The #1 mistake people make when reading is approaching a text with the wrong mindset. They are looking to react to or critique what is presented. Reactions and critiques are valuable, but they are an entirely different process that follows reading. In fact, they are dependent on it.

1. How To Truly
Understand a Text -
The Reading Process
1

2. Reading
Is one of the most
Deceptively challenging
skills to master.
2

3. To learn to read properly, you must understand:
The toolsThe goal The process
3

4. THE GOALOf reading
4

5. #1 MistakePeople make when reading
is approaching the text
with the wrong mindset.
5

6. They are looking to react to or critique the text.
6

7. “To understand the goal of reading,
you have to understand the goal of
writing.
7

8. Every writer wants to change your mind.
How? By communicating new
information to you.
8

9. 9
Your goal as a reader
Is to understand what is being communicated to you.
How? By knowing the tools the writer has at his disposal.

10. THE TOOLS
The basic tool of the writer is the word.
10

11. A WORD
Is more than a collection
of sounds.
It is a SYMBOL.
11

12. “A writer uses symbols to make you
think of the world in a specific way
to show you new parts of it that will
change your concepts.
12

13. 13
The challenge of reading
Is to understand all of the information being presented
To you and how it is both different and the same as the
information you already have.

14. Every writer has one Overall piece of information
He is trying to communicate
to you - usually called the
Main Idea, Point, or Argument.
14

15. Once you find the main idea
▸ It can become your Touchstone or Key.
▸ It will help you understand everything
else the writer shows you in the same
piece of writing.
The challenge is that you are shown everything else
first and can’t be sure of the Overall until you’ve read it.
15

16. THE PROCESS
Reading process.
16

17. 1
Ask a Question
17

18. 18
You have to understand
Why you are reading what you are reading.

19. Ask
How does the text reflect your
values, interests, beliefs,
tastes, and goals?
19

20. Once you understand the context, you can open the cover.
20

21. 2
Research
21

22. “Gather all the background
information you can to have an idea
what the text is about.
22

23. Ask yourself:
▸ What is the title?
▸ Who is the author?
▸ When did he write the tet?
▸ What content does it contain?
▸ How long is it?
▸ What sections is the text divided into?
23

24. 24
Don’t miss
Gathering any general information about the book’s
subject when completing the previous step.

25. Once you answer the questions, you can go to the next step.
25

26. 3
Hypothesize
26

27. Based on all your knowledge of the book and subject
Come up with a proposed
Main Idea, Point, Argument, or
Theme of the text.
27

28. 28
This proposed Overall
Piece of information will be the umbrella under which you
try to fit every other piece of information you learn while
reading it.

29. “It is the starting point that you will
slowly craft into your end point over
the course of your consumption of
the text.
29

30. 4
Experiment + Analyze
30

31. Experimentation and Analysis
Often occur at the same time
making reading challenging.
31

32. When reading, you are collecting data and analyzing it at the same time
32

33. “As you consume each new word,
sentence, paragraph, and chapter,
you try to fit it into your hypothesis.
33

34. 34
If you can explain
How it fits into your hypothesis, you can move one.
If not, you must change your hypothesis or create a new
one.

35. There are two important guidelines for this step
1. Your hypothesis is always
in flux until you finish the
text.
2. Set up checkpoints for
yourself to stop
consuming new data and
think about the date you
have.
35

36. Once your read the
first word of the text
You enter into a loop of
Experiment + Analysis and
Hypothesis until you read
the last word of the text.
36

37. CONCLUSION
Reading process.
37

38. “Now, you should have a hypothesis
that explains why the author
included everything in the text.
38

39. 39
The key
Is being able to explain the hypothesis and how it
explains everything.

40. Write a one sentence summary
Of what you think the Main
Idea, Point, Argument, or
Theme is.
40

41. When something is
brought up about the
text
Compare it to you
conclusion
And use it as the
foundation of any thinking
you do.
41

42. “Comprehending what the author is
showing you can improve your life
by helping you to consider
complexities that you may never
have before.
42

43. Oxford Tutoring
43
(949) 681-0388

44. Credits
Special thanks to all the people who made and
released these awesome resources for free:
▸ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
▸ Photographs by Startupstockphotos
44