Create a habit of reading

There is an importunate relationship between creation of writers and perusing the same by readers. Writer exemplifies his imaginations and gives them a body of words. Readers grasp, chew, swallow and digest all that is served by the writer depending on the intensity of the inscriptions and gravity of the same. A man is always eager to learn from his surroundings.  He does so by observation, conversation, experience, reading and sharing his thoughts with others. From the medieval to the renaissance stage, man has evolved a tremendous inclination for reading.  All have their own ways of reading and mastering their techniques to maximize the benefits of reading.  Reading is a typical habit and people read according to their own style.  Some people read silently and some loudly. 

According to the National Reading Panel, reading skill scatters through various domains which are termed as “phonemic awareness”, “phonics”, “fluency”, “vocabulary” and “reading comprehension.”  Reading habit is a constant practice, and it can be developed by regular reading which is derived from adding of many things.  All the above domains definitely invigorate the readers to read effectively.

Habit of reading:

The habit of reading should be instilled in a person from the childhood so that the habit of reading grows along with his age. The initial stage up to the age six is known as zero stage. This stage is recognized as a pre-reading stage or a reading readiness stage.

Once the zero stage is over, a child enters into an initial reading stage.  This is known as the stage one.  In stage two, which starts from the age of eight onwards, a child is in a position to identify the importance of reading and also confirms his/her willingness for reading habit. This stage is called confirmatory stage. In stage three, the child reads more and more for the purpose of effective learning.  This stage starts normally at the age of ten.  In stage four, when the child leaves this phase and enters into adolescent phase starts developing opinions, expresses, view points, etc.  In the final and fifth stage of reading habit, a person concentrates his attention on a particular subject and forms his own judgment based on the pros and cons of reading materials.

Modus-operandi of reading:

Peoples’ tendency towards reading depends on the quality of reading materials. They devote their attention if the narrations, characters, context and style of the reading materials are lucid. They remain engrossed with the texts. Out of many techniques, the most prominent are the three viz. scanning, skimming and concept making techniques. All these tools, if effectively used can augment a skill of reading considerably.

Anyone who decides to purchase or a hire a book from market or library, he at first sight gives a cursory glance at a book stall. People ascertain the contents meeting their reading taste. Then, they scan the materials and skim the contents using the concept mapping technique. This concept induces the brain to record the information given in the book and understand the interconnectivity of the ideas expressed in the book. The concept mapping technique helps storing information into the brain. A combination of these three tools enhances a desire to read the particular book.

Another popular reading technique is SQRRR which stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recall and Review. As per this method, whatever you are reading, survey is critical. The survey will raise questions, and the answers thereof will make you to pay for the text.  Readings will further lead you to recall the contents and store it into the memory for further review. Many people take another method of reading which is known as stage-by-stage reading.  In the first stage, the entire contents are scrutinized with some of the portions of the text and are cross checked with rapt attention.  Thereafter an opinion is formed.  If the opinion is positive, the readers focus his attention in depth to the contents and separately concentrate on the introduction, the control portion and the end of the reading material. This stage is known as a previewing stage.  Here, the readers make their judgment and form an analytical view on the worth of the book as far as reading fully is concerned.  If this stage is also positive, a book is to be read thoroughly, contents after contents so as to take the fragrance of the narrated text, style, etc.  When this stage is over, automatically the readers would like to call back their memory to review the contents. This method of reading provokes the readers to form a habit of intensive reading to enhance the skill.

To increase the effectiveness of reading, following suggestions should be considered.

1.         To give importance to quality reading. Quality reading will enhance the reading skill.

2.         Reading is a structured method. You need to decide as to what to read and what to skip, depending on your interest, time, inclination and commitment.

3.         Always keep a dictionary handy.  If you are not able to recognize a particular word, you should immediately rely upon a dictionary for solution.

4.         Do not gobble the words of the text. In that case, you will not be in a position to enjoy the pleasure of reading and derive its meaning.

5.         If you are a fast reader with a speed of 200 to 300 words per minute, you may stick to the same, but without deteriorating the quality aspect of the reading.

6.         You must be sure of the reason of your reading.  If you indulge in the clueless reading, it cannot be classified as a quality reading.

7.         Always concentrate on the subject and its contents and context of the materials.

8.         You have to stick to 3 “Ws” before you undertake reading.  These are “why”, “what” and “when”. The combination of these three “Ws” will decide the quality of the reading.

9.         Make a habit of reading of exceptional kind of books instead of particular type of reading.

10.     If you are not able to retrieve the meaning of the contents of the material, revisit the same later on, but do not exert pressure on your mind. Excessive pressure will jeopardize the concept of quality reading.

11.     Your reading schedule is to be set in such a manner that it coincides with your ability of grasping the text.

12.     If you find a certain portion of the reading uninteresting, leave it, and stop reading it for the time being.  A volatile mind will not be able to digest the meaning of the text material.

13.     While reading, underline the important phrases, narrations, words, dialogues, etc.

14.     Develop the habit of converting the texts in your own words.  This will enable you to read fast.

15.     You can eliminate the prologue portion of the text, and after reading, you can scribble the main theme of the material in your journal so that the reading becomes easy.

16.     It may happen that you generate your own thoughts during the process of reading and if so, the same can be entered in your journal and it will help you to recall the reading.

17.     Do not insist upon reading auxiliary verbs, conjunction, prepositions, and definite / indefinite articles to easily understand the meaning of the text.

18.     Practice the habit of keeping colour pencils, so that the relevant portions of the text pre-decided by you can be color-codified.

19.     Try to visualize the written text into a pictorial form for easy understanding.

20.     Spare some amount of time each day for reading. This will be ultimately become your habit throughout the life.

21.     Try to read the words, sentences, paragraphs in one go because that will make you focus more on the text.

22.     Do not stick to any specific reading materials such as books, magazines, newspapers, study materials, etc.  Let it take its own course of action as far as reading is concerned.