The Key...

When reading a text, it's often times hard to understand what is going on when just simply reading it. I don't always get the concepts of stories that are supposed to have a deeper meaning because I'm not very good at picking apart the story to see what it's really about, I like having somebody tell me what is going on, but that can't always be done. In order to fully comprehend what is being said you need to read it strategically and this can be done in many ways. First skim over the entire text to get the jest of it. After that write down a few questions and then read the entire text. Once it has been read, mark it up. Mark what makes sense, what doesn't, main characters, main plots, thesis statements, purpose, and anything else that will help you better understand it. Sometimes to get a better understanding writing ideas down that agree with the text and don't disagree with the text can help. When I read something I try to pick out and highlight or underline key concepts and phrases that I think are important and try to piece it all together. Also, summarizing the story in your own words can be beneficial. Analyze the entire text so nothing is missing because one little thing could be crucial. After all that has been done try to imagine the bigger picture in how the author wrote it to see if it makes sense now. If it does then you have been successful at strategically reading, but if not then go through it some more to pick out more details.