There are many people who find it hard to completely comprehend what they are reading. This can be hard especially on college students who need to read and study on their own for class tests. There are some certain things that you can do to help improve your reading comprehension skills to better understand what you are reading. This works for everybody and just not students.


1. Read aloud if you don't understand something. If you actually hear the words, you can better comprehend what the author of the book is trying to say. You may think that this will sound funny, but you should read in a quiet place anyways, so no one will know that you are reading your book aloud.

2. Highlight or make a list of any unknown words that you come across while reading. Try to always have a dictionary handy so when you come across these words, you can quickly look them up to find out what they mean. Some people even write unknown words in a notebook or on paper and every once in awhile take a look at them and their definitions just to better their vocabulary skills.

3. Read somewhere quite if you are having a hard time concentrating on your reading material. Distractions and excess noise will only hurt your reading comprehension. How can you comprehend something you read when you really aren't paying attention to it?

4. Ask yourself questions while you are reading. Ask yourself what the author is trying to say or what is the important information that you should know. By asking yourself these questions you can help yourself comprehend what the book is trying to get across. This also helps the information stick in your memory because you are taking mental notes on it. If you find that mental notes are not working, then take your own notes on paper to help you better understand and remember what is going on in the book

Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4603944_improve-reading-comprehension-skills.html