Academic Discourse in High School

In high school, I learned many different rules for reading and writing. Something I learned was that I need to take notes while reading. Taking notes helps me obtain more of the information. This was very helpful because when I look back at my notes I see key information I need to know for tests, quizzes, or essays. Another important rule I learned was after reading a paragraph/section of text I need to summarize it in my own words. Summarization is important because it helps to show that you understood the information you were reading. I also highlight/underline key terms so I know what to look back on later while studying. Another effective approach is breaking down the work to find the authors purpose and to find the central theme of the text. Another thing I learned in high school was if I don’t understand the text that I should mark the page and come back to it after. When you skip over something you don’t understand it gives your brain a break and gives you time to process what you read, giving you a better opportunity to understand the text a second time around. If I do not understand a text in its entirety I look up summaries of the text and see if it helps to tie it all together.