evaluation paragraphs often follow summary, analysis, and synthesis paragraphs.

Encode –

Reflect –

Develop a system of symbols.

Writing down your thoughts while you are reading serves as a visual aid for studying and makes it easier for you to remember what you’ve read.

setting a purpose for your reading.

Now that you know how many sections make up the entire reading assignment, focus on setting aside enough time for reading and breaking the assignment into manageable chunks. For example, if you are assigned a seventy-page chapter to read for next week’s class, it is best not to wait until the night before to get started. How you choose to break up the reading assignment will depend on the type of reading it is. If the text is dense and packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts, you may need to read no more than five or ten pages in one sitting so that you can truly understand and process the information. With more user-friendly texts, you will be able to handle more pages in one sitting. And if you have a highly engaging reading assignment, such as a novel you cannot put down, you may be able to read lengthy passages in one sitting.

Ask yourself, What do I already know about this topic? Hint: Look at the title to learn the topic. Asking yourself what you already know about a topic activates your prior knowledge about it. Doing this helps your brain wake up its dendrites where that prior knowledge is stored so that it knows where the new knowledge will connect. Flip through the pages, reading the captions found under any pictures, tables, and other graphics. Pay attention to italicized or bolded Are these words defined for you in the margin or in a glossary? Read the comprehension questions you find in the margins or at the end of the chapter. Count how many sections of the chapter there are.

Have you ever stayed up all night cramming just before an exam?

Discourse communities exist in more than just academic situations.