7 Active Reading Strategies for Students

7 Active Reading Strategies for Students Active reading techniques can help you stay focused and retain more information, but its a skill that takes time and effort to develop. Here are some strategies to help you get started right away. 1. Identify New Words Most of us develop a bad habit of glossing over words that are vaguely familiar to us, often not even realizing we are doing so. When you  read a difficult passage or book for an assignment, take a few moments to really observe challenging words. You will likely find that there are many words that you think you know- but that you can’t really define. Practice by underlining every noun or verb that you cannot replace with a synonym. Once you have a list of words, write the words and definitions in a logbook. Revisit this log several times and quiz yourself on the words. 2. Find the Main Idea or Thesis As your reading level increases, the complexity of your material will likely increase as well. The thesis or main idea may no longer be provided in the first sentence; it may instead be located in the second paragraph or even the second page. Finding the thesis is crucial to comprehension. You’ll need to practice finding the thesis of the text or article each time youre reading. 3. Create a Preliminary Outline Before you dive into reading the text of a difficult book or chapter, take some time to scan the pages for subtitles and other indications of the structure. If you don’t see subtitles or chapters, look for transition words between paragraphs. Using this information, you can craft a preliminary outline of the text. Think of this as the reverse of creating an outline for your essays and research papers. Going backward in this way helps you absorb the information you are reading. Your mind will, therefore, be better able to â€Å"plug† the information into the mental framework. 4. Read With a Pencil Highlighters can be overrated. Some students commit highlighter overkill and end up with a sloppy multi-colored mess. Sometimes it’s more effective to use a pencil and sticky notes when you write. Use the pencil to underline, circle, and define words in the margins, or (if you’re using a library book) use sticky notes to mark a page and a pencil to write specific notes to yourself. 5. Draw and Sketch No matter what type of information you’re reading, visual learners can always create a mind map, a Venn diagram, a sketch, or a timeline to represent the information. Start by taking a clean sheet of paper and creating a visual representation of the book or chapter you’re reading. Youll be amazed by the difference this will make for retaining information and remembering details. 6. Make a Shrinking Outline A shrinking outline is another useful tool for reinforcing the information that you read in a text or in your class notes. To make a shrinking outline, you need to re-write material you see in your text (or in your notes). While it is a time-consuming exercise to write out your notes, it is also a very effective one. Writing is a necessary part of active reading. Once you have written out a few paragraphs of material, read it over and think of one keyword that represents an entire paragraph’s message. Write that keyword in the margin. Once you have written several keywords for a long text, go down the line of keywords and see if each word will prompt you to remember the full concept of the paragraph it represents. If not, re-read the paragraph and choose a more accurate keyword. Once every paragraph can be recalled by a keyword, you can begin to create clumps of keywords. If necessary (e.g. if you have a lot of material to memorize) you can reduce the material again so that one word or acronym helps you remember the clumps of keywords. 7. Read Again and Again Science tells us that we all retain more when we repeat a reading. It’s good practice to read once for a basic understanding of the material, and read at least one more time to grasp the information more thoroughly.

Modal and Phraseological Verbs in Italian

Modal and Phraseological Verbs in Italian In addition to the Italian auxiliary verbs essere and avere, Italian modal  and phraseological verbs also serve as support to other verbs. Italian phraseological verbs (verbi fraseologici)  include   stare,  cominciare,  iniziare,  continuare,  seguitare,  finire, and  smettere,  which, when used before another verb (mostly in the  infinitive, but also as a  gerund), define a particular verbal aspect. Read on to learn more about these important Italian helping verbs. Modal Verbs The Italian modal verbs are dovere, potere, volere- meaning, respectively: necessity, possibility, and volition- they precede the infinitive of another verb and indicate a mode, such as in the following examples. The sentences show how to use these three verbs in Italian, followed by the type of mode in parentheses, followed by the English translation: Sono dovuto tornare (necessit)- I had to come back (need).Non ho potuto aiutarlo (possibilit).- I could not help him (possibility).Rita vuole dormire (volont).- Rita wants to sleep (will). To underscore the close link between the modal verb and the verb that follows it, the former usually takes the auxiliary of the second: Sono tornato. / Sono dovuto (potuto, voluto) tornare.Ho aiutato. / Ho potuto (dovuto, voluto) aiutare. This translates in English to: Im back. / I had to (have, wanted to) return.  I helped. / I have (had, wanted to) help.. It is common to encounter modal verbs with the auxiliary avere, even when the governing verb requires the auxiliary essere, as in: Sono tornato. / Ho dovuto (potuto, voluto) tornare.- Im back. / I had to (have, wanted to) return. Modal Verbs Followed by Essere In particular, the modal verbs take the auxiliary verb avere when they are followed by the verb essere: Ho dovuto (potuto, voluto) essere magnanimo.- I had to (have, wanted) to be magnanimous. The presence of an unstressed pronoun, which can be placed before or after the servile verb, has an effect on the choice of the auxiliary verb, such as: Non ho potuto andarci.  Non sono potuto andarci.Non ci sono potuto andare. Non ci ho potuto andare. This transelates in English to: I could not go there. I am not able to go there.  I could not go there. I could not go there. In addition to dovere, potere, and volere, other verbs such as sapere (in the sense of being able to), preferire, osare, and desiderare can also support the infinitive forms: So parlare inglese. Preferirei andarci da solo.Non osa chiedertelo. Desideravamo tornare a casa. In English, this translates to: I can speak English. Id rather go alone.  Do not dare ask. We wanted to go home. Phraseological Verbs To understand phraseological verbs, its helpful to view how they are used in context, in brief prases. Each of the following phases in Italian uses a phraseological verb, followed by the type of action being described, followed by the translation of the phrase and type of action in English: Sto parlando (azione durativa) - Im talking about  (action durative)So per parlare (azione ingressiva)- I know from talking  (ingressive action)Cominciai a parlare (inizio dellazione)- began to talk  (onset of action)Continuai a parlare (proseguimento dellazione)- continued to talk  (continuation of)Smisi di parlare (fine dellazione)- I stopped talking  (end of action) Additionally, various phrases and expressions are used idiomatically in Italian: essere sul punto di, andare avanti, a etc.- be about to,  go ahead, and  etc.