Active and focused reading

Read

Now read the document. Your aim here is to fill in the information around the mental structures you have been building. Read each section (one at a time) with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and notice if you need to make up some new questions. Read sections in detail, taking care to understand all the points that are relevant. In the case of some texts this reading may be very slow. This will particularly be the case if there is a lot of dense and complicated information. While you are reading, it can help to take notes in your preferred format (see section below on taking notes while you read).

Recall

After each section - stop, recall your questions, and see if you can answer them from memory. If not, look back again (as often as necessary) but don't go on to the next section until you can recall. Isolate the core facts or the essential processes behind the subject, and then see how other information fits around them. The purpose of this step is to retrain your mind to concentrate and learn as it reads.

Review