ESC Online Writing Center

Exercise for While You Read

To read actively, it helps to think of reading consisting of a three-stage process: before you read, while you are reading, and after you have read. At each stage, there are important tasks. This worksheet focuses on the second stage—during reading.

Reading actively means making connections between your current knowledge and what you are reading, and asking yourself questions as you read. As you read, you are having an ongoing internal dialogue with the author in which you reflect on, postulate and form opinions about, examine, and assess the author’s arguments. This ongoing commentary and analysis helps you, the reader, to understand and focus on the text.

While you read, use a pencil or highlighter to mark key ideas and supporting examples or evidence. Choose four main ideas from the text and respond with your feelings, interpretations, and assessments.

Main Ideas in the TextMy Responses
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.

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