It’s common for working college students to feel as though there isn’t enough time in the day to complete required schoolwork. There are many methods for various leaning styles so students can work smart not hard. These methods can speed up the process while allowing one to retain more information, thus reducing time spent on reading and studying. Even though college material may seem overwhelming at times, implementing the Cornell note taking method, critical reading and speed reading strategies help one to achieve success.
Walter Pauk developed the Cornell note taking method in the 1950’s to help students systematically record, analyze, synthesize and reflect on the material presented in class ("Discover Business ," n.d.). …show more content…
As a student it’s very important to approach all required material critically. Critical reading has many different forms such as the Cornell note taking method mentioned previously. When approaching reading critically one must question and examine the text being read. This doesn’t necessarily mean one is trying to disprove the reading, but rather reach a deeper understanding of the text though a careful thought process call critical thinking. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication ("Critical Thinking," n.d.). This careful examination allows students to become knowledgeable about the material that they most likely have to talk or write about. Questioning readings allows the reader to find possible fallacies within an argument, thus leading to research leading to a resolution of the fallacies or possible talking points. Critical thinking is a vessel that inspires better retention and understanding for its users. Studies suggest passive reading without notes or critical thinking approaches rarely sticks in the brain very long (Jewell, 2013). Critical thinking approaches are important to be successful in college and many …show more content…
Reading for many people is a visual and oral process. This means not only do they read visually with their eyes, but also read the words inside their head or even physically speak the words out. Speed-reading transforms reading into a visual process only (Jewell, 2013). Suppressing the oral aspect of reading allows one to read faster because it lessens the amount of steps in the reading process. It takes much less time to visually see and understand the words than it does to create a running monologue in ones head. As with many things in life, it takes practice to become proficient. An easy method to speed-read is to read with your finger as quick as possible. As you progress, your speed will increase and eventually you will have trained you brain to read at a rapid pace without the internal monologue. Eventually the rapid speed in which you can read becomes seconded nature and will no longer need to read with your