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                        The Benefits of Reading

            Growing up as a child my mother always instilled in me to read and understand literature. This contributes to the main reason she read to my brother and I every night before bed. I used to love classic books such as, Cat in the Hat, and Power Rangers. These were two of the main books she read to us. This may be the cause of my brother going off to college and graduating with a 4.0. I attended school and recreational programs where reading was very important. I felt reading was boring, and I would skim through books just enough to get a passing grade. As a result, I never learned reading strategies or anything that helped me retain information better. However, it was in Smithfield Middle School where I started to take reading serious. This came after failing my exam, and my teacher making me stay for after school tutoring. I didn’t like the fact of staying after school to study. I wanted to play outside and have fun with the other kids. Therefore, I made sure from that day on I sharpened my reading skills.

           By the time I was in high school I developed great reading skills. I read anything that was interesting enough to keep my attention. Around 12​th ​grade I enjoyed reading books that was full of suspense, and kept me on edge through every chapter. As a result I have read books such as Pablo Escobar, BMF The Rise and Fall, and books written by Clifford Harris a hip hop mogul. These are books that involve corrupt cops and struggle. It wasn’t that I was interested in crime personally, but it gave me insight on the harsh reality of life. 

            I actually fell in love with reading, but I wasn’t a fan of audiobooks. Reading a book is easier to comprehend and gives a better understanding. When I listen to a book I tend to lose focus. Although, listening to an audiobook is much easier for some people. I would prefer to stick to the basic learning process of reading. In addition, reading contributes to different aspects of life. Therefore, my success in reading played a major role in my son life. I have read to my son since he was an infant, and now at the age 6 he scores the highest in his class. In conclusion, reading can be very fundamental and beneficial.  I expect in my college years reading to be the key to my success to a better education.

             In conclusion, I have learned new academic reading strategies in my English 111 class this semester. These skills include pre-reading skills, during reading skills, and after reading synthesis. This helps with previewing text, highlighting important information, and summarizing. In addition, the Cornell note taking strategy is another great technique. This is very helpful when taking notes for reading or lectures. The SQ4R I use on the regular and highly recommend. This helps gather information from reading textbooks. The SQ4R stands for: survey, question, read, recite, write and review. I feel this is a great system for note taking. Another great strategy I acquired is paraphrasing and summarizing. Paraphrasing is taking someone else’s idea and putting it in your own words. Summarizing is an important technique when doing research papers and will help avoid plagiarism.

 

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