Active Reading
To implement the general principle of active reading, you should follow a three-step process:
- Grasp the structure of the reading.
- Read the introduction and conclusion.
- Skim the tops of the paragraphs.
Actively Remembering
As you read an article or memo, constantly ask yourself what you want to remember from it. Think about your purpose for reading before and during your review of the material. Think about what you want to remember during and after you review the material.
Distill what you want to remember into a few key points relevant to your purpose for reading this particular piece.
Takeaways
1. Don’t try to read more words per minute; increase your speed by reading fewer words–the ones most relevant to your goals.
2. Before you pick up a text, think carefully about why you are reading. Are you looking to learn the author’s general thesis? Are you looking for specific facts?
3. Have a clear rationale for reading a particular newspaper or other news source. What are you getting from this newspaper or source that you can’t get from others?
4. Look at the structure, especially headings, before you start to read. These will show how the piece is organized and give you an idea what topics will be covered.
5. Read the introduction in depth, looking for a thesis or theme sentence and a paragraph showing the organization of the piece.
6. Read the conclusion before you read the body. Often, the conclusion shows where the author is going and reviews the author’s main points.
7. Read the tops of body paragraphs. This will allow you to actively decide whether each paragraph is worth reading, in light of your reading purpose.
8. Don’t go further if the paragraph just repeats points that are already familiar to you, or if its content is not central to your purpose.
9. Focus constantly on finding what you want to remember from an article or memo.
10. If you are reading for the document’s main ideas, write a short summary of the ideas you want to remember when you finish the document.
11. If you are reading to evaluate the author’s analysis, write down each of the main steps in his or her argument. This will allow you to focus on these key steps as you delve further into the argument.
* Source: Extreme Productivity by Robert C. Pozen