reading helps a child’s imagination grow, and it prepares them for school readings that they may have to do. As I grew up, I found that being read to as a child made me a lot more interested in reading. When it came time to start reading books for school, I found that, unlike a lot of my classmates, I was looking forward to reading an assigned book and analyzing it. I also found it easier to read more challenging books at a young age. When I was in fourth grade, I would go to my school library and request books from the “adult” section. I began reading books such as Moby Dick and Gone with the Wind by fifth grade. My favorite author, forever and always, is Stephen King. I read one of his books, Desperation, in fifth grade, and I became hooked. I became a huge fan of mystery and horror novels. That is usually what read to nowadays. I have tried listening to a couple of his books on audio, but I could never get into them, as audio books give me headaches. I enjoy reading words on a page, rather than listening to them; and once I began reading on my own, I did not enjoy being read to anymore, and I think that is why I dislike them so much.

        Throughout high school I took honors English classes and an AP literature class senior year, so I was taught many strategies for reading. To be honest, I can’t really remember any of them ; over time I came up with my own strategy of some sorts. The reading strategy I used helped me throughout high school; I was able to understand the context of what I was reading and further my understanding of what the author is trying to convey. Another strategy is to read through the entirety of the text. Skimming through the pages makes it hard to find out what is going on, making a reader miss important details. I always make sure to read through text carefully.  It is very important to have these skills in middle school and high school because it deepens one’s understanding of the author’s message.

        Having a good past experience with reading will benefit one’s success in college. Being able to comprehend the materials that one studies and having good reading strategies can help a person achieve higher grades in his/her classes. College students are expected to read their textbooks and learn material in order to get good grades. I am not a first generation college student, as both my parents and their parents before them achieved at least a bachelor’s degree at a university. I expected this semester to be challenging enough that my reading skills would be tested, but I believe that I will be prepared because I am coming into the school year with prior experience.

        Over the course of the semester, I have learned about many different reading and writing strategies as well as different ways to analyze different writings. This class has taught me that, in order to learn and understand material, one needs to engage with the text. One must take good notes and be able to identify main and supporting ideas to acknowledge what the author is trying to say. Another important skill that I learned is the ability to incorporate what you have read and learned into what you plan on writing. The last main idea is how to cite the resources used when conducting research. I have practice all of these things while taking this class, and I have become better at analyzing what I’m reading. One strategy that really helped was taking cornell notes, and it has stuck with me.

        There are many ways to read and comprehend academic texts in a more successful, more complete way. On the James Madison University learning toolbox, many helpful sources can be found to help with many reading comprehension problems. One strategies JMU talks about is the BCDE strategy. This strategy stands for before reading survey, create questions to ask yourself, during reading answer the questions, and end of reading summarize. This attempt works because it calls for the reader to be actively reading and questioning the text instead of just reading it and answering questions. Answering questions while reading conveys a better understanding of what is going on in the text. Maryland University of National Distinction has a page called “7 critical reading strategies,” which contains a list of seven helpful strategies to help readers understand the material that they’re reading. Some of their reading strategies include questioning and understanding, outlining and summarizing, and comparing and contrasting to other readings. These strategies are very helpful because they provoke the reader to become involved, just like the JMU toolbox does. Getting involved with the text is one of the most important reading strategies. If a reader engages and questions the text, then it shows that they are able to grasp concepts and understand what they are reading.

        Even though I have learned a lot from this class about reading comprehension, I still have much to learn. I feel that I still need to learn more about grammar rules and citing works, especially parenthetical citations. I know for a fact that what I have learned this semester will stick with me throughout my college career. These are very important and useful skills to have, especially in college and for the future.