Learning Strategies Development

Queen's University

Graduate Students

Comprehension

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Good comprehension involves:

Being able to select and understand what you need
Retaining and recalling the information
Linking the new information to existing information

Comprehension is affected by:

Level of difficulty and complexity
Level of interest
Background knowledge
Jargon, new vocabulary
Knowledge of English language structure

Types of Reading Comprehension
According to Makau (1990) there are 3 types of reading:

Content reading - understanding the information
Empathic reading - understanding the spirit of the message
Critical reading - combines the first two with analysis and evaluation

Source: Makau, J. (1990). Reasoning and communication: Thinking critically about arguments. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES

SQ4R: Survey, Question, Read, React, Recite, Review
The SQ4R assists university students to read more effectively and efficiently. SQ4R is a powerful approach that incorporates a number of reading skills and techniques such as skimming, elaborating, note-making, and reciting.

To see how SQ4R can be applied to textbook reading, go to the Undergraduate Student tab. Download the module "Academic Reading". In the pdf version, go to the TOOLS "SQ4R for Textbook Reading" and "Mindmap of SQ4R" on pp. 23-24.

SQ4R can also be applied to any written genres such as research papers.

Using SQ4R to Read a Research Paper (76 KB)

Reading Research Papers

One of the common sources of information at grad school is the research paper as they are the means by which a student learns new contributions to his/her field. Because a research paper adheres to a strict format (i.e. introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion), on the surface they might appear easy to read. However, their condensed style (due to page limitations and assumed knowledge of audience) requires strong reading comprehension skills. Alongside general comprehension of the information provided, the reader needs to analyze and critique the thesis, determine the reliability and validity of the research data, and judge whether the paper is worthy of further attention. To do so requires critical thinking, which is covered in the next section. For a list of guided questions to help you process a research paper, see:

Using Guiding Questions to Assist with Reading a Research Paper (59 KB)

How to Read Research Papers (97 KB)