BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON READING COMPREHENSION 

(adapted from:  Muskingum College Learning Strategies Database)

Reading comprehension refers to the ability to understand information presented in written form. While this process usually entails understanding textbook assignments, reading comprehension skills also may affect one's interpretation of directions on exams, labs, and homework assignments and completion of job applications or questionnaires.

The site referenced above considers several basic topics related to reading comprehension.

• Metacognitive Behaviors of Good and Poor Readers
• Reasons for Lack of Comprehension
• Troubleshooting

METACOGNITIVE BEHAVIORS OF GOOD AND POOR READERS

Students with good versus poor reading skills demonstrate distinct cognitive behaviors before, during, and after reading an assignment. The following chart from Cook (1989) summarizes these behaviors.

REASONS FOR LACK OF COMPREHENSION

Reading comprehension fails for a number of reasons. Students, with the help of a facilitator if necessary, should attempt to identify the cause(s) of lack of comprehension and then identify appropriate reading strategies to compensate for the deficit(s).

Five reasons for lack of reading comprehension are listed below (the first four are from Twining, 1991).

• Failure to understand a word
• Failure to understand a sentence
• Failure to understand how sentences relate to one another
• Failure to understand how the information fits together in a meaningful way (organization)
• Lack of interest or concentration

TROUBLESHOOTING

The following tips are intended to help students and facilitators identify reasons for lack of reading comprehension. Learners may find that the reasons for lack of understanding are situational, depending on the type of reading matter, the subject of the material, and one's mental or physical state. Not all failures in all contexts will be attributable to the same factor. For example, lack of understanding of a biology text may be due to vocabulary problems, while lack of comprehension of a history text may be attributed to organizational failures. Therefore, it is helpful for students to be familiar with a number of reading comprehension strategies in order to deal effectively with different situations.

• Read a variety of materials. Do not limit yourself to text books.
• Read a fairly long portion of the material. It would be difficult to assess reading comprehension based on one or two paragraphs. Try to read an entire section or chapter instead.
• Circle unknown or unfamiliar words as you read.
• After reading, recall as much of the information as possible. Then check the accuracy and completeness of your recollections. If the main ideas are presented in a particular order, see if you can recall that organization.
• Consider how interesting the subject matter is and how much you already know about the subject.
• Answer questions about the material after reading it. The questions may come from the book itself, from instructors or tutors, or may be made up by the student.