How to ASK a Book

• Before you begin reading, ASK, "What is my purpose for reading these pages?" (i.e., for a test, for class preparation, for outside reading, for basic course information...).
• After you read the title, ASK, "What do I already know about this topic?" (i.e., where does this fit into the course, to my experience, to class topics, to other things I have read?").
• As you page through the material, ASK, "What is this all about?" To find out, use the title, the headings and subheadings, the charts and graphs, the glossary, the summary, the first and last paragraphs of the chapter, the first and last sentences of each paragraph.
• As you pause after this first pass, ASK, "What have I picked up so far about the contents here?"
• As you go back to begin your actual reading, choose a digestible amount to attack. (Small bites are digested more easily than big bites.) Read section by section, ASKing yourself constantly, "What is the author saying? What is she going to say next?"
• As you stop at a comfortable place (often at the next heading), ASK yourself, "What are the who, what, when, where, why questions about this material? What are the most important points here? How much of what I just read can I put into my own words?"
• As you reflect on what you have just read, ASK, "How can I organize and picture this information so that I can remember it?
• As you end this asking session, ASK yourself, "How does this fit in with what I already know?"