ADVANTAGES OF A GOOD READING HABIT AND STEPS TO MAINTAINING IT.

Hi everyone its your potential blogger @davieson sorry for being away for sometime now, today i am going to write on good reading habit....... In this modern age of information and revolution reading is the only way to get connected with the fast moving trend, especially as the internet the store house of information, is accessed, more than any other means, through reading, hence for one to be able to get this informative move on with the world, one must develop an effective voracious reading culture. To do this, one must constantly work on improving the reading skill.
Improving your reading skills will reduce unnecessary reading time and enable you to read un a more focused and selective manner. You will also be able to increase your level of understanding and concentration. There are steps which can be taken in other to improve reading skills and these steps include

1. Identify the reason for reading: the first and most important step to developing reading skill is to decipher the reason for embarking on the act of reading. Ask yourself, why do I want to read? Are you reading for entertainment or to learn something? This way you do not read anything than your set goals.
2. Select the right text: having identify the reason for reading, especially in accordance with the set goal. It is pertinent to choose the right text. For instance if you were set to read about the human skeleton and parts of the body; the right text would be a biology text or human anatomy text, not a sports magazine. Choosing a right text is as important as dieting well. Not every letter, magazine and email you receive contains information you need. In-fact throw away any unrelated text. Just doing this will double the amount of time you have available to read.
3. Choose the right reading environment: if you really want to concentrate on your reading, step away from any gadget that can easily distract you like televisions, radios, phones and chatty people. These distractions make it difficult to focus, dragging out reading and causing frustration. Try reading in a quiet, well lit place with a desk and comfortable chair. If you can, you will read faster and comprehend more if you read in an environment that is comfortable for you.
4. Scan the text before reading: look at the table of contents, index, topics, photo captions, etc. this will help you determine if you have a real interest in this reading and what information you are likely to get from it.
5. Skim the text first: skimming materials works perfectly well with informative materials and resources such as textbooks and non-fiction. Skimming is the process of speedy reading for general meaning. Let your eyes skip over sentences or phrases which contains detail. Concentrate on identifying the central or main points. You can do this by a brief preview or selection of text prior to detailed reading and then refreshing your understanding of a selection of text following detailed reading.
6. Create questions you would want the text to answer: this involves writing down you would want the text to answer at the end of the reading exercise. Question you to take an active approach to your reading. Record your question as you read. They can also be used as prompts for follow up work.
7. Take notes as you read speedily: keep a notebook nearby to jot down thoughts and brief notes to help you process your reading. This will avoid any re-reading later and also helps develop your ability to process the “nuggets from the noise”. Do not highlight. Highlighting works for drawing attention to certain areas of what you have read and could be helpful but they actually distract your reading progress. The goal of improving your reading efficiency is to be able to read fluidly and comprehend the information and develop your ability to process useful information.
8. Read in portions: long complex reading can be more digestible by breaking it up to pieces. Shorter segments will help students retain the information as they class discusses the materials. It can also help students build confidence in understanding a complex subject.
9. Write down new words you want to learn: when you encounter a word or concept that seems essential to a text’s meaning, make a note of it. If you are reading a text book, these might even be set apart in bold print, or in separate vocabulary section. You can write words or concepts to study them later, or even make a set of flash cards. If you come across a word or concept that seems important but is not clearly defined in the text, look it up in a dictionary or encyclopedia (either online or print). If you see certain words being used over and over again, that is another sign that they are important for what you are reading and worth looking up.
10. Practice problems solving skills: try blending real world problem solving skills into what you have read. Practice what you have learnt from the text you read and that way you will find it difficult to forget what you have learnt.
11. Enjoy it: enjoying what you have read is a great way to develop your skills faster and naturally, the more you enjoy it the more you will do it.
12. Check your progress: tracking your progress is a great motivator to keep you writing. Periodically taking a test to calculate your reading speed can help you track your developments and help you see just how rewarding an improve reading speed can be.