Reading deliberately, with active engagement, and interaction improves information retention

Interacting directly with the text engages your brain in many more ways than the usual, passive reading process.

Rather than cracking open a book to chapter 1 and starting to read every word right away, [[Previewing a text provides the necessary context and prepares you for what's ahead]]. Having an idea of what to expect makes it easier to connect all of the presented information because you will understand what's coming next as well as the purpose of the text.

Responding to the the text by annotating in the margins is a great way to mark "aha!" moments. [[Annotating a text is like having a conversation]] and provides a way to make permanent the comments and questions that would typically be ephemeral due to living solely in your head.

However, annotating text without doing anything else isn't the best way to engage with a text, but it does make it easier to identify locations to come back to when you're processing your notes. It's much better to process your annotations into outlines, summaries, and analyses([[Learning & Elaboration]]).

Now that you know what the author is saying, it's time to interpret what they mean and analyze it with [[Literary Analysis]].

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Higher-Level Links [[Critical Thinking]] - [[Literature]] -

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- [[Six Reading Habits]]