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Active Reading


Chris Lele
Lesson by Chris Lele
Magoosh Expert

Summary
The essence of the content revolves around the technique of active reading, particularly its application in enhancing comprehension skills for GRE reading passages.
  • Active reading involves making connections between ideas in the text, simplifying complex information, and creating mental snapshots for better understanding.
  • The technique discourages rushing through passages and emphasizes understanding the big picture or general meaning rather than getting bogged down by every single detail.
  • Structural words play a crucial role in active reading, signaling shifts in the passage's direction or adding new information, which is vital for grasping the overall message.
  • Mental snapshots of each paragraph and the overall passage help in retaining the core ideas and effectively answering questions about the passage's primary purpose.
  • Excitement and interest in the passage content, regardless of the topic, are highlighted as key to maintaining engagement and improving comprehension.
Chapters
00:00
Introduction to Active Reading
00:31
The Pitfalls of Passive Reading
02:13
Implementing Active Reading Strategies
06:10
The Role of Structural Words in Active Reading
09:10
Practical Exercise in Active Reading

Isn't there a typo toward the end of the passage?

Yes, there are a couple. And we're sorry for that! The original sentence reads:

Determining to what degree, compared to the brain of a mice the human brain engages both hemispheres will provide researchers a better sense of the extent that the ease of myelin regeneration plays in plasticity.

A clearer, more grammatically correct version of this sentence (without changing the intended meaning) would be:

Determining to what degree, compared to the brain of a mouse, the human brain engages both hemispheres, will provide researchers a better sense of the role that the ease of myelin regeneration plays in plasticity.

We hope to update the text of the sample passage to correct this error in the future. For now, we offer our apologies. :)