10 Tips to Improve Your Reading Comprehension for College

Some college students struggle with assignments because they lack sufficient reading comprehension skills. According to the National Literacy Institute, 54% of U.S. adults have literacy skills below a 6th-grade level, while 20% are below a 5th-grade level. About half of Americans struggle with simple tasks such as reading prescription drug labels, and 130 million adults are unable to read stories to their children.

In high school, some savvy students can get by doing little reading and relying on class discussions to prepare them for quizzes and tests. It’s not easy to do the same in college — especially if you’re taking classes online. If reading is assigned, you are expected to do it.

You may find yourself faced with challenges if you are out of practice. Putting assignments off until the last minute won’t help either.

One way to ensure you’re learning all you can from your assignments is to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. Here are some active reading strategies and tools you can use to bolster your college reading abilities.

1. Find Your Reading Corner

The right reading environment should fit with your learning style and will increase your focus and concentration. Consider four factors:

• Atmosphere: Is there sufficient lighting? Do you have a comfortable chair?
• Distractions: Is the space quiet? Have you muted or turned off your phone?
• Location: Is this spot convenient?
• Schedule: Have you given yourself enough time to complete the reading and assignments?

2. Skim Before You Read

Preview the text, and ask some questions before you start reading. What’s the topic? What do you already know? What can you learn from the text from the table of contents, glossary, or introduction? What do titles, subheadings, charts, and graphs tell you?

3. Have a Reading Strategy

When you start reading, don’t let the text overwhelm you. Use these strategies to keep your reading assignment under control.

• Break up the reading: If an assignment seems daunting, break it into bite-sized sections.
• Pace yourself: Dense material, such as textbooks, can be tough to read. Manage your time well and schedule regular breaks.
• Check for understanding: As you read, occasionally ask yourself if you understand what is being communicated. If not, you may need to reread a paragraph or section to let the information sink in.

4. Highlight or Annotate the Text

Watch for important terms, definitions, facts, and phrases, and highlight them or add annotations within the document — digitally if you’re on a computer. However, don't get carried away with the highlighting.

If you’d rather not use a highlighter, try to annotate the text with notes in the margins, in comment mode, or by underlining key phrases. Also, look for and mark the main idea or thesis.

5. Take Notes on Main Points

This is different from highlighting because you can take your own notes separately. Here are a few note-taking strategies:

• Have your own style: You can try bullet points, mind mapping, outlines, or whatever method works for you.
• Turn subheaders into questions: Making section headers into questions can help you find the answers.
• Summarize as you read: After reading a paragraph, write a sentence to summarize the paragraph’s main points. Is the author’s thesis supported? Is an opposing view introduced?

6. Write Questions as You Read

Asking questions can help your comprehension. The tactic also works when reading. Ask questions in your notes — who, what, when, where, how — and then look for answers as you continue. Doing this can help you understand what you read.

7. Look Up Words You Don’t Know

Don’t let unfamiliar vocabulary derail you. Look up words in a dictionary before you go any further. It can be hard to recover if you miss the main point because of new words. You may want to bookmark an online dictionary, such as Merriam-Webster, to easily find definitions.

8. Make Connections

Look for links and connections between the text and your experiences, thoughts, ideas, and other texts. When readers relate the content to what they already know or think about how it connects to their lives, they can achieve a deeper understanding.

9. Review and Summarize

After you finish reading, summarize the text in your own words. This will help you understand the main ideas and take better notes.

10. Discuss What You've Read

Describe what you have learned to someone else. Talk to your professor or another classmate. Join discussion groups. This will move the information from short-term to long-term memory.

Additional Reading Comprehension Strategies and Tools

Sometimes, charting what you learned will help you digest what you’ve read. Here are some sites and tools you can use to help.

• Mastering Reading Comprehension Skills: Watch an instructor share tips for reading comprehension in this YouTube video.
• Inspiration^®: Create concept or mind maps, graphic organizers, webs, and more to make sense of reading materials.
• Purdue Global Academic Success Center: Purdue Global students can find online assistance with business, math, science, technology, and writing.
• Quizlet: Create flashcards, quizzes, and other study aids.
• Read&Write: Rephrase complicated text into simpler language with this Google Chrome extension.

Learn More About Purdue Global

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