Self-Assessment & Monitoring

Self-Assessment Questions

• Am I comprehending what I need to and as much as I need to?
• How has this reading fit into the course and other materials?
• Am I considering the purpose of reading before I begin?
• Am I engaging my mind not just my eyes?
• Could I describe explicitly the strategies I'm using to read a text (e.g. SQ4R, Cornell)?
• What am I doing to increase recall of what I've read?

The final step to becoming an excellent reader is regular and ongoing monitoring of your knowledge, skills and attitudes towards reading.

Before you embark on improving your reading abilities, list several reading goals for yourself in terms of:

• knowledge you wish to gain
• skills you wish to acquire
• attitudes you wish to possess

For example, you might write the following about your Chemistry course:

• Overall Goal: Keep up with my CHEM readings so I don't have to read ten chapters 2 days before the finals.

• Knowledge: Learn how to read actively and take better notes.

• Skills: Practise the Cornell note-taking system

• Attitude: Stay focused when I'm reading; enjoy note-making and see value in reciting and reviewing my notes.

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