Reading For Retention

Basic Rules to Understand and Retain More from What You Read

How to Read, a book, is a guide on how to get more from your reading. When we read in this way, we retain more of what we read and make insights and connections we can recall later.

Basic Reading Rules

1. Reading is an active, not passive, activity. As readers, we need to make an effort to understand what the author is trying to tell us.

2. There are 4 basic reading levels

a) Elementary

At this reading level, we are able to understand the basics of grammar and the level of vocabulary used by the author. This seems simple; however, it is the basis for understanding everything we read

b) Inspectional

This reading level answers the question of whether or not you want to read a book in the first place. You can absorb the basics of a book in a limited amount of time. Essentially, you are skimming the parts of the book that are of interest. Look over the table of contents and then skip to the particular chapters that are of interest to you.

If you decide the book is of interest to you, start reading it but keep it brief, ignoring finer details and things you don't understand on the first read. Looking up words and going through footnotes during your first read disrupts the reading process. Knowing what the book is about will help you understand the more complex parts when you read it a second time.

c) Analytical reading

At this level, we are digesting the contents of the book. The first step is to identify the type of book we are reading, because this will help you understand the themes of the book and how they connect with one another. Knowing the aim of the book will also help you understand the more complex parts later.

After you classify the book, you can look at the text to identify the plot and how the different themes relate to the whole book. In this step, we are summarizing its story and the different themes or subplots in the book in a few sentences. This is an “x-ray” of the book. The analytical reader is asking organized questions about what he is reading.

To clarify what you are reading, first identify the keywords, followed by the proposition. The proposition is an answer to a question, a declaration of knowledge, or the author’s opinion. Being able to rephrase the key sentences in your own words usually means you have understood what the author is trying to say.

Taking a critical look at the text means you are evaluating the significance of a book by asking, “Is this true?” or “What if it...?" You are identifying places where you agree, disagree, or feel that the author has contradicted themselves.

d) Synoptical reading

This level entails reading two or more books on the same subject in order to investigate a topic and gain a deeper understanding of the ideas being put forward.

You are utilizing inspectional and analytical reading to identify various books you could read on specific topics.

The difference here is that you are trying to answer a question and form an opinion based on the diverse perspectives and opinions you are reading.

Each of these rules can be developed according to the different genres, as some will apply to some and not others. Also, reading books in the order in which they were written by the same author will make it easier to understand ideas that develop over several books.

Final Thoughts

Absorbing and understanding texts can be done more efficiently by using these straightforward and simple techniques. Instead of taking each author’s ideas for granted, question them. Asking things like "do these ideas flow logically?" and "are there holes in the arguments?" will help you be a more active reader and allow you to effectively analyze and evaluate what you are reading.

Follow me for more on productivity, habits, personal development, flow, writing, and mindset. And on Twitter @mj_jens0

Join my email list to receive a weekly newsletter with tips, highlights, and extra content!