How to Increase Critical Reading Comprehension

Assess the Reader's Comprehension Level

• 1

  Get an age-appropriate reading assessment at your school district English program or other educational agency, such as an adult education class.

• 2

  Visit the U.S. Department of Education website, where you can find a program in your state to help increase your reading skills (see Resources below).

• 3

  Schedule a meeting with a tutor to evaluate you or your child. More information about tutors can be found at the U.S. Department of Education website.

Learn Critical Reading Comprehension Techniques

• 4

  Select a book to read. Use exercises to increase critical comprehension such as making personal connections to the text while you read it.

• 5

  Explore the use of literary elements such as characters, vocabulary and themes by taking notes while you read.

• 6

  Develop an understanding of how a paragraph is structured. Make notice of transitional words that indicate a change in voice or topic. Often, these small transitions provide keys to the meaning of the text.

• 7

  Perform after-reading methods. Reflect on what you have read using self-questioning strategies (when a reader triggers her previous knowledge in connection with the topic).

• 8

  Summarize and retell what you have read to another person or a group.

• 9

  Complete the exercises in the book 'Kaplan New SAT Critical Reading Workbook,' available at Amazon (see Resources below).

• 10

  Get in the habit of highlighting text, summarizing it and reviewing important points. Develop good study habits such as reviewing text over and over and taking notes.