Profile of a Strategic Reader
Some people think that to do well on the SAT verbal you have to be some profound literary prodigy, when in reality, all you have to do is learn to read strategically. A strategic reader doesn’t necessarily have to the smartest person, but this type of reader will power through long readings with success and ease because they are well equipped and focused.
The Strategic Reader:
1. Analyzes: The strategic reader understands how different reading goals and various kinds of texts require specific reading strategies.
2. Plans/Discriminates: The strategic reader is able to identify his/her task and choose the appropriate reading strategy for the reading situation.
3. Self-Monitors: The strategic reader monitors his/her own comprehension by knowing that comprehension is occurring, what is being comprehended, and is able to repair and regulate that comprehension.
Some of these reading strategies include:
•skimming and summarizing
•paraphrasing
•looking for important ideas
•testing understanding
•identifying a pattern of text
•sequencing events
•looking for relationships
•reading ahead for clarification
•mentally executing the directions
•relating new knowledge to prior knowledge
•questioning
•clarifying
•prediction
The best way to develop the skills of is to practice applying the various techniques on reading passages. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with using these methods and you’ll start reading strategically automatically.