HOW TO BECOME A LITERATE STUDENT

By Michelle Constance

By Michelle Constance order to study and to understand well, we must always make sure that we have a clear awareness of words. Each word in our language has a specific meaning and if you do not grasp that meaning, you may well find yourself becoming confused, upset and totally vacant. After reading a passage that contains a word that you do not understand, you may discover that you have become sleepy, dopey, tired, washed out and unable to grasp the material you are reading or studying.

All of us have experienced this phenomena some time in our lives when we have begun reading.

A person who can use and understand words correctly, is known to be very literate, and a literate person tends to do well in life; they can study easily and they can communicate with others effectively.

By learning some basic Word Awareness tools, you can also become very literate and do well at anything you wish to study and accomplish in life.

It has been discovered that one of the key elements of completing and passing a course, comes down to the use and MASTERY OF WORDS. One of the reasons that students and scholars drop out of study, is due to the simple fact that they have collected a bunch of words they do not understand about the topic. 

If the meaning of all words of a subject are cleared up, a student becomes brighter and more enthusiastic about their course, and eventually they complete it with full competent understanding, and ability to apply what they have learned.

If you come across a word that you do not understand, there are some steps you can take to help you.

WORD AWARENESS PROCEDURE

1. Ask someone the meaning of the word or even better, look it up in a simple dictionary.

2.  Read the definition or definitions. There may be more than one.

3.  Find the definition that fits into the text that you are reading.

4. State the meaning of the word in your own words.

5. Make at least 5 sentences with the word and continue making sentences until you feel bright and aware about the word and what it means.

6. Clear up all meanings of the word.

7. If the word is still unclear, you can create a model of what it means to you, or you can also look at a picture of it.

8. Go back to the beginning of the sentence and read it again. If it makes sense then move on and continue studying or reading from the point where you had no awareness of the word.

9. If you are still confused and nothing makes sense to you, look for another unknown word and go through the process again.

You will find that this procedure may take a little time, but with practice you will become quick and efficient at it. You will also find this to be a much better way to learn and study. Students that use this procedure tend to remember what they have studied far better than students who continue to read past words they do not have an awareness of.

So if you want to cut your study time down and you want to recall and remember what you have studied, then this is a procedure that you will find invaluable. No longer will you find yourself having to cram information, you will naturally grasp and comprehend your topic with great understanding and awareness.

Give it a try, you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.

Happy Studies!