Remember those colorful posters on the walls of your school library--the ones that cheerfully encouraged you to read?
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"Read in order to live."
(Gustave Flaubert) - "There is creative reading as well as creative writing."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson) - "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."
(Richard Steele)
All wise and true. But here's one message that you probably never saw on a poster:
Reading college textbooks is more challenging than reading high school texts or reading for pleasure.And that one's also true.
As you'll soon find out, college textbooks are filled with concepts, terms, and detailed explanations that you'll be expected to learn on your own in a short period of time. And yes, you'll have to read more material than you ever had to read in school. Just as significantly, you'll have to read more thoughtfully and more efficiently than you ever have before.
To do this, you'll need to follow a reading strategy that will improve your concentration and encourage deeper understanding of what you read. Fortunately, Grace Fleming, the About.com Guide to Homework/Study Tips, has outlined such a method in her article How to Understand a Difficult Book or Chapter. Follow the steps in Grace's guide and you'll be prepared to read well in college.
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