Summarizing and paraphrasing are essential skills for critical reading. Summarizing the material allows you to condense key points and process the information more easily. Paraphrasing, or rephrasing the ideas in your own words, not only helps you better understand the material, but also ensures that you’re accurately interpreting the author’s ideas.

Both summarizing and paraphrasing can enhance your critical thinking skills by compelling you to analyze the text and identify the main ideas and supporting evidence. This way, you can make informed judgments about the content, making your reading more purposeful and engaging.

Developing critical thinking skills while reading literature involves a comprehensive understanding of various literary devices. This section highlights three primary aspects of literary analysis: Recognizing Themes and Patterns, Analyzing Characters and Their Motivations, and Evaluating the Author’s Intent and Perspective.

Recognizing Themes and Patterns

One way to foster critical thinking is through recognizing themes and patterns in the text. Encourage students to identify recurring themes, symbols, and motifs as they read. Additionally, examining the relationships between different elements in the story can help create connections and analyze the overall meaning.

For example, in a story about the struggles of growing up, students might notice patterns in the protagonist’s journey, such as recurring conflicts or milestones. By contemplating these patterns, learners can engage in deeper analysis and interpretation of the text.

Analyzing Characters and Their Motivations

Character analysis is an essential aspect of literary analysis, as understanding characters’ motivations can lead to a thorough comprehension of the narrative. Encourage students to analyze the motives behind each character’s actions, focusing on the factors that drive their decisions.

For instance, in a novel where two characters have differing goals, have students consider why these goals differ and how the characters’ motivations impact the story’s outcome. This exploration can lead to thought-provoking discussions about human behavior, facilitating the development of critical thinking skills.

Evaluating the Author’s Intent and Perspective

Critical thinking is essential to evaluating the author’s intent and perspective. This process involves deciphering the underlying message or purpose of the text and analyzing how the author’s experiences or beliefs may have influenced their writing.

One strategy for accomplishing this is to examine the historical or cultural context in which the work was written. By considering the author’s background, students can better understand the ideas or arguments presented in the text.

For example, if reading a novel set during a significant historical period, like the Civil Rights Movement, understanding the author’s experience can help students analyze narrative elements, enhancing their critical thinking abilities.

Methods to Encourage Critical Thinking Beyond Reading

While reading is essential to developing critical thinking skills, it can be further enhanced by incorporating certain activities in daily routines that promote critical thinking.

Debates and Group Discussions

Debates and group discussions are excellent methods for encouraging critical thinking. By participating in debates or discussions, learners exchange diverse ideas, challenge each other’s reasoning, and evaluate the strength of their arguments. These activities require participants to think and respond quickly, synthesize information, and analyze multiple perspectives.

Teachers and parents can facilitate debates and group discussions by selecting topics that are relevant and related to the subject matter. Promoting respectful dialogue and modeling effective listening skills are also important aspects of setting up successful debates or discussions.

Exploring Other Media Formats

In addition to reading, exploring other media formats like documentaries, podcasts, and videos can help stimulate critical thinking in learners. Different mediums present information in unique ways, providing learners with various perspectives and fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Using diverse media formats, individuals can compare and contrast information, question what they know, and further develop their analytical skills. It is essential that educators and parents encourage learners to explore these formats critically, assessing the credibility of the sources and ensuring accuracy in the information consumed.

Assessing Progress and Providing Feedback

Developing critical thinking skills while reading requires continuous assessment and feedback. Monitoring students’ progress in this area and providing constructive feedback can help ensure development and success.

Setting Measurable Goals

Establishing clear, measurable goals for critical thinking is vital for both students and educators. These goals should be specific, achievable, and time-bound. To effectively assess progress, consider using a variety of assessments, such as:

• Classroom discussions
• Reflective writing assignments
• Group projects
• Individual presentations

These different assessment methods can help determine if students are reaching their critical thinking goals and guide educators in adjusting their instruction as needed.

Providing Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback is essential for students to improve their critical thinking skills. When providing feedback, consider the following guidelines:

• Be specific and focused on the critical thinking aspects of students’ work
• Link feedback directly to the established goals and criteria
• Encourage self-assessment and reflection
• Highlight strengths and areas for improvement
• Offer realistic suggestions for improvement

By implementing these strategies, educators can ensure that students receive the necessary support and guidance to develop their critical thinking skills while reading.

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Interrogating Texts

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Rogier van der Weyden, 1399 -1464. Altarpiece fragment, Mary Magdalene reading. National Gallery (Great Britain). Available through   ArtSTOR

Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden. St. Ivo reading, ca.1450. National Gallery (Great Britain). Available through   ArtSTOR

Max Beckmann (1884-1950). Reclining Woman Reading, with Irises (192 3). Oil on canvas. Private collection. Image available in  HOLLIS

H onore  Daumier (1808-1879). Reader (1863). Oil on wood.  University of California, San Diego.  Image available in  ARTStor

Young Man Reading a Book (c.1570-1574). Attributed to Mirza 'Ali (c.1510-1576). Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Image available in HOLLIS

Ms. Richardson 5, fol. 66v Book of Hours, England, ca. 1420. Houghton Library. Image linked from HOLLIS

Thinking-Intensive Reading

Critical reading--active engagement and interaction with texts--is essential to your academic success at Harvard, and to your intellectual growth.  Research has shown that students who read deliberately retain more information and retain it longer.

Your college reading assignments will probably be more substantial and more sophisticated than those you are used to from high school. The amount of reading will almost certainly be greater.  College students rarely have the luxury of successive re-readings of material, however, given the pace of life in and out of the classroom. 

So how should you approach reading in this new environment?

While the strategies described below are (for the sake of clarity) listed sequentially, you typically do most of them simultaneously. If you're used to doing little more than moving your eyes across the page, they may feel awkward at first, and you may have to deploy them consciously.  But

But as they become habits, you'll notice the differences -- both in what you “see” in a course reading, and in the confidence with which you approach your texts.

Look “around” the text before you start reading. 

Previewing enables you to develop a set of expectations about the scope and aim of the text.  These very preliminary impressions offer you a way to focus your reading. 

You’ve probably engaged in one version of previewing in the past, when you’ve tried to determine how long an assigned reading is (and how much time and energy, as a result, it will demand from you).  But you can learn a great deal more about the organization and purpose of a text by taking note of features other than its length. For instance:

• What does the presence of headnotes , an  abstrac t, or other  prefatory materia l  tell you?
• Is the author known to you already?  If so, how does their  reputation   or  credentials (like an institutional affiliation)   influence your perception of what you are about to read?

If an author is unfamiliar or unknown in an essay collection, does an editor introduce them (by supplying brief biographical information, an assessment of the author’s work, concerns, and importance)?

Texts demand different things of you as you read, so whenever you can, register the type of information you’re presented with. 

• How does the disposition or  layout of a text  prepare you for reading? Is the material broken into parts--subtopics, sections, or the like?  Are there long and unbroken blocks of text or smaller paragraphs or “chunks” and what does this suggest?  How might the identified parts of a text guide you toward understanding the line of inquiry or the arc of the argument that's being made?
• Does the text seem to be arranged according to certain conventions of discourse ? Newspaper articles, for instance, have characteristics that you will recognize, including "easy" language. Textbooks and scholarly essays are organized quite differently. 

2. Annotate

Annotating puts you actively and immediately in a "dialogue” with an author and the issues and ideas you encounter in a written text. .

It's also a way to have an ongoing conversation with yourself as you move through the text and to record what that encounter was like for you. Here's how to make your reading thinking-intensive from start to finish:

• Throw away your highlighter : Highlighting can seem like an active reading strategy, but it can actually distract from the business of learning and dilute your comprehension.  Those bright yellow lines you put on a printed page one day can seem strangely cryptic the next, unless you have a method for remembering why they were important to you at another moment in time.  Pen or pencil will allow you to do more to a text you have to wrestle with.  
• Mark up the margins of your text with words and phrases : the   ideas that occur to you, notes about things that seem important to you, reminders of how issues in a text may connect with class discussion or course themes. This kind of interaction keeps you conscious of the reasons you are reading as well as the purposes your instructor has in mind. Later in the term, when you are reviewing for a test or project, your marginalia will be useful memory triggers.
• Develop your own symbol system : asterisk (*) a key idea, for example, or use an exclamation point (!) for the surprising, absurd, bizarre.  Your personalized set of hieroglyphs allow you to capture the important -- and often fleeting -- insights that occur to you as you're reading.  Like notes in your margins, they'll prove indispensable when you return to a text in search of that perfect passage to use in a paper, or when you are preparing for a big exam.  
• Get in the habit of hearing yourself ask questions: “What does this mean?” “Why is the writer drawing that conclusion?” “Why am I being asked to read this text?” etc. 

Write the questions down (in your margins, at the beginning or end of the reading, in a notebook, or elsewhere. They are reminders of the unfinished business you still have with a text: something to ask during class discussion, or to come to terms with on your own, once you’ve had a chance to digest the material further or have done other course reading.

3. Outline, Summarize, and Analyze

The best way to determine that you’ve really gotten the point is to be able to state it in your own words. take the information apart, look at its parts, and then, put it back together again in language that is meaningful to you. three ways to proceed: .

Outlining  the argument of a text is a version of annotating, and can be done quite informally in the margins of the text, unless you prefer the more formal Roman numeral model you may have learned in high school.  Outlining enables you to see the skeleton of an argument: the thesis, the first point and evidence (and so on), through the conclusion. With weighty or difficult readings, that skeleton may not be obvious until you go looking for it.

Summarizing  accomplishes something similar, but in sentence and paragraph form, and with the connections between ideas made explicit.

Analyzing  adds an evaluative component to the summarizing process—it requires you not just to restate main ideas, but also to test the logic, credibility, and emotional impact of an argument.  In analyzing a text, you reflect upon and decide how effectively (or poorly) its argument has been made.  Questions to ask:

• What is the writer asserting?
• What am I being asked to believe or accept? Facts? Opinions? Some mixture?
• What reasons or evidence does the author supply to convince me? Where is the strongest or most effective evidence the author offers  -- and why is it compelling?
• Is there any place in the text where the reasoning breaks down?  Are there things that do not make sense,  conclusions that are drawn prematurely, moments where the writer undermines their purposes?

4. Look for repetitions and patterns

The way language is chosen, used, and positioned in a text can be an important indication of what an author considers crucial and what they expect you to glean from their argument.  .

Language choices can also alert you to ideological positions, hidden agendas or biases.   Be watching for:

• Recurring images
• Repeated words, phrases, types of examples, or illustrations
• Consistent ways of characterizing people, events, or issues

5. Contextualize

Once you’ve finished reading actively and annotating it,   consider the text from the multiple perspectives..

When you contextualize, you essentially "re-view" a text you've encountered, acknowledging how it is framed by its historical, cultural, material, or intellectual circumstances. Do these factors change, complicate, explain, deepen or otherwise influence how you view a piece? 

Also view the reading through the lens of your own experience. Your understanding of the words on the page and their significance is always shaped by what you have come to know and value from living in a particular time and place.

6. Compare and Contrast

Set course readings against each other to determine their relationships (hidden or explicit)..

• At what point in the term does this reading come?  Why that point, do you imagine?
• How does it contribute to the main concepts and themes of the course? 
• How does it compare (or contrast) to the ideas presented by texts that come before it?  Does it continue a trend, shift direction, or expand the focus of previous readings?
• How has your thinking been altered by this reading, or how has it affected your response to the issues and themes of the course?

Susan Gilroy , Librarian for Undergraduate Writing Programs, Lamont Library 

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Interrogating texts [2 page printable]

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The Art of Understanding: 8 Proven Strategies for Reading Comprehension

Introduction

Mastering the art of reading comprehension isn’t just about cruising through a novel on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s a fundamental skill that shapes our learning, communication, and understanding of the world around us. But, let’s face it, we’ve all encountered that one dense, near-impenetrable wall of text that leaves us more confused at the end than when we started. This article will delve into practical, effective strategies for reading comprehension that can transform that uphill struggle into a smooth, enjoyable ride.

Reading comprehension goes beyond just reading words on a page; it’s about understanding the underlying ideas, opinions, and messages that the writer is trying to convey. It’s a critical skill that influences not only academic success but also our day-to-day functioning.

From interpreting complex legal documents, following a recipe, to understanding news articles and blog posts, reading comprehension is at the heart of most of our textual interactions. It also encourages critical thinking, broadens our worldviews, and fosters empathy by allowing us to delve into different perspectives.

Consequently, it’s clear why strategies for reading comprehension are not just helpful but essential tools for success.

Pre-Reading Strategies for Reading Comprehension

1. activate prior knowledge.

Before diving into a text, it’s beneficial to tap into our existing knowledge base, a strategy known as ‘activating prior knowledge’. This method acts as a springboard for understanding new concepts, since making connections between what we already know and what we’re about to learn can enhance comprehension.

There are several ways to activate prior knowledge. For instance, take a moment to reflect on the topic, ask yourself what you already know about it, or engage in a discussion with peers. If the text relates to a historical event, try recalling related events or figures. For a scientific text, think about related scientific principles you are familiar with. Visualizing the topic at hand or creating a KWL chart (What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I’ve Learned) can also be effective. These strategies for reading comprehension, such as activating prior knowledge, can provide a lucrative starting point, easing the learning process by creating a link between the familiar and the unfamiliar.

2. Set a purpose for reading

Another pivotal pre-reading strategy is defining your reading goals. This step involves pinpointing what you hope to achieve by the end of your reading session. Are you reading for enjoyment, to gather specific information, or to understand a complex concept in depth?

Identifying your purpose beforehand enables you to focus your attention and approach the text in a way that’s most conducive to achieving your goal. You might need to adjust your reading speed, take more detailed notes, or re-read certain sections, depending on your unique objectives.

Having a clear purpose in mind brings several benefits to reading comprehension. Firstly, it keeps you motivated and engaged with the text, as you’re no longer just passively consuming words, but actively hunting for specific information or insights.

Secondly, it boosts your efficiency, saving time and effort by preventing aimless reading, and allowing you to focus on sections of the text most relevant to your goal. Finally, it enhances your understanding and retention of the material.

By actively searching for and processing information related to your purpose, you’re more likely to remember and internalize it. In a nutshell, defining reading goals is a strategy for reading comprehension that not only optimizes your reading experience but also amplifies the learning outcomes.

During Reading Strategies for Reading Comprehension

3. active reading techniques.

Incorporating the practice of annotating and highlighting text is a powerful strategy for reading comprehension. This active reading technique involves marking sections of the text that stand out to you – be it because they’re particularly important, confusing, or thought-provoking.

You might underline key sentences, jot down reflections or questions in the margins, or use a highlighter to mark essential ideas. This method of annotating and highlighting serves two purposes.

Firstly, it requires you to engage deeply with the text, analyzing and evaluating the material rather than just passively reading it. Secondly, it creates a visual roadmap of the text, making it easier for you to recall information and track your thoughts and reactions.

Another effective strategy for reading comprehension is asking questions while you read. As you navigate a text, pose questions to yourself about the material. These questions might pertain to the author’s intentions, the implications of a concept, the validity of an argument, or connections to other topics you’ve studied.

This questioning approach transforms reading into an active, dialogic process, where you’re not just absorbing information, but actively engaging with it. This critical interaction fosters deeper understanding and promotes long-term retention of the material.

These questions can also direct your focus and provide clear targets for note-taking and discussion. In essence, asking questions while reading is a potent strategy for reading comprehension, optimizing engagement and understanding.

4. Visualizing text

Creating mental images is another powerful strategy to enhance reading comprehension. Visualization involves forming pictures in your mind based on the text you’re reading. This strategy, often used unconsciously by experienced readers, can significantly improve understanding and recall of information. As you read, try to imagine the characters, settings, and events in the text. Picture these elements in as much detail as possible, using all of your senses.

Improving comprehension through visualization goes hand-in-hand with creating mental images. When you visualize, you’re building a mental model of the text, which integrates new information with your existing knowledge. This helps you grasp the meaning of the text, remember key details, and make predictions about what might happen next. Visualization can also make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable.

Incorporating visualization into your reading routine can be as simple as pausing periodically to picture what you’ve just read. As you become more comfortable with this strategy, you’ll find that it becomes an automatic part of your reading process, enhancing your comprehension and enjoyment of the text.

5. Monitoring comprehension

A proactive strategy for reading comprehension is to engage in regular self-assessment and reflection. This involves taking a moment to pause, reconsider the material read, and evaluate one’s understanding of it.

Self-assessment can be as simple as asking oneself, “Do I understand what I just read?” or “Can I summarize this in my own words?” This reflective approach can help identify areas of confusion, allowing you to revisit difficult passages and further clarify your understanding.

Utilizing strategies for checking understanding is a crucial step in the reading comprehension process. These strategies may include paraphrasing, summarizing, or even teaching the material to someone else.

Paraphrasing involves rewording the text in your own language, which forces you to understand the core message. Summarizing requires you to condense the material into its main points, helping you to distill key information.

Teaching the concept to someone else is an excellent way to check understanding as it requires you to simplify and explain the material in clear, easy-to-understand terms. These strategies not only help to confirm comprehension of the text but also improve memory retention of the material.

Post-Reading Strategies for Reading Comprehension

6. summarization.

Summarization is a powerful post-reading strategy that involves distilling the main ideas of a piece of text into a concise overview. There are different methods to approach this, two of which are outlining and the use of graphic organizers.

Outlining is a method where you break down the text into its main components, subtopics, and supporting details. This helps in understanding the structure and flow of the text, enabling you to capture the essence of the material without losing important details.

Graphic organizers, on the other hand, visually map out the relationships within the text. They can take various forms, such as flow charts, Venn diagrams, or mind maps. These tools help in visually organizing information, promoting a holistic understanding of the text.

The benefits of summarization are multi-fold. It reinforces understanding by compelling you to process the information in your own words. This practice also aids in information retention, as the process of summarizing involves deep engagement with the text that strengthens memory recall. Additionally, summarization equips you with a handy reference of the main points that can be reviewed at a later date, thereby promoting long-term retention and understanding of the material.

7. Discussion and reflection

Joining reading groups.

Joining a reading group is another effective strategy that aids in enhancing reading comprehension. Reading groups foster a social environment where learners can engage in discussions about the text, thereby facilitating deeper understanding. Participation in these interactive sessions often encourages readers to think critically about the text and articulate their thoughts, which bolsters comprehension and retention.

The diverse perspectives offered within the group can expose readers to various interpretations of the text, broadening their understanding and appreciation of the material. Simply put, the collaborative nature of reading groups nurtures active learning, making them a valuable strategy for reading comprehension.

Critical Thinking and Analysis

Critical thinking and analysis are integral components of effective reading comprehension. This strategy involves scrutinizing the text beyond its literal meaning, and delving into its underlying themes, arguments, and assumptions.

Critical thinking is about questioning what you read, examining the author’s viewpoints, and drawing your own conclusions from the text. This process encourages active engagement with the text, as opposed to passive reading. A crucial aspect of critical thinking is the analysis of language, style, tone, and structure, which can reveal deeper meanings and enhance understanding of the text.

In essence, critical thinking and analysis transform reading from a mere decoding of words to an exciting exploration of ideas, making it a vital strategy for reading comprehension.

8. Re-reading

Re-reading is another significant strategy for improving reading comprehension. It is not uncommon to miss out on certain details or nuances during the initial reading of a text. This is where re-reading comes into play; it allows readers to revisit the text, catch previously overlooked information, and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the content.

Re-reading is especially beneficial when tackling complex materials that demand a deeper level of comprehension, such as academic articles, philosophical writings, or intricate novels. Likewise, it is useful when studying for exams, as it can aid in the retention of information.

Techniques for effective re-reading

• Focused Re-reading: Instead of re-reading the entire text, focus on the sections that you found challenging or confusing during the initial read. This targeted approach saves time and increases comprehension.
• Highlighting and Notetaking: While re-reading, highlight key points or jot down notes in the margins. This active engagement with the text aids memory recall and comprehension.
• Questioning: During your re-read, ask questions about the text. This practice of inquisitive thinking fosters a deeper understanding of the material.

Re-reading is a worthwhile reading comprehension strategy that aids in the thorough understanding of text and can be made more effective through focused reading, highlighting, notetaking, and questioning.

Vocabulary Building

Having a strong vocabulary is essential for successful reading comprehension. A robust vocabulary equips readers with the necessary tools to interpret and understand the text efficiently. When readers encounter unfamiliar words, it can hinder comprehension and disrupt the flow of reading, leading to confusion, frustration, or misinterpretation.

A rich vocabulary bolsters the ability to grasp the context, subtext, and nuances embedded within the text, enhancing the overall reading experience. For instance, knowing a wide array of synonyms can give readers deeper insights into the author’s intentions, perspectives, and tone.

In addition, vocabulary building can also improve communication skills, expanding one’s ability to express thoughts and ideas more precisely and convincingly. In essence, vocabulary is a pivotal building block in the foundation of reading comprehension.

Vocabulary enhancement techniques

Context clues.

A fundamental strategy for vocabulary expansion is the use of context clues. Context clues are hints found within a sentence or paragraph that help the reader infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. These hints may come in various forms such as synonyms, antonyms, examples, or descriptions embedded in the surrounding text.

For instance, if you come across a sentence like “The arduous journey up the mountain left them exhausted”, even if you don’t know the meaning of ‘arduous’, the rest of the sentence gives you a context that suggests it relates to something challenging or strenuous.

Utilizing context clues not only aids in understanding unfamiliar words but also enhances the overall comprehension of the text. It allows for a more fluent reading experience and encourages active engagement with the text, making it a highly effective strategy for improving reading comprehension.

Word lists and flashcards

Another effective technique for vocabulary enhancement is the use of word lists and flashcards. Word lists contain sets of related words, often categorized by their meaning, usage, or complexity. Studying these lists can help readers familiarize themselves with new vocabulary and reinforce their knowledge of similar words.

Flashcards, on the other hand, employ an interactive approach to learning. They typically feature a new word on one side and its definition, or a sentence using the word, on the other. The act of flipping the card to reveal the meaning prompts active recall, a process that strengthens memory retention and aids in embedding the word into the learner’s vocabulary.

This method enables learners to study at their own pace, providing the flexibility to focus on problematic words until their meanings become second nature. Both word lists and flashcards are very efficient strategies for improving reading comprehension, helping learners to grasp the meaning of new words and the context in which they are used.

Application of new vocabulary in reading

Applying new vocabulary in reading is an essential step in consolidating language acquisition and enhancing reading comprehension. One practical way to achieve this is through ‘contextual reading.’ This involves selecting various texts, such as articles, books, or online content that align with the learner’s interests and contain the new vocabulary. Reading these texts allows learners to see the new words in context, reinforcing their understanding and usage.

Another method is the ‘sentence creation’ technique. This requires learners to construct their own sentences using the newly learned vocabulary. It’s an active process that promotes deeper understanding as learners have to consider the meaning, syntax, and appropriate usage of the word.

Lastly, ‘shared reading’ can also be beneficial. In this activity, learners participate in a group reading session, exchanging ideas, and discussing the usage of new vocabulary. This collaborative environment can enhance understanding and retention of new words, all while promoting a culture of learning and curiosity. These practical methods emphasize the active application of new vocabulary, a crucial strategy for improving reading comprehension.

Making Inferences

Inference is a critical skill in the realm of reading comprehension. It is the process by which readers ‘read between the lines,’ drawing conclusions and deciphering meanings that are not explicitly stated in the text. This cognitive function allows readers to link together various pieces of information, using their knowledge and understanding to fill in the gaps.

The ability to make inferences is vital for a deep and nuanced understanding of a text. It enhances the reading experience, making it more engaging and insightful. Inferences connect the text to the reader’s personal experiences and knowledge, creating a richer understanding of the content. This can be particularly beneficial when the reader is encountering complex or unfamiliar concepts.

Furthermore, making inferences can aid retention by encouraging active engagement with the text, rather than passive reading. It is more than just understanding the words on the page; it’s about delving deeper, unraveling hidden meanings, and fostering a greater appreciation of the text. As such, it ranks highly among the most effective strategies for boosting reading comprehension.

Strategies for making inferences

Drawing from the text.

This technique involves carefully analyzing the information explicitly presented within the text and using it as a foundation for additional understanding. Readers can pull together multiple pieces of information, link them using logic and reasoning, and derive more profound implications that aren’t directly stated in the text.

This method requires a keen eye for detail, as often, the smallest elements in the text can lead to significant inferences. Key details could include character actions, dialogue, descriptions, or even the setting of a story. When pieced together, these details can provide insights into character motivations, themes, or future plot developments.

Practicing this strategy can strengthen a reader’s analytical skills and improve their overall reading comprehension. It encourages active engagement with the text, prompting readers to question, reflect, and delve deeper into the material, making the reading experience more enriching and rewarding.

Using context clues

Context clues can serve as powerful tools for making inferences and enhancing reading comprehension. They are pieces of information within a text that, when combined with one’s own knowledge, can help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases. There are several types of context clues including definitions, examples, synonyms, antonyms, and general sense of the text.

Harnessing context clues involves paying careful attention to the words, phrases, and sentences surrounding an unfamiliar element in the text. For instance, if a character is described as “abstemious” in a text, a reader could infer its meaning by observing that the character often declines food or drink, or chooses modest portions.

This strategy not only aids in vocabulary enrichment but also deepens the understanding of the text. It promotes active reading, where the reader is continually decoding and constructing meanings, transforming the reading process into a dynamic interplay between the reader and the text. By developing the skill of using context clues, readers can navigate complex texts more fluently, enhancing their reading comprehension.

Practicing inference skills

Practicing inference skills is essential for reading comprehension. Making inferences involves using your personal judgment to come up with conclusions that are not explicitly stated in the text. This process combines your previous knowledge with clues given in the text.

One effective way to practice inference skills is by reading a variety of genres, as diversity in reading material can stretch your ability to infer by exposing you to a wide range of contexts. Another way is by practicing intentional questioning. You can ask yourself questions like, “Why did the author choose to include this information?” or “What can I infer from these descriptions or events?” Discussing these questions with others can also be beneficial as it exposes you to different perspectives.

Also, engaging in activities that require critical thinking, such as solving riddles or puzzles, can help boost inference skills. This is because these activities often require you to go beyond what is directly provided to find a solution.

Lastly, remember that practice makes perfect. The more you read and actively engage with the text, the more your inference skills will improve. Over time, you’ll find yourself naturally making inferences as you read, which will significantly enhance your reading comprehension.

Critical Thinking Skills

Developing critical thinking in reading.

Critical thinking in reading involves analyzing the text beyond its literal meaning, examining its structure, underlying themes, and the author’s intent. A vital strategy for developing critical thinking is to regularly engage in reflective reading.

Reflective reading involves not just absorbing the information on the page, but continuously questioning and evaluating it, fostering an active rather than passive reading experience. This practice can facilitate a deeper understanding of the material and enhance overall reading comprehension.

Asking Critical Questions

A key component of critical thinking is the ability to ask probing questions about the text. These questions can include: What is the author’s purpose? How does this information relate to what I already know? Are there any biases present in the text? Does the argument presented in the text have any flaws? Asking such questions encourages an in-depth exploration of the text, enabling readers to discern the value and relevance of the information presented.

Analyzing and Evaluating Information

Analyzing and evaluating information is a two-step process that is integral to critical thinking. Analyzing involves breaking down the text into smaller parts and studying how these parts work together to form the overall message or theme.

Evaluating, on the other hand, involves making judgments about the text, such as assessing the validity of the arguments, the reliability of the data, or the effectiveness of the author’s communication style.

This process doesn’t just help in understanding the text better but also in developing a well-informed perspective on it. By continuously analyzing and evaluating information, readers can significantly enhance their critical thinking skills and subsequently improve their reading comprehension.

Reading Speed and Comprehension

Balancing speed and comprehension.

Striking a balance between speed and comprehension is paramount in mastering reading comprehension. While speed reading can save time, it may lead to missing out on critical details, reducing comprehension. Conversely, reading too slowly can hinder the ability to grasp the overall message or theme of the text. The ideal reading speed is therefore one that allows for an understanding of both the individual parts as well as the overall context of the text.

Techniques to Improve Reading Speed Without Sacrificing Comprehension

Various strategies can be employed to enhance reading speed without sacrificing comprehension.

Previewing:

Before delving into the text, a quick preview – glancing through headings, subheadings, and important markers – can provide a structural roadmap and set the tone for what to expect. This can help in faster ingestion of the material when reading.

Instead of reading word by word, try to read groups of words together, or “chunks”. This technique enables faster reading while still maintaining comprehension as our brains are capable of processing multiple words at a time.

Minimizing Sub-vocalization:

Sub-vocalization is the habit of silently pronouncing each word in your head as you read, which can greatly slow down your reading speed. By minimizing this, you can significantly increase your reading pace.

Practicing Regularly:

Like any other skill, improving reading speed and comprehension takes practice. Regular reading exercises with a focus on speed can help develop this skill over time.

By incorporating these strategies into your reading routine, you can efficiently improve your reading speed while ensuring comprehension is not compromised.

Overcoming Reading Challenges

Strategies for dealing with difficult texts.

Encountering challenging texts can be daunting, but with a few strategies, it can be made manageable.

• Simplify: Break the text into smaller sections and try to understand each section individually. Once you grasp the gist of each part, combine them to understand the whole text.
• Annotate: Make notes, underline key points, and jot down your understanding of the text. Annotations can serve as a quick reference when reviewing the text later.
• Use a Dictionary : Don’t hesitate to look up words you don’t understand. Increasing your vocabulary can significantly aid in understanding difficult texts.
• Discuss: Engage in group discussions about the text. Different perspectives can help in better understanding.

Reading Comprehension Strategies for Learners with Special Needs

Differentiated instruction is key when teaching learners with special needs. Here are some strategies to boost their reading comprehension:

• Graphic Organizers: These can help in visually mapping out the structure of a text, making it easier for learners to understand.
• Multisensory Learning: Incorporate auditory and tactile elements into the reading process to enhance engagement and understanding.
• Reading Aloud: This can help auditory learners to comprehend better.
• Individualized Instruction: Tailoring strategies to suit the individual’s needs can significantly improve their reading comprehension.

15 Surprising Benefits of Multisensory Learning

Strategies for Non-native English Speakers

For non-native English speakers, mastering reading comprehension can be a challenge. Here are some strategies tailored for them:

• Translation Tools: These can help bridge the gap between native language and English.
• Cultural Context: Understanding the culture can significantly aid in understanding the context of a text.
• English Classes: Enrolling in English language classes can help in improving grammar and vocabulary.
• Reading Practice: Regular reading practice with texts of increasing complexity can gradually improve comprehension skills.

In conclusion, one cannot overstate the importance of continuous practice in mastering reading comprehension. Much like mastering a musical instrument or a sport, the key to improving reading comprehension lies in consistent and focused practice. 

Over time, consistent exposure to texts of varying complexity and genres will improve a reader’s ability to understand and interpret the content effectively. This pursuit of knowledge is a journey, and these strategies for reading comprehension are tools to help navigate it. 

Always remember, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. What works best for each reader can vary based on individual abilities and circumstances. It is crucial to explore different methods and strategies, adopting those that prove most effective for your unique learning style. 

The goal is not just to read, but to understand and engage with the text in a meaningful way. So, keep practicing, keep exploring, and keep growing!

You might also like:

• 7 Useful Tips for a Productive Study Space
• 15 Tips for Effective Exam Preparation

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Critical Reading Checklist (Word) Critical Reading Checklist (PDF) Critical Thinking Bookmark (PDF)

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How To Improve Your Critical Reading Skills

by Gordana S | Nov 12, 2020 | Skills & Career | 0 comments

Table of Contents

Everything You Ever Wondered About Critical Reading and How To Do It

Critical reading is one of the key reading skills you need to develop, especially if you want to further your education. In college, you are required to analyze any subject matter with a critical mindset. You can only do that by questioning the accepted norms and conventional theories you find in texts.

Achieving academic success isn’t the only reason why you want to work on your critical reading abilities. When you can employ critical thinking to analyze a text, you are able to decipher your personal and professional exchanges better too. It is an asset you must have if you want to succeed in any career you choose .

If critical reading is so important, why isn’t more attention devoted to developing those skills in K-12 education? There is still a significant gap between the need for students to read and think critically and the tools they are equipped with to learn how to do so.

It’s a testament to the need for rethinking American high schools on a deep, fundamental level. Every change has to start from within, so begin by improving your skills and abilities and go from there. Here’s everything you need to know to hone your critical reading skills.

Credit: Debby Hudson

What Is the Definition of Critical Reading?

Critical reading is the ability to analyze any text you’re reading actively, all the while questioning the author’s:

• Choice of words
• Writing style
• Use of evidence
• Drawn-up conclusions
• Presented theories
• Potential bias

In other words, you don’t read passively or merely for pleasure. Instead, when you’re reading something with a critical mindset, you want to get to the “bottom” of the text. You are looking to challenge any norms or strategies used in the creation of that text so that you can form an original opinion on it.

Credit: Waldemar Brandt

How Is Critical Reading Different From Other Types of Reading?

Here are some of the main differences between noncritical and critical reading:

Critical Reading vs. Critical Thinking

By now, you’ve gathered that reading critically doesn’t mean you necessarily criticize the text before you—the same is true of critical thinking. Critical reading and thinking are inevitably connected, but there is a slight difference between the two actions.

You read a text critically when you want to decipher its meaning and all the aspects that have been put together in the text for the message to come through. Critical thinking refers to you deciding where you stand in reference to the meaning and implications you’ve gathered from the material.

You should also employ critical thinking for practices beyond reading—not just in school or college, but in real life too. 

Here are some questions you should be asking yourself when reading and thinking critically:

Even though, in theory, critical reading comes first, in practice, you should use both interchangeably. For example, what you think of the text in front of you will determine how you continue to read it. Likewise, based on the critical reading of the text, you will form your own opinions on the subject matter.

The most important reason why you should differentiate the two practices is to recognize when you are projecting your biases onto the text you’re reading and avoid doing that.

What Are Critical Reading Skills?

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Now that you know to what extent critical reading helps you in almost every area of your life, you will want to develop and practice those skills. It’s significant to note that reading texts carefully is only a small part of critical reading. Additional aspects are:

• Being selective
• Knowing how to skim and scan
• Reading actively
• Taking notes

Taking Your Pick

Locating the articles, books, or any reading material that’s suitable for the topic you’re studying and then selecting which you’ll end up reading is a skill you can learn with practice. 

If you choose the first text that falls into your lap to read before researching whether it’s valid or not, you can end up losing much time and effort. Especially today, when all kinds of information and reading material are available, it’s crucial to select which is relevant.

Researching before selecting your material implies you’ll find out:

• Whether the writing is relevant for the topic you want to read about 
• Who the author is
• What sources they used to back up the arguments
• Whether the material is outdated

Skimming the Material 

Skimming the texts for value is another part of the selection process. When you have researched the material, you need to go through it quickly before delving into it deeply.

You need to know how to skim and scan the text correctly. The former implies you speed through the chapters or paragraphs to get the overall impression of what topics are covered or even what conclusions are drawn up. The latter means you’ll look for specific parts of the text that are relevant to you, so you don’t need to bother with reading the parts that aren’t.

Reading and Analyzing

This is where deep reading comes in. When you’re sure you have the proper material you need, you can get down to work. You’ll do much critical thinking during this part, as you’ll want to ask yourself:

• How the author reached this conclusion
• Where they found the theories they’re presenting
• Whether you agree with their viewpoint/s or not

Jotting It Down

Smart students know the importance of taking notes when reading any material. If you want to possess critical reading skills, you shouldn’t count on memorizing the concepts you’ve read, especially if a larger piece of work is in question.

There are many tools you can use to annotate effectively, like:

• Post-it notes
• Highlighters
• Scribbling down your ideas or opinions while you read
• Noting down questions you have or the theories you want to test 

Putting It Together

When you’re done reading a particular piece, you’ll want to make sure it doesn’t perish from your memory in half an hour. Knowing how to tie concepts together—the ones you’ve read and the conclusions you’ve drawn—so that you remember them clearly is a skill you can work on.

There are strategies to employ while reading critically that will give you the ability to talk and write on the subject matter at a later time.

Developing Critical Reading Skills—Strategies and Tips

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Now you know what falls under critical reading skills, you need to employ the strategies that help you use and develop those skills effectively. Here are the activities you’ll want to work on:

• Identifying the author’s purpose and audience
• Using prior knowledge
• Giving yourself time
• Using helpful tools
• Asking questions
• Summarizing

Identifying the Purpose and Intention

The importance of researching the material you want to read and knowing exactly who wrote it has already been stressed out. You can read the preface or introduction of the material to gain insight into why the author has written a particular piece you want to read.

Another important aspect of this step is learning who the text is intended for. When you know who the target audience is, you will be able to predict the tone and style of the text. You’ll also know why certain writing strategies are employed and will be able to recognize them.

You should also take note of the title of the material to get the idea of the author’s approach, attitude, or viewpoints.  

Using Prior Knowledge

Your prior knowledge of the world determines a lot when you’re reading, especially when you’re planning to read something with a critical mindset. You should ask yourself what ideas about the subject matter you already have based on your prior understanding of the topic. You can then be on the sharp lookout for these ideas to be changed or expanded further.

You should be extra careful not to be subjective in your understanding of the text. While interpreting meaning will depend on your existing knowledge of the ideas, you should keep an open mind and give the author of the text a chance to surprise you.   

Taking Your Time

You cannot forget that reading critically isn’t a process you can speed through. We’ve mentioned you should scan the text to select which parts of it are more important to you than others. While that is a critical step, you have to give proper time and attention to the material you end up reading.

Critical reading can be frustrating, especially if you’re introducing yourself to ideas and concepts you may not be knowledgeable about. In that case, you should not give up too quickly. Take a breather and give yourself time to read slowly or get back to the difficult parts once you gain more understanding of the subject matter.

Using Dictionaries and Other Helpful Tools

You should use today’s technology to your advantage while reading. Looking up difficult vocabulary items or theories you can’t understand from the text you’re reading is a highly effective strategy to employ.

It’s also a great idea to make a list of the topic-specific terminology you encounter. It will aid the overall reading process and make you remember what specific phrases mean as you read on.

Questioning Yourself or Joining Debates

What lies at the core of critical reading is asking yourself all kinds of questions about the text in front of you—and doing it often. Always have a pen or pencil at close reach and jot down any questions you have.

If you can form a reading group or club and engage with people who read the same material as you, then do it! New perspectives can make you see the subtleties of the text you wouldn’t notice on your own or generate more relevant questions worth exploring.

Summarizing and Reviewing

You already know you should annotate while you read. When you’re done, you should have a strategy to review all your notes and put all your ideas together.

Having a reading journal might be an effective tool for sorting everything that comes to your mind during reading. Later, you can review what you scribbled on the material and the summaries you made in your journal. 

Why Is Critical Reading Important—The Benefits

Credit: Road Trip with Raj

Being able to engage critically with texts is a skill you need to possess for many different reasons. Here are all the benefits of critical reading and thinking:

• Being a better high school student
• Achieving academic success
• Succeeding at work
• Sustaining personal growth and satisfaction
• Becoming a better writer
• Gaining media literacy

Critical Reading Is a Tool You Need in High School

Whether your high school equips you with tools to develop your critical reading skills properly or not, you need to possess them to achieve success in all your subjects.

You need to analyze classic literature for your English lessons in a way that makes you reach original conclusions about the work you’re discussing. This will result in better essays on the topic that your professors will likely be blown away by.

Critical reading is important for any subject, not just English lit. For example, when you read your textbooks critically, don’t only absorb the information and torture yourself by trying to memorize theories and concepts for tests by heart. Instead, engage with the subject matter actively and analytically and form your own opinions on it. That way, you’ll remember those concepts for life. 

You Can’t Be a Successful College Student Without Having Critical Reading Skills

The benefits of possessing sharp critical reading skills in college are undisputable. No matter what major you choose to study, you will need to read and write academic papers throughout your higher education.

You cannot be a successful student if you take everything you learn about at face value. In college, you will also learn the techniques about how to develop your critical reading and thinking skills. When you know why they are so important, it will make you engage with the subject willingly and with a curious mindset.

How Critical Reading Helps You in Your Career

After you graduate from high school or college, you won’t stop using critical reading and thinking. Employers don’t like people who can’t make their own judgments on a variety of topics.

For example, you may need to learn a new skill at work due to changes in operations. Having the competence to think critically will make it easier to introduce yourself to new concepts, understand their value, and form your ideas on them.

Similarly, you will have tasks at work for which you will constantly need to employ your critical reading abilities, especially if you are in charge of evaluating your team or their performance.

How Critical Reading Helps You Achieve Personal Satisfaction

Learning to read critically is learning to think for yourself. When you’re not merely a passive recipient, you challenge yourself to dive deeper into the matter, gain more wholesome knowledge, and come up with innovative solutions.

Besides making you a better student or professional, critical reading makes you grow your interests, expand your worldview, and make informed judgments on everything you hear about the world. 

Critical Reading and Writing

Working on developing your critical reading abilities improves your writing skills . The two are inevitably connected, and effective writing skills are just as crucial to possess to carve your path to a successful career.

Studying how authors of the material you’re reading put the parts of their text together or what tools they used to send the message across will help you employ different writing strategies yourself and make your own texts more effective in turn.

Critical Reading Is Crucial for Media Literacy

When you’re being bombarded with news and bits of information from all sides, it’s too easy to fall into the trap of trusting any source the news comes from. The other, equally harmful scenario is being confused at contradicting reports on current events and the general climate of things.

The worst part is being fed a slew of misinformation and not knowing what to trust. To develop critical reading skills is to gain media literacy that will help you deal with this problem.

When you’re in the habit of thinking critically, you will take each text you’re reading or the news you’re listening with a grain of salt. Before deciding what is valid and what isn’t, you will learn to question the facts, and this will do much in preventing you from falling under the spell of media lies and confusion.   

Can You Give Any Examples of Critical Reading Skills?

Critical reading is a key skill to possess in the modern world. If you believe that high schools aren’t teaching it properly, why not contribute with your ideas on how we can change that?

Perhaps you can also provide additional examples of critical reading skills. If any of the two is the case, write to us, and we’ll publish your words.

Let’s work together in transforming school culture so that it’s conducive to real-life learning. 

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Reading & Writing Purposes

Introduction: critical thinking, reading, & writing, critical thinking.

The phrase “critical thinking” is often misunderstood. “Critical” in this case does not mean finding fault with an action or idea. Instead, it refers to the ability to understand an action or idea through reasoning. According to the website SkillsYouNeed [1]:

Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.

In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.

Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments, and findings represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.

Critical thinkers will identify, analyze, and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct.

Someone with critical thinking skills can:

• Understand the links between ideas.
• Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
• Recognize, build, and appraise arguments.
• Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
• Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
• Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.

Read more at:  https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/critical-thinking.html

Critical thinking—the ability to develop your own insights and meaning—is a basic college learning goal. Critical reading and writing strategies foster critical thinking, and critical thinking underlies critical reading and writing.

Critical Reading

Critical reading builds on the basic reading skills expected for college.

College Readers’ Characteristics

• College readers are willing to spend time reflecting on the ideas presented in their reading assignments. They know the time is well-spent to enhance their understanding.
• College readers are able to raise questions while reading. They evaluate and solve problems rather than merely compile a set of facts to be memorized.
• College readers can think logically. They are fact-oriented and can review the facts dispassionately. They base their judgments on ideas and evidence.
• College readers can recognize error in thought and persuasion as well as recognize good arguments.
• College readers are skeptical. They understand that not everything in print is correct. They are diligent in seeking out the truth.

Critical Readers’ Characteristics

• Critical readers are open-minded. They seek alternative views and are open to new ideas that may not necessarily agree with their previous thoughts on a topic. They are willing to reassess their views when new or discordant evidence is introduced and evaluated.
• Critical readers are in touch with their own personal thoughts and ideas about a topic. Excited about learning, they are eager to express their thoughts and opinions.
• Critical readers are able to identify arguments and issues. They are able to ask penetrating and thought-provoking questions to evaluate ideas.
• Critical readers are creative. They see connections between topics and use knowledge from other disciplines to enhance their reading and learning experiences.
• Critical readers develop their own ideas on issues, based on careful analysis and response to others’ ideas.

The video below, although geared toward students studying for the SAT exam (Scholastic Aptitude Test used for many colleges’ admissions), offers a good, quick overview of the concept and practice of critical reading.

Critical Reading & Writing

College reading and writing assignments often ask you to react to, apply, analyze, and synthesize information. In other words, your own informed and reasoned ideas about a subject take on more importance than someone else’s ideas, since the purpose of college reading and writing is to think critically about information.

Critical thinking involves questioning. You ask and answer questions to pursue the “careful and exact evaluation and judgment” that the word “critical” invokes (definition from The American Heritage Dictionary ). The questions simply change depending on your critical purpose. Different critical purposes are detailed in the next pages of this text.

However, here’s a brief preview of the different types of questions you’ll ask and answer in relation to different critical reading and writing purposes.

When you react to a text you ask:

• “What do I think?” and
• “Why do I think this way?”

e.g., If I asked and answered these “reaction” questions about the topic assimilation of immigrants to the U.S. , I might create the following main idea statement, which I could then develop in an essay:  I think that assimilation has both positive and negative effects because, while it makes life easier within the dominant culture, it also implies that the original culture is of lesser value.

When you apply text information you ask:

• “How does this information relate to the real world?”

e.g., If I asked and answered this “application” question about the topic assimilation , I might create the following main idea statement, which I could then develop in an essay:  During the past ten years, a group of recent emigrants has assimilated into the local culture; the process of their assimilation followed certain specific stages.

When you analyze text information you ask:

• “What is the main idea?”
• “What do I want to ‘test’ in the text to see if the main idea is justified?” (supporting ideas, type of information, language), and
• “What pieces of the text relate to my ‘test?'”

e.g., If I asked and answered these “analysis” questions about the topic immigrants to the United States , I might create the following main idea statement, which I could then develop in an essay: Although Lee (2009) states that “segmented assimilation theory asserts that immigrant groups may assimilate into one of many social sectors available in American society, instead of restricting all immigrant groups to adapting into one uniform host society,” other theorists have shown this not to be the case with recent immigrants in certain geographic areas.

When you synthesize information from many texts you ask:

• “What information is similar and different in these texts?,” and
• “What pieces of information fit together to create or support a main idea?”

e.g., If I asked and answered these “synthesis” questions about the topic immigrants to the U.S. , I might create the following main idea statement, which I could then develop by using examples and information from many text articles as evidence to support my idea: Immigrants who came to the United States during the immigration waves in the early to mid 20th century traditionally learned English as the first step toward assimilation, a process that was supported by educators. Now, both immigrant groups and educators are more focused on cultural pluralism than assimilation, as can be seen in educators’ support of bilingual education. However, although bilingual education heightens the child’s reasoning and ability to learn, it may ultimately hinder the child’s sense of security within the dominant culture if that culture does not value cultural pluralism as a whole.

Critical reading involves asking and answering these types of questions in order to find out how the information “works” as opposed to just accepting and presenting the information that you read in a text. Critical writing involves recording your insights into these questions and offering your own interpretation of a concept or issue, based on the meaning you create from those insights.

• Crtical Thinking, Reading, & Writing. Authored by : Susan Oaks, includes material adapted from TheSkillsYouNeed and Reading 100; attributions below. Project : Introduction to College Reading & Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Critical Thinking. Provided by : TheSkillsYouNeed. Located at : https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright . License Terms : Quoted from website: The use of material found at skillsyouneed.com is free provided that copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is included to the page/s where the information was found. Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/
• The Reading Process. Authored by : Scottsdale Community College Reading Faculty. Provided by : Maricopa Community College. Located at : https://learn.maricopa.edu/courses/904536/files/32966438?module_item_id=7198326 . Project : Reading 100. License : CC BY: Attribution
• image of person thinking with light bulbs saying -idea- around her head. Authored by : Gerd Altmann. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/light-bulb-idea-think-education-3704027/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video What is Critical Reading? SAT Critical Reading Bootcamp #4. Provided by : Reason Prep. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hc3hmwnymw . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• image of man smiling and holding a lightbulb. Authored by : africaniscool. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/man-african-laughing-idea-319282/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved

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How to develop critical thinking skills

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What are critical thinking skills?

How to develop critical thinking skills: 12 tips, how to practice critical thinking skills at work, become your own best critic.

A client requests a tight deadline on an intense project. Your childcare provider calls in sick on a day full of meetings. Payment from a contract gig is a month behind. 

Your day-to-day will always have challenges, big and small. And no matter the size and urgency, they all ask you to use critical thinking to analyze the situation and arrive at the right solution. 

Critical thinking includes a wide set of soft skills that encourage continuous learning, resilience , and self-reflection. The more you add to your professional toolbelt, the more equipped you’ll be to tackle whatever challenge presents itself. Here’s how to develop critical thinking, with examples explaining how to use it.

Critical thinking skills are the skills you use to analyze information, imagine scenarios holistically, and create rational solutions. It’s a type of emotional intelligence that stimulates effective problem-solving and decision-making . 

When you fine-tune your critical thinking skills, you seek beyond face-value observations and knee-jerk reactions. Instead, you harvest deeper insights and string together ideas and concepts in logical, sometimes out-of-the-box , ways. 

Imagine a team working on a marketing strategy for a new set of services. That team might use critical thinking to balance goals and key performance indicators , like new customer acquisition costs, average monthly sales, and net profit margins. They understand the connections between overlapping factors to build a strategy that stays within budget and attracts new sales. 

Looking for ways to improve critical thinking skills? Start by brushing up on the following soft skills that fall under this umbrella: 

• Analytical thinking: Approaching problems with an analytical eye includes breaking down complex issues into small chunks and examining their significance. An example could be organizing customer feedback to identify trends and improve your product offerings. 
• Open-mindedness: Push past cognitive biases and be receptive to different points of view and constructive feedback . Managers and team members who keep an open mind position themselves to hear new ideas that foster innovation . 
• Creative thinking: With creative thinking , you can develop several ideas to address a single problem, like brainstorming more efficient workflow best practices to boost productivity and employee morale . 
• Self-reflection: Self-reflection lets you examine your thinking and assumptions to stimulate healthier collaboration and thought processes. Maybe a bad first impression created a negative anchoring bias with a new coworker. Reflecting on your own behavior stirs up empathy and improves the relationship. 
• Evaluation: With evaluation skills, you tackle the pros and cons of a situation based on logic rather than emotion. When prioritizing tasks , you might be tempted to do the fun or easy ones first, but evaluating their urgency and importance can help you make better decisions. 

There’s no magic method to change your thinking processes. Improvement happens with small, intentional changes to your everyday habits until a more critical approach to thinking is automatic. 

Here are 12 tips for building stronger self-awareness and learning how to improve critical thinking: 

1. Be cautious

There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of skepticism. One of the core principles of critical thinking is asking questions and dissecting the available information. You might surprise yourself at what you find when you stop to think before taking action. 

Before making a decision, use evidence, logic, and deductive reasoning to support your own opinions or challenge ideas. It helps you and your team avoid falling prey to bad information or resistance to change .

2. Ask open-ended questions

“Yes” or “no” questions invite agreement rather than reflection. Instead, ask open-ended questions that force you to engage in analysis and rumination. Digging deeper can help you identify potential biases, uncover assumptions, and arrive at new hypotheses and possible solutions. 

3. Do your research

No matter your proficiency, you can always learn more. Turning to different points of view and information is a great way to develop a comprehensive understanding of a topic and make informed decisions. You’ll prioritize reliable information rather than fall into emotional or automatic decision-making. 

4. Consider several opinions

You might spend so much time on your work that it’s easy to get stuck in your own perspective, especially if you work independently on a remote team . Make an effort to reach out to colleagues to hear different ideas and thought patterns. Their input might surprise you.

If or when you disagree, remember that you and your team share a common goal. Divergent opinions are constructive, so shift the focus to finding solutions rather than defending disagreements. 

5. Learn to be quiet

Active listening is the intentional practice of concentrating on a conversation partner instead of your own thoughts. It’s about paying attention to detail and letting people know you value their opinions, which can open your mind to new perspectives and thought processes.

If you’re brainstorming with your team or having a 1:1 with a coworker , listen, ask clarifying questions, and work to understand other peoples’ viewpoints. Listening to your team will help you find fallacies in arguments to improve possible solutions.

6. Schedule reflection

Whether waking up at 5 am or using a procrastination hack, scheduling time to think puts you in a growth mindset . Your mind has natural cognitive biases to help you simplify decision-making, but squashing them is key to thinking critically and finding new solutions besides the ones you might gravitate toward. Creating time and calm space in your day gives you the chance to step back and visualize the biases that impact your decision-making. 

7. Cultivate curiosity

With so many demands and job responsibilities, it’s easy to seek solace in routine. But getting out of your comfort zone helps spark critical thinking and find more solutions than you usually might.

If curiosity doesn’t come naturally to you, cultivate a thirst for knowledge by reskilling and upskilling . Not only will you add a new skill to your resume , but expanding the limits of your professional knowledge might motivate you to ask more questions. 

You don’t have to develop critical thinking skills exclusively in the office. Whether on your break or finding a hobby to do after work, playing strategic games or filling out crosswords can prime your brain for problem-solving. 

9. Write it down

Recording your thoughts with pen and paper can lead to stronger brain activity than typing them out on a keyboard. If you’re stuck and want to think more critically about a problem, writing your ideas can help you process information more deeply.

The act of recording ideas on paper can also improve your memory . Ideas are more likely to linger in the background of your mind, leading to deeper thinking that informs your decision-making process. 

10. Speak up

Take opportunities to share your opinion, even if it intimidates you. Whether at a networking event with new people or a meeting with close colleagues, try to engage with people who challenge or help you develop your ideas. Having conversations that force you to support your position encourages you to refine your argument and think critically. 

11. Stay humble

Ideas and concepts aren’t the same as real-life actions. There may be such a thing as negative outcomes, but there’s no such thing as a bad idea. At the brainstorming stage , don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Sometimes the best solutions come from off-the-wall, unorthodox decisions. Sit in your creativity , let ideas flow, and don’t be afraid to share them with your colleagues. Putting yourself in a creative mindset helps you see situations from new perspectives and arrive at innovative conclusions. 

12. Embrace discomfort

Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable . It isn’t easy when others challenge your ideas, but sometimes, it’s the only way to see new perspectives and think critically.

By willingly stepping into unfamiliar territory, you foster the resilience and flexibility you need to become a better thinker. You’ll learn how to pick yourself up from failure and approach problems from fresh angles. 

Thinking critically is easier said than done. To help you understand its impact (and how to use it), here are two scenarios that require critical thinking skills and provide teachable moments. 

Scenario #1: Unexpected delays and budget

Imagine your team is working on producing an event. Unexpectedly, a vendor explains they’ll be a week behind on delivering materials. Then another vendor sends a quote that’s more than you can afford. Unless you develop a creative solution, the team will have to push back deadlines and go over budget, potentially costing the client’s trust. 

Here’s how you could approach the situation with creative thinking:

• Analyze the situation holistically: Determine how the delayed materials and over-budget quote will impact the rest of your timeline and financial resources . That way, you can identify whether you need to build an entirely new plan with new vendors, or if it’s worth it to readjust time and resources. 
• Identify your alternative options: With careful assessment, your team decides that another vendor can’t provide the same materials in a quicker time frame. You’ll need to rearrange assignment schedules to complete everything on time. 
• Collaborate and adapt: Your team has an emergency meeting to rearrange your project schedule. You write down each deliverable and determine which ones you can and can’t complete by the deadline. To compensate for lost time, you rearrange your task schedule to complete everything that doesn’t need the delayed materials first, then advance as far as you can on the tasks that do. 
• Check different resources: In the meantime, you scour through your contact sheet to find alternative vendors that fit your budget. Accounting helps by providing old invoices to determine which vendors have quoted less for previous jobs. After pulling all your sources, you find a vendor that fits your budget. 
• Maintain open communication: You create a special Slack channel to keep everyone up to date on changes, challenges, and additional delays. Keeping an open line encourages transparency on the team’s progress and boosts everyone’s confidence. 

Scenario #2: Differing opinions 

A conflict arises between two team members on the best approach for a new strategy for a gaming app. One believes that small tweaks to the current content are necessary to maintain user engagement and stay within budget. The other believes a bold revamp is needed to encourage new followers and stronger sales revenue. 

Here’s how critical thinking could help this conflict:

• Listen actively: Give both team members the opportunity to present their ideas free of interruption. Encourage the entire team to ask open-ended questions to more fully understand and develop each argument. 
• Flex your analytical skills: After learning more about both ideas, everyone should objectively assess the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. Analyze each idea's risk, merits, and feasibility based on available data and the app’s goals and objectives. 
• Identify common ground: The team discusses similarities between each approach and brainstorms ways to integrate both idea s, like making small but eye-catching modifications to existing content or using the same visual design in new media formats. 
• Test new strategy: To test out the potential of a bolder strategy, the team decides to A/B test both approaches. You create a set of criteria to evenly distribute users by different demographics to analyze engagement, revenue, and customer turnover. 
• Monitor and adapt: After implementing the A/B test, the team closely monitors the results of each strategy. You regroup and optimize the changes that provide stronger results after the testing. That way, all team members understand why you’re making the changes you decide to make.

You can’t think your problems away. But you can equip yourself with skills that help you move through your biggest challenges and find innovative solutions. Learning how to develop critical thinking is the start of honing an adaptable growth mindset. 

Now that you have resources to increase critical thinking skills in your professional development, you can identify whether you embrace change or routine, are open or resistant to feedback, or turn to research or emotion will build self-awareness. From there, tweak and incorporate techniques to be a critical thinker when life presents you with a problem.

Cultivate your creativity

Foster creativity and continuous learning with guidance from our certified Coaches.

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to improve reading comprehension: 8 expert tips.

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Reading is a skill many people take for granted, but the act of reading and properly comprehending a text is a complex and interactive process. It requires several different brain functions to work together and most often requires one to puzzle through multiple layers of context and meaning.

Because reading comprehension is so complicated, we can often find ourselves understanding the most basic interpretation of a text, but missing the emotional core or the "big picture." Or we might just find our brains spinning with no clue at all as to what a text is attempting to convey.

But luckily for everyone who struggles in English classes, on standardized tests, or in daily life, reading comprehension can be improved upon (and it's never too late to start!). In this guide, I explain step-by-step how to improve reading comprehension over time and offer tips for boosting your understanding as you read.

What Is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the understanding of what a particular text means and the ideas the author is attempting to convey, both textual and subtextual. In order to read any text, your brain must process not only the literal words of the piece, but also their relationship with one another, the context behind the words, how subtle language and vocabulary usage can impact emotion and meaning behind the text, and how the text comes together as a larger, coherent whole.

For instance, let's look at the first line from Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice :

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Now, a completely literal interpretation of the text, just based on word-meaning, would have us believe that 'all rich men want wives.' But the context, word choice, and phrasing of the text actually belie that interpretation. By using the phrases "universally acknowledged" and " must be in want of" (emphasis ours), the text is conveying a subtle sarcasm to the words. Instead of it being an actual truth that 'rich men want wives,' this one sentence instantly tells us that we're reading about a society preoccupied with marriage, while also implying that the opening statement is something people in that society may believe, but that isn't necessarily true.

In just a few short words, Austen conveys several ideas to the reader about one of the main themes of the story, the setting, and what the culture and people are like. And she does so all the while seeming to contradict the literal words of the piece.

Without practice in reading comprehension, nuances like these can become lost. And so it can happen that someone may find themselves reading, but not truly comprehending the full meaning of a text.

As you can see, reading comprehension involves many processes happening in your brain at once, and thus it can be easy for some aspects of a text to get lost in the muddle. But the good news for anyone who struggles is that reading comprehension is a skill just like any other. It must be learned through practice, focus, and diligence, but it absolutely CAN be learned.

Why Reading Comprehension Is Important

Proper reading comprehension can be difficult, so why bother? Even though learning how to properly read and comprehend texts is a complicated process, it is a necessary skill to master, both for work and for pleasure.

You will need to know how to read and interpret all kinds of different texts—both on the basic, literal level and on a more in-depth level—throughout your schooling, in college, and in the working world (as well as in your recreation time!). If we think about "reading" just as a literal or surface understanding of a piece and "reading comprehension" as the complete understanding, a person can only get by in the world on pure "reading" for so long.

Reading comprehension is essential for many significant aspects of daily life, such as:

• Reading, understanding, and analyzing literature in your English classes
• Reading and understanding texts from your other class subjects, such as history, math, or science
• Doing well on both the written and math sections of the SAT (or all five sections of the ACT)
• Understanding and engaging with current events presented in written form, such as news reports
• Properly understanding and responding to any and all other workplace correspondence, such as essays, reports, memos, and analyses
• Simply taking pleasure in written work on your own leisure time

Just like with any goal or skill, we can master reading comprehension one step at a time.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension: 3 Steps

Because reading comprehension is a skill that improves like any other, you can improve your understanding with practice and a game plan.

Dedicate yourself to engaging in a combination of both "guided" and "relaxed" reading practice for at least two to three hours a week. Guided practice will involve structure and focused attention, like learning new vocabulary words and testing yourself on them, while relaxed practice will involve merely letting yourself read and enjoy reading without pressure for at least one to two hours a week. (Note: if you already read for pleasure, add at least one more hour of pleasure-reading per week.)

By combining reading-for-studying and reading-for-pleasure, you'll be able to improve your reading skill without relegating reading time to the realm of "work" alone. Reading is a huge part of our daily lives, and improving your comprehension should never come at the cost of depriving yourself of the pleasure of the activity.

So what are some of the first steps for improving your reading comprehension level?

Step 1: Understand and Reevaluate How You're Currently Reading

Before you can improve your reading comprehension, you must first understand how you're currently reading and what your limitations are.

Start by selecting excerpts from different texts with which you are unfamiliar—text books, essays, novels, news reports, or any kind of text you feel you particularly struggle to understand—and read them as you would normally. As you read, see if you can notice when your attention, energy, or comprehension of the material begins to flag.

If your comprehension or concentration tends to lag after a period of time, start to slowly build up your stamina. For instance, if you continually lose focus at the 20 minute mark every time you read, acknowledge this and push yourself to slowly increase that time, rather than trying to sit and concentrate on reading for an hour or two at a stretch. Begin by reading for your maximum amount of focused time (in this case, twenty minutes), then give yourself a break. Next time, try for 22 minutes. Once you've mastered that, try for 25 and see if you can still maintain focus. If you can, then try for thirty.

If you find that your concentration or comprehension starts to lag again , take a step back on your timing before pushing yourself for more. Improvement comes with time, and it'll only cause frustration if you try to rush it all at once.

Alternatively, you may find that your issues with reading comprehension have less to do with the time spent reading than with the source material itself. Perhaps you struggle to comprehend the essential elements of a text, the context of a piece, character arcs or motivation, books or textbooks with densely packed information, or material that is heavily symbolic. If this is the case, then be sure to follow the tips below to improve these areas of reading comprehension weakness.

Improving your reading comprehension level takes time and practice, but understanding where your strengths and weaknesses stand now is the first step towards progress.

Step 2: Improve Your Vocabulary

Reading and comprehension rely on a combination of vocabulary, context, and the interaction of words. So you must be able to understand each moving piece before you can understand the text as a whole.

If you struggle to understand specific vocabulary, it's sometimes possible to pick up meaning through context clues (how the words are used in the sentence or in the passage), but it's always a good idea to look up the definitions of words with which you aren't familiar. As you read, make sure to keep a running list of words you don't readily recognize and make yourself a set of flashcards with the words and their definitions. Dedicate fifteen minutes two or three times a week to and quizzing yourself on your vocab flashcards.

To get started, you'll need some blank index cards and a system to keep them organized. These basic cards are an affordable option that are also available in fun colors . You can keep them organized with plastic baggies or rubber bands, or you can get an organizer .

Alternatively, try these easy-flip flashcards that include binder clips. Though we strongly recommend making your own flashcards, you can also buy pre-made ones —the best option is Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know , a series of exercises to master key words and idioms.

In order to retain your vocabulary knowledge, you must employ a combination of practiced memorization (like studying your flashcards) and make a point of using these new words in your verbal and written communication. Guided vocabulary practice like this will give you access to new words and their meanings as well as allow you to properly retain them.

Step 3: Read for Pleasure

The best way to improve your reading comprehension level is through practice. And the best way to practice is to have fun with it!

Make reading a fun activity, at least on occasion, rather than a constant chore. This will motivate you to engage with the text and embrace the activity as part of your daily life (rather than just your study/work life). As you practice and truly engage with your reading material, improvement will come naturally.

Begin by reading texts that are slightly below your age and grade level (especially if reading is frustrating or difficult for you). This will take pressure off of you and allow you to relax and enjoy the story. Here are some fun, easy reads that we recommend to get you started:

• Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roksani Chokshi
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Ghost   by Jason Reynolds
• The Westing Game by Ellen Rankin
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone   by J.K .Rowling

Once you feel more comfortable reading and practicing your comprehension strategies (tips in the next section), go ahead and allow yourself to read at whatever reading or age level you feel like. Even if you feel that you don't understand some of the text right now—or even a large portion of it!—if you enjoy yourself and give it your best shot, you'll find that your reading comprehension levels will improve over time.

Reading these problematic passages aloud can often help circumvent that block and help you to form a visual of what the text is trying to convey.

Tip 3: Re-read (or Skim) Previous Sections of the Text

For the most part, reading is a personal activity that happens entirely in your head. So don't feel you have to read just like anyone else if "typical" methods don't work for you. 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...the list is endless.

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.

Tip 4: Skim or Read Upcoming Sections of the Text

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.

Tip 5: Discuss the Text With a Friend (Even an Imaginary Friend)

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. So if a piece of text has your head spinning from trying to work through it by yourself, start chatting with your nearest friend/pet/rubber duck. You'll be surprised with how much easier it is to understand a text once you've talked it through with someone.

Even if that someone is a duck.

The Take-Aways

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." You will utilize your reading skills throughout your life, so go at a pace that works for you, and take care to maintain that balance between reading for pure pleasure and reading for dedicated improvement.

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.

What's Next?

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 4.0 you're striving for .

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.

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OPINION Voices from the Idaho EdNews Community

Reading literature helps develop critical-thinking skills

When’s the last time you read a book? The chances you didn’t read one during the last year have radically increased.

For adults it’s roughly one in four — 24 percent according to the Pew Research Center. For my peers, youth, it’s about the same — 22 percent of 13-year-olds and 27 percent of 17-year-olds versus 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, three decades ago according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

That’s especially unfortunate considering literature can help young adults develop important critical-thinking skills. For instance, U.S. News & World Report recently listed book clubs among five useful tools for developing critical-thinking skills before college.

“Students who read for understanding find it far easier to think critically than those who rush to finish,” writes the story’s author, Meghan Moll, a professional science, math, and ACT tutor with Varsity Tutors. “Analyzing a book requires you to delve deeper and ponder complex questions.”

My own experience with literature bears this out. In his best-selling novels “Jurassic Park” and “The Lost World,” Michael Crichton didn’t just take me on an entertaining roller-coaster ride. My favorite author reignited my childhood passion for prehistoric animals, sparked my intense interest in science, and continually fuels my own creativity.

His novels underscore the importance of critical thinking. “Jurassic Park” gave me a perspective on how humans interact with the biological world and what we can do to alter things — especially with genetic engineering. While the story line shows how people can use science to do beautiful things and change situations for the better, it also demonstrates how we can make devastating mistakes.

It’s probably no surprise that when my English teacher, Mrs. Hodgin, asked her classes at Moscow High School to participate in the Letters About Literature contest last year I wrote about the tangible, positive impact Dr. Crichton’s works have had on me. Sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, Letters About Literature encourages students in grades 4-12 to write a letter to an author — living or dead — whose book affected them personally.

I was the State of Idaho’s winner for Level 3 (grades 9-12) last year. The $100 gift card I won funded a hobby that’s kind of turning into a career — raising and researching ants. Thus, Dr. Crichton hasn’t just fueled my interest in the natural world — in a way he’s also helping fund my exploration of it.

The 2015-2016 Letters About Literature contest begins soon, and I encourage teachers and parents throughout Idaho to get their students involved. It’s an excellent project for classes and individual students.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress begins accepting entries Nov. 2. They must be postmarked by Dec. 4 for Level 3 (grades 9-12) or Jan. 11 for Level 2 (grades 7-8) and Level 1 (grades 4-6).

After the first two rounds of judging at the Library of Congress, the letters go through the next rounds back in their writers’ home states. The Idaho Commission for Libraries coordinates our local judging. Learn more about it online at http://libraries.idaho.gov/lal .

Meanwhile, if you, your child, or your students haven’t found a book that’s personally affected them, I urge you to resolve that. The benefits of literature are legion. Reading improves vocabulary, organizational skills, and the ability to read, comprehend, and analyze text. Plus, it can provide people with important historical perspective, encourage sympathy for other human beings, and promote appreciation for diversity and understanding of other cultures.

Moreover, literature can help students develop the critical-thinking skills many employers think are lacking in today’s college graduates before they even get to college.

Senior Miles Maxcer is the student council president at Moscow High School. He is currently reading a lot of nonfiction about leadership and different leaders while still conducting an independent study on ants. Read Miles’ winning letter at: http://libraries.idaho.gov/files/Level3WinnerMaxcer.pdf

Miles Maxcer

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Gop primary results could shift dynamics of school choice debate, close and unlikely election wins add to $116 million for schools, check out our primary election voter guide, who’s spending in tuesday’s election a guide to some key players, analysis: another rift within the gop comes into plain public view, at-risk population exempted from high-stakes testing, boise leaders weigh the fate of owyhee elementary, house education vice chair faces two conservative challengers.

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• Academic skills

Critical thinking

Critical reading.

You will select sources and read them in different ways depending on their value to your assignment. For example, you might read to:

• get a general overview of the text by skimming through it
• look for specific information or to understand some core concepts by scanning the text
• examine the text in depth and actively ask questions of the source, in order to understand its relevance and reliability for your own research topic.

The last approach is particularly important for any work you submit for assessment.

You should ask yourself:

• Why am I reading this? Are you reading for a presentation, assignment, pre-reading for a lecture, or for finding ideas?
• What do I want to get out of it? Are you looking for specific facts, a general idea of the content, the author's viewpoint?
• What do I already know?
• How will I know when I have read enough?

Select what and how to read

Usually, you can't read all the texts you find on a topic, or even everything suggested on a long reading list. You need to make choices and be selective.

Opt for quality and not quantity, and choose reliable and current sources. We also recommend that you start with an easy text to give you an overview of the topic.

You could choose one of four main reading strategies. These are:

• Predicting : making an educated guess about what the text is about before you start to read.
• Scanning : looking through the text very quickly to look for keywords.
• Skimming : reading the introduction and the first line of each paragraph to work out what the text is about.
• Intensive reading : reading a short section of text slowly and carefully.

When reading and analysing a source closely, use our set of critical thinking questions (PDF) to help you engage critically.

Spreeder is an online tool useful for skim-reading text whilst still gaining an understanding of the context. You can adjust the number of words presented and reading speed of your text, helping you to improve your reading speed.

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking

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(This is the first post in a three-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?

This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.

Today’s guests are Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .

Current Events

Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:

There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?

I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.

One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.

There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.

Here are the two photos and a student response:

F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes

In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.

I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes

A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.

R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute

You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!

Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?

This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.

As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.

Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.

‘Before-Explore-Explain’

Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :

Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.

Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.

Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.

In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.

An Issue of Equity

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:

Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”

Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.

For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.

If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.

So, what does that really look like?

Unpack and define critical thinking

To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.

At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”

When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”

So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?

Designing experiences for critical thinking

After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:

1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant

A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.

2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real

At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.

3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous

At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.

Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.

Critical Thinking & Student Engagement

Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:

When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.

I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.

Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.

The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.

So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.

• Integrating critical thought/rigor into a lesson does not happen by chance, it happens by design. Planning for critical thought and engagement is much different from planning for a traditional lesson. In order to plan for kids to think critically, you have to provide a base of knowledge and excellent prompts to allow them to explore their own thinking in order to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information.
• SIDE NOTE – Bloom’s verbs are a great way to start when writing objectives, but true planning will take you deeper than this.

QUESTIONING

• If the questions and prompts given in a classroom have correct answers or if the teacher ends up answering their own questions, the lesson will lack critical thought and rigor.
• Script five questions forcing higher-order thought prior to every lesson. Experienced teachers may not feel they need this, but it helps to create an effective habit.
• If lessons are rigorous and assessments are not, students will do well on their assessments, and that may not be an accurate representation of the knowledge and skills they have mastered. If lessons are easy and assessments are rigorous, the exact opposite will happen. When deciding to increase critical thought, it must happen in all three phases of the game: planning, instruction, and assessment.

TALK TIME / CONTROL

• To increase rigor, the teacher must DO LESS. This feels counterintuitive but is accurate. Rigorous lessons involving tons of critical thought must allow for students to work on their own, collaborate with peers, and connect their ideas. This cannot happen in a silent room except for the teacher talking. In order to increase rigor, decrease talk time and become comfortable with less control. Asking questions and giving prompts that lead to no true correct answer also means less control. This is a tough ask for some teachers. Explained differently, if you assign one assignment and get 30 very similar products, you have most likely assigned a low-rigor recipe. If you assign one assignment and get multiple varied products, then the students have had a chance to think deeply, and you have successfully integrated critical thought into your classroom.

Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

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1. Previewing Texts

2. making connections, 3. questioning, 4. visualizing, 5. inferring, 6. summarizing, 7. analyzing text structure, 8. vocabulary development, 9. using graphic organizers, 10. guided reading.

Ever found yourself in front of a class, wondering why, despite their best efforts, some students just can’t seem to get the gist of what they’re reading? It’s a common puzzle for educators everywhere, highlighting the need to understand how to improve reading comprehension effectively.

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This blog is your go-to resource, packed with easy-to-implement strategies to boost kids’ reading comprehension. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a comprehensive toolkit to help your students become more proficient and confident readers.

16 Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills

Improving reading comprehension is essential for a student’s academic success. Here, we explore effective strategies that can make a significant difference:

Before diving into a text, encourage your students to take a moment to preview it. This means looking at the title, headings, pictures, or graphs. For example, if the text is about the water cycle, ask them to predict what they might learn by examining these features. This strategy is a cornerstone of how to improve reading comprehension as it sets the stage for understanding the content ahead.

Helping students connect the text with their experiences, other texts, or the world enhances their engagement and understanding. For instance, if they’re reading a story set in a different country, discuss how the setting or culture compares to theirs. This approach is fundamental in how to help with reading comprehension, making the material more relatable and easier to grasp.

Fostering an environment where students feel comfortable asking and answering questions about the text is crucial. As they read, prompt them with questions like, “Why do you think the character did that?” This not only keeps them engaged but also deepens their understanding. Incorporating this among your reading comprehension tips encourages active reading and critical thinking.

Encourage your students to create mental images of what they are reading. For example, if the text describes a dense forest, have them imagine the sights, sounds, and smells. This visualization technique is a powerful reading strategy to improve comprehension, making abstract or complex ideas more concrete and memorable.

Inferring involves reading between the lines to understand the meaning that isn’t explicitly stated. It’s a critical skill for reading comprehension, requiring students to use their prior knowledge and clues from the text to draw conclusions. For example, if a character slams a door and storms out in a huff, students might infer that the character is angry, even if the text doesn’t directly say so. Teaching students to look for emotional cues or descriptive details helps them grasp deeper meanings and nuances in the text.

Summarizing is a key component of reading strategies to improve comprehension. It involves condensing a text to its main points and key details, enabling students to distill essential information and improve their recall. For instance, after reading a story, ask students to write a few sentences summarizing the plot, focusing on the main events and the conclusion. This practice helps them to identify what’s important in a text and to remember it better.

Understanding how a text is organized is crucial in how to improve comprehension skills. Different texts have different structures, such as chronological order, cause and effect, or problem and solution. Teaching students to recognize these structures helps them predict and understand the information presented. For example, in a science text discussing pollination, the cause-and-effect structure helps students link the role of bees to the success of plant reproduction. Recognizing these structures aids in navigating the text more effectively.

Expanding students’ vocabulary is fundamental to improving comprehension skills. A rich vocabulary allows students to understand more complex texts with less effort. Incorporate vocabulary lessons into reading sessions by highlighting new words, using them in sentences, and discussing their meanings in context. For instance, if a book mentions “camouflage,” discuss its meaning, show pictures, and use the word in various sentences. This contextual learning makes new words stick and enhances comprehension.

Graphic organizers are visual tools that help students organize information and ideas from a text. Whether it’s a Venn diagram for comparing and contrasting two characters or a story map to outline the plot, these organizers make abstract ideas tangible. Students can better understand and retain the material by visually mapping out the elements of a text. For example, after reading a chapter, have students fill out a story map to highlight the setting, main characters, problem, and solution, reinforcing their understanding of the story’s structure.

If you are looking for a more personalized approach, guided reading can be just right for you. In small groups, students read texts at their appropriate level, with the teacher providing targeted instruction and support. This might involve pre-reading discussions to activate prior knowledge, shared reading to model fluency and expression, and post-reading questions to assess comprehension. For example, in a guided reading session, a teacher might focus on sequencing by asking students to order events from the story they just read. This individualized attention allows for immediate feedback and addresses specific comprehension challenges.

11. Teaching Chronological Understanding

Understanding the sequence of events in a text is a crucial part of how to get better at reading comprehension. This involves recognizing the order in which events occur, which helps students follow the storyline or the logical flow of informational texts. For example, when reading a historical account, encourage students to create a timeline of events. This visual representation aids in grasping the progression and significance of historical milestones, making the narrative easier to understand and remember.

Start with these sequencing worksheets:

12. Encouraging Predictive Reading

Predictive reading engages students by encouraging them to guess what might happen next in a story based on context clues and their own experiences. This strategy makes reading an interactive experience, stimulating students’ curiosity and engagement with the text. For instance, pause at a suspenseful moment in a story and ask students to predict the outcome. Discussing their predictions fosters a deeper engagement with the text and illustrates how to get better at reading comprehension by actively thinking ahead.

Begin here:

13. Understanding Author’s Purpose

Identifying why an author wrote a piece — to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain — is fundamental in analyzing and understanding complex texts. Discussing the author’s purpose helps students see beyond the surface of the text and consider the underlying messages or arguments. For example, when reading an article about conservation, ask students to determine if the author’s purpose is to inform about conservation issues, persuade readers to take action, or both. This recognition enhances comprehension and critical thinking about texts.

Use these worksheets to strengthen comprehension of the author’s purpose:

14. Point of View Analysis

Analyzing the narrator’s or characters’ perspectives in a text enriches students’ understanding and empathy. Point of view analysis encourages students to consider how the story might change if told from a different perspective. For instance, reading a story first from one character’s point of view and then another’s can reveal biases, motivations, and unseen aspects of the story. This exploration deepens comprehension and teaches students to consider multiple perspectives.

Start with these POV analysis worksheets:

15. Character Analysis

Character analysis involves examining traits, actions, and motivations to understand characters deeply. Through such analysis, students learn to infer character traits from actions and dialogue, adding layers to their comprehension. For example, discussing why a character made a particular choice or how their actions affect the plot encourages students to connect with and reflect on the characters, fostering a richer reading experience.

Begin with these character analysis worksheets:

16. Critical Thinking in Evaluating Arguments

Teaching students to critically evaluate arguments and evidence in texts equips them with the ability to discern reliable information and form their own opinions. This skill is especially important in an era of information overload. 

Encourage students to identify claims in a text and the evidence supporting those claims. For instance, in an article arguing for less screen time for children, have students assess the strength of the evidence presented. This critical examination is a key component of how to get better at reading comprehension, as it requires students to engage deeply and thoughtfully with the text.

Begin with these argument evaluating worksheets to enhance critical thinking:

6 Parental Strategies for Enhancing Reading Comprehension

1. utilize online reading games.

Online reading games are designed to enhance comprehension in a fun, interactive way. These games focus on specific skills such as vocabulary, sequencing , and main idea identification. By incorporating these games into your child’s screen time, you can help them learn how to get better at reading comprehension through engaging activities that don’t feel like traditional homework.

2. Incorporate Practice Worksheets

Another effective strategy on how to work on reading comprehension is through the use of practice worksheets. Available on SplashLearn , these worksheets target specific comprehension skills like summarizing, inferring, and understanding cause and effect. Set aside time for your child to complete these worksheets and then review them together, discussing any challenges they faced and celebrating their successes.

3. Engage in Daily Reading Activities

A fundamental approach to how to practice reading comprehension is by establishing a daily reading routine. Choose a variety of books that interest your child and dedicate a quiet time each day for reading together. After reading, discuss the book, asking questions about the characters, plot, and what they learned. This practices comprehension skills and turns reading into a shared, enjoyable activity.

4. Create a Reading-Friendly Environment

Creating a reading-friendly environment at home is essential in how to improve reading comprehension. This involves having a variety of reading materials available, including books, magazines, and newspapers, suited to your child’s age and interests. Also, model the behavior by reading yourself; seeing parents engaged in reading can motivate children to pick up the habit.

5. Discuss Real-Life Connections

Connecting the text and real-life experiences can significantly boost comprehension skills. After your child reads a story or article, ask them how it relates to their own life, events they’ve heard about, or other stories they’ve read. This helps solidify their understanding and encourages them to think critically about the text.

6. Encourage Writing Summaries

Encouraging your child to write short summaries of their reading is a fantastic way to reinforce comprehension. This exercise helps them distill the main ideas and supporting details from texts, improving their ability to identify and articulate key points.

Mastering how to improve reading comprehension is a journey that involves consistent practice, engagement, and the right strategies. By incorporating the techniques discussed in this blog, educators and parents can significantly enhance children’s ability to understand and retain what they read. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why am i struggling with reading comprehension.

Struggling with reading comprehension can result from various factors, including limited vocabulary, lack of background knowledge, or difficulty focusing and retaining information.

What are the 5 steps that should be taken to improve reading comprehension?

• Increase your vocabulary through regular reading.
• Practice summarizing texts to grasp the main ideas.
• Ask and answer questions about what you’ve read.
• Make connections to personal experiences or other texts.
• Use graphic organizers to visualize information and structure.

How do you fix poor reading comprehension?

Improving poor reading comprehension involves practicing targeted reading strategies, expanding vocabulary, engaging in discussions about texts, and gradually increasing the complexity of reading materials.

What is the root cause of poor reading comprehension?

The root cause of poor reading comprehension often lies in factors such as limited vocabulary, lack of practice, difficulties with decoding words, or cognitive challenges affecting information processing.

What are the three factors that affect reading comprehension?

Three major factors affecting reading comprehension are:

• Reader’s vocabulary and language proficiency.
• Reader’s prior knowledge and experience with the topic.
• Text complexity and structure.

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• Choosing Effective Vocabulary
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• Key Terms and the Inference Continuum
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Reading Widely to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

As a literature specialist, I read as much as I can, and find that I’m constantly learning about and from the texts I encounter. Reading engages our minds in ways that nothing else can, and it not only provides us with knowledge but also challenges us to think in new ways.

Significantly, reading develops the critical thinking skills that are essential to success in a wide range of areas: skills of analysis, interpretation, and of being able to create an argument and explain it. This is why it’s essential to read often and widely. Take a look at some of the ways wide reading can develop your critical thinking:

Reading improves vocabulary and language skills . You will become aware of the techniques used by good writers and learn new words and their connotations. This will help develop your own command of language both when you write and when you have to explain things verbally. You will find that you have a new ability to analyse, explain, and persuade!

Every good story has a problem.  Problem solving is at the heart of critical thinking, and when you read, you will see how characters solve the problems they face. You will also be thinking about a character’s problem, and possible solutions before you find out what the character does. When you engage with a story, you will start to make predictions based on the information you have been given. You will find yourself looking for clues and pieces of evidence you can use to solve the puzzle, and you will be able to apply these problem-solving skills to the tasks and problems you encounter at school and in your everyday life.

Use your imagination.  Reading forces you to imagine the world of the story: what the landscape and characters look like, what their thoughts are and how they interact with other characters and their world. If you read a book rather than watching the movie, you will have to form your own version of the writer’s world based on the language they use.

Grow your knowledge base and develop areas of interest . If you read widely, you can learn about new subjects or learn more within an existing area of interest. You won’t only learn facts and information, but wide reading will improve your organisational skills (you will learn how a complex text is organized and how to navigate it) and your ability to comprehend and analyse a text you haven’t seen before. You will be able to apply what you learn to other questions you face and use your new skills to understand other books you read.

To get started, why not talk to your Seven Springs Education tutor about your interests? They can help you with some reading recommendations. I often do this with my students. If you enjoy the Percy Jackson series, you might want to read further tales of mythology and fantasy, for example  Aru Shah and the End of Time  by Roshani Chokshi, or  The Jumbies  by Tracey Baptiste. Or you could try something different in a genre you wouldn’t usually read. Perhaps you could start with a mystery story such as  Chasing Vermeer  by Blue Balliett, or Robert Westall’s  The Watchtower , which is both a mystery story and a ghost story. The important thing to remember is to read what you enjoy and pursue your interests, but don’t forget to challenge yourself sometimes by trying something different.

It is important not to think of critical thinking as a natural gift that we either have or we don’t, but as an ability that we can train, develop, and improve. Reading widely will definitely help with this and will give you the skills you need to think clearly and rationally in order to solve all kinds of problems.

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3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking

• Helen Lee Bouygues

But simple doesn’t mean easy.

Too many business leaders are simply not reasoning through pressing issues, and it’s hurting their organizations.  The good news is that critical thinking is a learned behavior. There are three simple things you can do to train yourself to become a more effective critical thinker: question assumptions, reason through logic, and diversify your thought and perspectives. They may sound obvious, but deliberately cultivating these three key habits of mind go a long way in helping you become better at clear and robust reasoning.

A few years ago, a CEO assured me that his company was the market leader. “Clients will not leave for competitors,” he added. “It costs too much for them to switch.” Within weeks, the manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble elected not to renew its contract with the firm. The CEO was shocked — but he shouldn’t have been.

• HB Helen Lee Bouygues is the president of the Paris-based Reboot Foundation . A former partner at McKinsey & Company, she has served as interim CEO, CFO, or COO for more than one dozen companies.

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13 Easy Steps To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

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With the sheer volume of information that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis – and with the pervasiveness of fake news and social media bubbles – the ability to look at evidence, evaluate the trustworthiness of a source, and think critically is becoming more important than ever. This is why, for me, critical thinking is one of the most vital skills to cultivate for future success.

Critical thinking isn’t about being constantly negative or critical of everything. It’s about objectivity and having an open, inquisitive mind. To think critically is to analyze issues based on hard evidence (as opposed to personal opinions, biases, etc.) in order to build a thorough understanding of what’s really going on. And from this place of thorough understanding, you can make better decisions and solve problems more effectively.

To put it another way, critical thinking means arriving at your own carefully considered conclusions instead of taking information at face value. Here are 13 ways you can cultivate this precious skill:

1. Always vet new information with a cautious eye. Whether it’s an article someone has shared online or data that’s related to your job, always vet the information you're presented with. Good questions to ask here include, "Is this information complete and up to date?” “What evidence is being presented to support the argument?” and “Whose voice is missing here?”

2. Look at where the information has come from. Is the source trustworthy? What is their motivation for presenting this information? For example, are they trying to sell you something or get you to take a certain action (like vote for them)?

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3. Consider more than one point of view. Everyone has their own opinions and motivations – even highly intelligent people making reasonable-sounding arguments have personal opinions and biases that shape their thinking. So, when someone presents you with information, consider whether there are other sides to the story.

4. Practice active listening. Listen carefully to what others are telling you, and try to build a clear picture of their perspective. Empathy is a really useful skill here since putting yourself in another person's shoes can help you understand where they're coming from and what they might want. Try to listen without judgment – remember, critical thinking is about keeping an open mind.

5. Gather additional information where needed. Whenever you identify gaps in the information or data, do your own research to fill those gaps. The next few steps will help you do this objectively…

6. Ask lots of open-ended questions. Curiosity is a key trait of critical thinkers, so channel your inner child and ask lots of "who," "what," and "why" questions.

7. Find your own reputable sources of information, such as established news sites, nonprofit organizations, and education institutes. Try to avoid anonymous sources or sources with an ax to grind or a product to sell. Also, be sure to check when the information was published. An older source may be unintentionally offering up wrong information just because events have moved on since it was published; corroborate the info with a more recent source.

8. Try not to get your news from social media. And if you do see something on social media that grabs your interest, check the accuracy of the story (via reputable sources of information, as above) before you share it.

9. Learn to spot fake news. It's not always easy to spot false or misleading content, but a good rule of thumb is to look at the language, emotion, and tone of the piece. Is it using emotionally charged language, for instance, and trying to get you to feel a certain way? Also, look at the sources of facts, figures, images, and quotes. A legit news story will clearly state its sources.

10. Learn to spot biased information. Like fake news, biased information may seek to appeal more to your emotions than logic and/or present a limited view of the topic. So ask yourself, “Is there more to this topic than what’s being presented here?” Do your own reading around the topic to establish the full picture.

11. Question your own biases, too. Everyone has biases, and there’s no point pretending otherwise. The trick is to think objectively about your likes and dislikes, preferences, and beliefs, and consider how these might affect your thinking.

12. Form your own opinions. Remember, critical thinking is about thinking independently. So once you’ve assessed all the information, form your own conclusions about it.

13. Continue to work on your critical thinking skills. I recommend looking at online learning platforms such as Udemy and Coursera for courses on general critical thinking skills, as well as courses on specific subjects like cognitive biases.

Read more about critical thinking and other essential skills in my new book, Future Skills: The 20 Skills & Competencies Everyone Needs To Succeed In A Digital World . Written for anyone who wants to surf the wave of digital transformation – rather than be drowned by it – the book explores why these vital future skills matter and how to develop them.

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