Today in the United States many people realize the importance of a college education. Unfortunately, obtaining a college degree can be very time consuming and challenging. Considering theses challenges, it is imperative that students utilize any techniques they can to ensure that they will succeed. Specifically, active reading techniques can increase a student's concentration and ultimately improve the student's performance.

"When students learn actively, they become more connected to the subject matter, practice critical thinking, and interact more with the professor and class members, which make them more likely to stay in college and graduate" (Fritz, 189). There are many different techniques that a student can use in order to take an active role in reading. One of the most common techniques is highlighting. Highlighting or underlining will call attention to important concepts that may be used for future review; it also forces the student to critically think about the selected text while deciphering its importance. Another technique commonly used in active reading is the utilization of tools such as bookmarks, paperclips, or post-it notes to create a system that will ensure proficient review. Finally, one of the most involved active reading techniques is note-taking. Taking notes while reading enables the student to critically think about the topic, and then reinforces memorization when the idea is transferred to the notepad.

Making use of the mentioned active reading techniques can help students to concentrate on the material they are trying to learn. These techniques force a student to pay closer attention and critically think about the topics. This process in itself can help to alleviate outside distractions that may cause disruption to an individual who simply reads the material. Active reading is especially important when trying to tackle reading material that is challenging to understand. The increased concentration and focus that result from utilizing active reading techniques will have a direct impact on how much a student can retain. The amount of information that a student can retain within a short period of time will have a direct effect on their success.

Active reading techniques can help students retain more information in a shorter period of time. These techniques can achieve this goal in many ways, one of which is the transference of data. For Example, transferring text by taking notes forces a student to not only read, but to read, process, and write ideas from texts. "By noting things that are important, interesting, and confusing, they are able to engage with a text and understand it more deeply" (L'Alier, 338). Essentially, actively participating in this learning process will increase the amount of information remembered. Also, critical thinking plays a huge role in the comprehension and retention of material. "Active reading will help you think critically. Formulating questions about what you have read leads to analyzing purposes and assumptions"(Active). Finally, active reading techniques will build a system that a student may use in order to efficiently review the material covered.

There are several different active reading techniques that students can use to greatly improve their college experience. Some students may even choose to use one or more of these techniques. However, finding which techniques work best for them will be the deciding factor of how they perform in class as well as what information they will take with them after graduation.

Works Cited

"Active Reading Lessons Materials." iStudy. Pennsylvania State University. 18 May 2009

Fritz, Margaret. "Using a reading strategy to foster active learning in content area courses."
Journal of College Reading and Learning 32.2 (Spring 2002): p189. Academic OneFile. Gale Group Databases. Baker College eLibrary, MI. 18 May 2009

L'Alier, Susan K., and Laurie Elish-Piper. "Walking the walk" with teacher education
candidates: strategies for promoting active engagement with assigned readings: teachers can use active engagement strategies to help teacher candidates interact meaningfully with assigned readings for literacy methods courses." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 50.5 (Feb 2007): p338 Academic OneFile. Gale Group Databases. Baker College eLibrary, MI. 18 May 2009.