How to Improve Your Reading Skills

Here is a list of “Fix-up” strategies which you can use to monitor and regain comprehension as you are reading challenging texts. 

• Notice when you drift off and bring yourself back to the text. 
• Notice when you lose understanding,  and identify specifically what is confusing you.
• Make connections to the text with prior knowledge and life experience.
• Predict what you think will come next in the text.
• Ask questions as if you are speaking to the author.
• Reread passages. 
• Preview section headings or read ahead to get the big picture.
• “Chunk” complex sentences into smaller units and address them one section at a time.
• Summarize or paraphrase a sentence or paragraph in your own words.
• Deal with unfamiliar vocabulary by using context clues and root meanings.
• Look up unfamiliar vocabulary words or search an unfamiliar concept.
• Create a list, image, or picture to represent text, either mentally or on paper.
• Read the text out loud.
• Read the text more slowly.
• Discuss the text with another reader.
• Tolerate ambiguity—be willing to read on even if text isn’t perfectly clear.

Proofreading and Editing Advice

Below I've outlined some generally good advice for proof reading and editing your papers. These are techniques that I use and have found useful. Integrate them into your own writing process.

1. Give yourself time. If you finish your paper at 1:00 am the day it is due, your mind will be Swiss cheese and you will not be able to look at your work critically. If a rooster is crowing somewhere in the United States, you have not given yourself enough time.

2. Really, give yourself time. Greatness does not come from burning the midnight oil. Grammar and punctuation mistakes, leaps in logic, and lowered grades do.

3. Give yourself a day in-between completing your paper and looking it over. When you proofread your paper just after you've completed it, you lack the critical distance necessary to really look over your paper. Your words will make sense to you because your ideas are fresh in your head and are still a part of your thinking process. Other people, however, are not privy to your intimate thoughts.

4. Read your paper aloud, preferably to a friend (you can buy them coffee later). Reading your work aloud will make re-reading your paper a fuller experience. You will read slower and your ear will help you pick up mistakes your eye will miss.

5. Have someone else look it over for you (again coffee). A fresh pair of eyes will do wonders.

6. Read your paper backwards. Backwards paper your read? No, not like that. Start at the end of your paper and then work your way back paragraph by paragraph. Often times, we start strong and end weak when we write. Proofreading backwards allows you to follow your progress and make improvements. It is also a good tactic to take after you've gone through your first and second read through and find yourself skimming the first part of the essay or getting tired by the end of it.

7. Compose a reverse outline. Not sure if your paper makes sense? Make a reverse outline of your paper, highlighting your main points. You might find that you are missing a step in your thinking.

Transitions

Cause and Effect
1. accordingly
2. as a result
3. consequently
4. hence
5. it follows, then
6. since
7. therefore
8. thus

Conclusion
1. as a result
2. consequently
3. hence
4. in conclusion
5. in short
6. in sum, then
7. it follows, then
8. therefore
9. thus

Comparison
1. along the same lines
2. in the same way
3. likewise
4. similarly

Contrast
1. although
2. by contrast
3. conversely
4. despite
5. even though
6. nevertheless
7. nonetheless
8. on the contrary
9. on the other hand
10. regardless
11. whereas
12. however
13. in contrast
14. while
15. yet

Addition
1. also
2. besides
3. furthermore
4. moreover
5. indeed
6. in addition

Concession
1. admittedly
2. although it is true that
3. granted
4. I concede that
5. of course

Example
1. after all
2. as an illustration
3. consider
4. for example
5. for instance
6. specifically

They Say/I Say Template

Below you will find a number of different ways to integrate the thoughts of others into your own writing. For further reference I recommend Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstien's They Say/I Say. What follows was developed from the second edition of that book.

Introducing "Standard Views"
1. Many today tend to believe that _____.
2. Conventional wisdom has it that _____.
3. The standard way of thinking about topic (x) has it that _____.
4. It is often said that _____.
5. Many people assume that _____.

Introducing Something Implied or Assumed
1. One implication of X's treatment of _____ is that _____.
2. Although X does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that _____.

Introducing an Ongoing Debate

1. In discussions of X, one controversial issue has  been _____.
2. On the one hand, _____ argues _____. On the other hand, _____ contends _____.
3. My own view is _____.

Capturing Authorial Action

1.  X acknowledges that _____.
2. X agrees that _____.
3. X believes that _____.
4. X claims that _____.
5. X demonstrates that _____.
6. X insists that _____.
7. X reminds us that _____.

Introducing Quotations
1. X states, "_____" (#).
2. According to X, "_____" (#).
3. In her book, _____, X maintains that "_____" (#).
4. X agrees/disagrees when she writes, "_____" (#).
5. X complicates matters further when he writes, "_____" (#).

Disagreeing, With Reasons
1. I think X is mistaken because she overlooks _____.
2. X's claim that _____ rests upon the questionable assumption that _____.
3. By focusing on _____, X overlooks the deeper problem of _____.


Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously
1. Though I concede that _____, I still insist that _____.
2. Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that _____.
3. While X is probably wrong when she claims that _____, she is right that _____.

How to Write a Strong Thesis

1st story: Describes a topic; gives the facts; makes an observation. This level of thesis makes observations that are non-controversial (i. e. no reasonable person would disagree with them). A person reading such a thesis immediately thinks: "Yes, this is true."

2nd story: interprets, gives a point of view on, and/or adds controversy to the facts of the first story. By adding controversy, I mean it takes a position on the facts which is not obvious, a position which reasonable person could disagree with. A person reading a 2-story thesis thinks: "That's an interesting point of view; now prove it to me." By controversial, I do not mean this thesis has to be absurd or idiosyncratic; you'll never be able to convince your reader of that kind of argument. Rather, I mean it takes one position out of a number of positions.

3rd story: relates the 2-story thesis to the bigger picture, explains its significance, sets it a new context. This is the most difficult type of thesis to describe (and write) because it can take so many forms. I find it helpful to think of this story "opening out" - as if though a skylight - to a wider view. It is the answer you get when you ask of a 2-story thesis, "so what?" The reader should say: "I see why this argument matters." The pitfall in this type of thesis, that you want to be careful to avoid, is that it can get too ambitious, and try to make a bigger claim that you're able to substantiate (e.g. "My analysis of Sonnet 18 shows that all Western poetry is morally bankrupt and self-serving."

Examples

1st story: Anne Bradstreet's "The Author to Her Book" employs metrical substitution, imagery that depicts her writing as illegitimate child, and an allusion to Greek mythology.

2nd story: Anne Bradstreet's "The Author to Her Book" employs metrical substitution, imagery that depicts her writing as an illegitimate child, and an allusion to Greek mythology in order to convey her vexed relationship to her writing.

3rd story: Anne Bradstreet's "The Author to Her Book" employs metrical substitution, imagery that depicts her writing as an illegitimate child, and an allusion to Greek mythology, which allows her to convey her vexed situation as an author. This vexed quality, ultimately reflects on the larger situation of gender and writing in the new world.

4th Story!: There's no need for your essay to read like a list. Revise your thesis so that it flows more naturally.

Anne Bradstreet's "The Author to Her Book" reflects her vexed situation as an author, a relationship that largely reflects the prevailing attitudes about writing and gender in the New World.

In this example, you would still discuss those aspects listed above in the body of your essay, but there's no need for you to give a run down at the beginning of your paper.

As you can see, each story depends on the one below it. It is difficult, to say the least, to build a three-story house without a first story. The same holds true with a thesis: a two-story thesis needs a first story, and a three-story thesis needs a first and second story.

How to Write a Successful Paper

Guidelines for a Successful Paper:

A helpful metaphor for paper writing is that your argument is like a building, so make sure that every piece of evidence (quotations from the text and the analysis of those quotations) that you use as a brick in your building fits well and is strong. Make sure that you cement your evidence into your argument through the use of strong topic sentences that reflect the main point of the paragraph and concluding sentences that tie each paragraph back to your thesis.

Textual Evidence: Any good literary analysis must use many specific details to support the conclusions that it reaches. Make sure your own claims about the text are supported with specific quotations from the text. In addition, remember to explain as completely as possible the significance of the quotations you choose to cite. How does a particular quotation relate to your larger argument about the text? Quotations should always be accompanied by detailed analysis. Close reading is a crucial part of this essay; you must explain how specific elements within the material you quote help to establish that which you claim the quotation establishes. Remember to connect the steps in your thinking for your readers – the connections obvious in your mind usually aren’t obvious to us, and we want to understand the point you’re making. Quote selectively; cite only those passages that support your argument most effectively. Try to avoid using too many long quotations (over three lines); try to say more about less. One recipe for a good paragraph is something called the Paraburger:

State the argument of the paragraph (TOP BREAD)
Quote the text that you will use to make your point (SPECIAL SAUCE)
Analyze the significance of the quoted text to make your case, requoting where necessary (MEAT/VEGGIE PATTY)
Tie the point of your paragraph back to the main thesis of your paper (BOTTOM BREAD).

Arguable Thesis and Organization: Be sure to include a thesis stating your main claims about the text(s) near the beginning of your paper. Think of your thesis as a promise to the reader concerning the points you will make in the rest of the paper. Your thesis should focus and organize your essay; every paragraph you write should develop your thesis in some way. Tie every paragraph back to your thesis, thereby reinforcing the role the paragraph plays in your larger argument. Make an outline before you write to help you connect your thesis to the supporting paragraphs. Also, try making a paragraph from your thesis statement and all your topic sentences – if that paragraph is coherent, then you’re topic sentences (and hopefully also your paragraphs!) are on track. Try to conclude your argument with comments that do not simply repeat what you’ve already said, but point the reader to other connected ideas or issues.

Avoid Generalizations: Take the time to define key terms in your analysis in your own language. Always “earn your terms”—don’t just repeat expressions or phrases from lecture, but make sure that you define what you mean by key images or ideas. For example, if you cite a term from Lukacs, you still need to explain how exactly this term fits into the context of your particular argument (what do you mean by "consciousness"?). Try to build a convincing case for your interpretation of the text using specific logic and evidence. Focus on specific word choices and phrases in your analysis.