Reading with Concentration
Students often have trouble concentrating or understanding the content when they read textbooks. This is normal, and many factors contribute to this problem: the time of day, your energy level, your interest in the material, and your study location.
Consider these suggestions, and decide which would help you improve your reading ability:
- Find a quiet study place. Choose a room or location away from traffic and distracting noises such as the campus information commons. Avoid studying in your bed because your body is conditioned to go to sleep there.
- Mute or power off your electronic devices. Store your cell phone in your book bag or some other place where you aren’t tempted to check it. If you are reading on a device like a laptop or tablet, download what you need and disconnect from Wi-Fi to not to be tempted to email, chat, or check social media sites.
- Read in blocks of time, with short breaks in between. Some students can read for 50 minutes; others find that a 50-minute reading period is too long. By reading for small blocks of time throughout the day instead of cramming in all your reading at the end of the day, you should be able to process material more easily.
- Set goals for your study period. A realistic goal might be “I will read twenty pages of my psychology text in the next 50 minutes.” Reward yourself with a 10-minute break after each 50-minute study period.
- Engage in physical activity during breaks. If you have trouble concentrating or staying awake, take a quick walk around the library or down the hall. Stretch or take some deep breaths, and think positively about your study goals. Then go back to studying.
- Actively engage with the material. Write study questions in the margins, take notes, or recite key ideas. Reread confusing parts of the text, and make a note to ask your instructor for clarification.
- Focus on the important portions of the text. Pay attention to the first and last sentences of paragraphs and to words in italics or bold type.
- Understand the words. Use the glossary in the text or a dictionary to define unfamiliar terms.
- Use organizers as you read. Keep the maps, outlines, lists, or flash cards you created during your preview as you read, and add to them as you go. For example, you can use the following table to organize the information while you are reading. To complete this activity, download a copy here.
| Date: | Title: |
| Textbook: | Chapter: |
| What is the overall idea of the reading? | |
| What is the main idea of each major section of the reading? | Section 1:Section 2:Section 3: |
| What are the supporting ideas presented in the reading? Examples? Statistics? Any reference to research? |
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| What are the key terms and what do they mean? | |
| What are the conclusions from the reading? | |
| What are two or three things that I remember after reading? |
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YOUR TURN > TRY IT
The next time you are reading a textbook, monitor your ability to concentrate. Check your watch when you begin, and check it again when your mind begins to wander. How many minutes did you concentrate on your reading? What can you do to keep your mind from wandering? To complete this activity, download a copy here.