I visited a school recently and interacted with students of grade six. I got a chance to talk to them on a few topics, one of which was related to reading habits. Upon asking them about how much time they spent reading a general book, I came to know that only three out of 35 students found ‘reading’ a meaningful activity. All the others only read course books.

When I asked how many of them had accounts on more than three social media platforms, more than 20 students raised their hands.

Based on this, I diverted the focus of my discussion towards various aspects of reading. Thereafter, I discussed the importance of reading with the students and, in continuation, here I would also like to share with the readers the benefits of effective reading.

What is effective reading?

Before diving into the details of the benefits of effective reading, we must know the difference between reading and effective reading. Skimming the lines of a book without noticing the minor details comes in the category of reading. Whereas, noting the usage of words and sentences, and trying to interpret the meaning by relating it with your daily learning is termed as effective reading.

Effective reading requires a more concerted approach, and this is why it has more benefits, which we will go on to discuss now. Moreover, every person has specific genres that they find more interesting, meaning they like to read books or writings of a particular kind more than others. Some like reading fiction and some prefer to read non-fiction. Similarly, there is a vast range in different genres too, such as science-fiction, historical-fiction, fantasy-fiction, etc.

You can choose one that interests you to begin reading. In short, read anything, and, whatever you read will benefit you in several ways.

Enhancement of knowledge

The foremost benefit of effective reading is enhancement of knowledge. When you focus on what you are reading, you absorb the information in the text and increase the amount of knowledge you possess about that topic.

This activity will not only help you develop your taste of choosing a specific topic to read, but you will also be able to incorporate the knowledge gained as a result, in both daily life discussions and in school examinations.

Improvement in spellings

During effective reading, you are focusing on new words that have been used in the passage you are reading, this will lead you to improving your spellings and vocabulary unwittingly. All you have to do during effective reading is to focus on the usage of a new word and its spelling.

Many times, we discover that a word’s spelling as we knew it was wrong. For instance, when I asked students of grade six the spellings of ‘pneumonia’ and ‘psychology’, all of them did not include “p” at the start of the spellings because it is a silent letter, and they spelled it as they had heard it.

The point I am trying to convey to you is that if you read carefully, you would note the spellings of words, which may differ from the way they are pronounced. Just listening and speaking only, without reading, will not enable you to learn spellings correctly.

Reading effectively for one month will be a healthy exercise and you will know a bunch of new words.

Writing error-free sentences

In addition to building your command over spellings, reading will help you comprehend the correct usage of subject-verb agreements. In other words, you would understand how to write error-free sentences. Likewise, you will be able to identify mistakes, if any, in your former pieces of writing.

Let me tell you the importance of correct spellings and error-free sentences. In most English language school examinations, students are expected to write a story on a topic of their choice. Despite knowing the gist of the story, many students do not write good stories. This is because students who do not read, tend to make more spelling mistakes and are unable to write grammatically correct sentences.

Keeping these benefits in mind, you ought to value the need of a good reading habit.

Turning thoughts into words

Moving forward, I met some good students who were well-read, but due to lack of sufficient vocabulary, they were unable to write down what they had in their minds.

If you are also someone facing such difficulty, you can address that by reading with concentration. While reading, notice the construction of sentences, the unique style of different writers and note down the interesting phrases you come across to use later in your own writing.

A reader who pays attention will be fascinated by the skilful way a writer has conveyed a simple thought, or described a mundane scene, making the writing appear very interesting and attention-grabbing. Good writers know how to use words in a simple but impactful way, saying the most common things in a crisp and clear manner that leaves an impact on the readers. And good readers note such sentences and learn how to put their thoughts into words in the same manner.

After practicing this hobby for some time, you should be confident in giving words to your thoughts. The more you read, the vast options of vocabulary you would possess to express your thoughts.

Improves speaking skills

Reading consistently helps in adding beauty to your speech. In the same way as your writing improves with reading, the art of speech also improves with regular reading. We also learn how to talk and debate on an issue in a more effective manner because we have better vocabulary and sentences to rely upon.

In short, effective reading offers a chance to develop effective speaking skills.

Sharpens grip on a topic

Another relevant, but different aspect of concerted reading is the development of considerable command on the topic you read.

To understand the importance of having a grip on any topic, you can recall the debating competitions held within and between your school. Though one prepares for the competition, the activity of general, yet careful, reading will take you a step ahead of others. Reading will mark your contribution as a unique one in terms of your participation.

It depends solely upon how well you relate the outcomes of your reading with the topic under debate during a competition. Nevertheless, the more you read, the better you will sharpen your overall skills.

Reading — an interesting hobby

Keeping aside the above benefits for a second, the time you spend reading is not a waste of time. It is a much better activity for your free time than just scrolling on social media, playing virtual games or spending time gossiping.

As the saying goes, today’s readers are tomorrow’s leaders, therefore, it may not be out of place to advise you to decrease the number of social media applications you use, at least by one. Replacing that one with the hobby of reading will pay you off in the future.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 30th, 2024