Reading is Good Habit for Students and Children

 500+ words essay on reading is good habit.

Reading is a very good habit that one needs to develop in life. Good books can inform you, enlighten you and lead you in the right direction. There is no better companion than a good book. Reading is important because it is good for your overall well-being. Once you start reading, you experience a whole new world. When you start loving the habit of reading you eventually get addicted to it. Reading develops language skills and vocabulary. Reading books is also a way to relax and reduce stress. It is important to read a good book at least for a few minutes each day to stretch the brain muscles for healthy functioning.

reading is good habit

Benefits of Reading

Books really are your best friends as you can rely on them when you are bored, upset, depressed, lonely or annoyed. They will accompany you anytime you want them and enhance your mood. They share with you information and knowledge any time you need. Good books always guide you to the correct path in life. Following are the benefits of reading –

Self Improvement: Reading helps you develop positive thinking. Reading is important because it develops your mind and gives you excessive knowledge and lessons of life. It helps you understand the world around you better. It keeps your mind active and enhances your creative ability.

Communication Skills: Reading improves your vocabulary and develops your communication skills. It helps you learn how to use your language creatively. Not only does it improve your communication but it also makes you a better writer. Good communication is important in every aspect of life.

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Increases Knowledge: Books enable you to have a glimpse into cultures, traditions, arts, history, geography, health, psychology and several other subjects and aspects of life. You get an amazing amount of knowledge and information from books.

Reduces Stress: Reading a good book takes you in a new world and helps you relieve your day to day stress. It has several positive effects on your mind, body, and soul. It stimulates your brain muscles and keeps your brain healthy and strong.

Great Pleasure: When I read a book, I read it for pleasure. I just indulge myself in reading and experience a whole new world. Once I start reading a book I get so captivated I never want to leave it until I finish. It always gives a lot of pleasure to read a good book and cherish it for a lifetime.

Boosts your Imagination and Creativity: Reading takes you to the world of imagination and enhances your creativity. Reading helps you explore life from different perspectives. While you read books you are building new and creative thoughts, images and opinions in your mind. It makes you think creatively, fantasize and use your imagination.

Develops your Analytical Skills: By active reading, you explore several aspects of life. It involves questioning what you read. It helps you develop your thoughts and express your opinions. New ideas and thoughts pop up in your mind by active reading. It stimulates and develops your brain and gives you a new perspective.

Reduces Boredom: Journeys for long hours or a long vacation from work can be pretty boring in spite of all the social sites. Books come in handy and release you from boredom.

Read Different Stages of Reading here.

The habit of reading is one of the best qualities that a person can possess. Books are known to be your best friend for a reason. So it is very important to develop a good reading habit. We must all read on a daily basis for at least 30 minutes to enjoy the sweet fruits of reading. It is a great pleasure to sit in a quiet place and enjoy reading. Reading a good book is the most enjoyable experience one can have.

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  • Importance Of Reading Essay

Importance of Reading Essay

500+ words essay on reading.

Reading is a key to learning. It’s a skill that everyone should develop in their life. The ability to read enables us to discover new facts and opens the door to a new world of ideas, stories and opportunities. We can gather ample information and use it in the right direction to perform various tasks in our life. The habit of reading also increases our knowledge and makes us more intellectual and sensible. With the help of this essay on the Importance of Reading, we will help you know the benefits of reading and its various advantages in our life. Students must go through this essay in detail, as it will help them to create their own essay based on this topic.

Importance of Reading

Reading is one of the best hobbies that one can have. It’s fun to read different types of books. By reading the books, we get to know the people of different areas around the world, different cultures, traditions and much more. There is so much to explore by reading different books. They are the abundance of knowledge and are best friends of human beings. We get to know about every field and area by reading books related to it. There are various types of books available in the market, such as science and technology books, fictitious books, cultural books, historical events and wars related books etc. Also, there are many magazines and novels which people can read anytime and anywhere while travelling to utilise their time effectively.

Benefits of Reading for Students

Reading plays an important role in academics and has an impactful influence on learning. Researchers have highlighted the value of developing reading skills and the benefits of reading to children at an early age. Children who cannot read well at the end of primary school are less likely to succeed in secondary school and, in adulthood, are likely to earn less than their peers. Therefore, the focus is given to encouraging students to develop reading habits.

Reading is an indispensable skill. It is fundamentally interrelated to the process of education and to students achieving educational success. Reading helps students to learn how to use language to make sense of words. It improves their vocabulary, information-processing skills and comprehension. Discussions generated by reading in the classroom can be used to encourage students to construct meanings and connect ideas and experiences across texts. They can use their knowledge to clear their doubts and understand the topic in a better way. The development of good reading habits and skills improves students’ ability to write.

In today’s world of the modern age and digital era, people can easily access resources online for reading. The online books and availability of ebooks in the form of pdf have made reading much easier. So, everyone should build this habit of reading and devote at least 30 minutes daily. If someone is a beginner, then they can start reading the books based on the area of their interest. By doing so, they will gradually build up a habit of reading and start enjoying it.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Importance of Reading Essay

What is the importance of reading.

1. Improves general knowledge 2. Expands attention span/vocabulary 3. Helps in focusing better 4. Enhances language proficiency

What is the power of reading?

1. Develop inference 2. Improves comprehension skills 3. Cohesive learning 4. Broadens knowledge of various topics

How can reading change a student’s life?

1. Empathy towards others 2. Acquisition of qualities like kindness, courtesy

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  • Reading is a Good Habit Essay

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An Essay On Reading Is A Good Habit

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (L-S-R-W) are the four skills of language learning. These are the set of four capabilities that allow an individual to comprehend and use a spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. Reading is considered as one of the best habits anyone can possess. Reading helps a great deal in building our confidence, reduces stress and puts us in a better mood. It also develops our imagination and provides us with a fortune of knowledge. It is rightly said that books are our best friend as reading helps build up our wisdom and thinking capabilities. By developing the habit of reading, one can gain confidence in learning any language. The interest in reading, like any other habit, comes with time. Once a person starts reading, it becomes a part of habit and he/she starts to explore a whole new world.

Reading good books has a plethora of advantages. The habit of reading broadens our horizons and helps us become a better person in life. It also helps in developing a fresh viewpoint of life. The more we read, the more we fall in love with reading. It helps to develop vocabulary and language abilities. Reading is also one of the best ways to reduce anxiety as it provides relaxation and recreation. A book puts us in a better mood and allows us to have a strong imagination. At the end of a hectic and stressful day, all we need is a good book to help us rejuvenate and momentarily escape from the realities of life. 

The habit of reading must be inculcated in children from a young age. Reading is a great habit from the learning point of view as it boosts the understanding of language, improves vocabulary, helps in improving speaking and writing skills, etc. While reading a book, the plot and its characters hover in our imagination. It is said that reading builds imagination power more than any other form of activity. Anyone who has good reading skills shows indication of higher intelligence as reading helps to broaden our wisdom and knowledge to a great extent. It not only boosts our confidence but personality too. 

One of the most beneficial habits one can have is reading. It expands your creativity and provides you with a wealth of information. Reading helps you create confidence and improve your attitude, thus books are your best friend or partner. When you start reading every day, you'll discover a whole new world of information.

When you make it a practice to read every day, you will become addicted to it. Reading can help you develop cognitively and offer you a fresh perspective on life. Good novels can have a great impact on people and lead you down the correct path in life. The more time you spend reading, the more you will fall in love with it. The more time you spend reading, the more you will fall in love with it. Reading can help you improve your vocabulary and linguistic skills. Reading can help you unwind and de-stress.

Reading boosts your creativity and gives you a greater grasp of life. Reading also encourages you to write, and if you do so, you will undoubtedly fall in love with the craft. If you want to create excellent habits in your life, reading should be at the top of your list because it is essential to a person's general growth and development.

Good books will always point you in the right direction. The following are some of the advantages of reading books:

Self-improvement: Reading can help you think more positively. Reading is important because it molds your thinking and provides you with a wealth of information and life lessons. Books will help you have a better understanding of the world around you from a new perspective. It keeps your mind active, healthy, and helps you be more creative.

Communication Skills: Reading increases your vocabulary, enhances your language skills, and improves your communication skills. It teaches you how to be more creative with your thoughts. It not only improves your communication skills, but it also helps you improve your writing skills. In every element of life, effective communication is essential.

Increases your Understanding: Books provide you a foundational understanding of civilizations, customs, the arts, history, geography, health, psychology, and a variety of other topics and elements of life. Books provide an unlimited amount of information and wisdom. 

Reduces Stress: Reading a good book transports you to another world and helps you escape the stresses of everyday life. There are a number of beneficial impacts on your mind, body, and soul that aid with stress relief. It keeps your mind healthy and powerful by stimulating your brain muscles to perform efficiently.

Great Pleasure: Anyone who reads a book for pleasure does so. They delight in reading and gain access to a whole new universe. When you begin reading a book, you will become so engrossed in it that you will not want to put it down until you have finished it.

Enhances your Imagination and Creativity: Reading enhances your imagination and creativity by transporting you to a realm of imagination and, in some ways, increasing your creativity. Reading allows you to examine life from several perspectives. You generate inventive and creative thoughts, visions, and opinions in your mind while reading books. It encourages you to think outside of the box, imagine, and use your imagination.

Enhances your Analytical Abilities: Active reading allows you to gain access to a variety of viewpoints on life. It aids in the analysis of your thoughts and the expression of your opinions. Active reading brings new ideas and thoughts to mind. It activates and alters your brain, allowing you to see things from a different perspective.

Boredom is Lessened: Despite all the other social activities, long-distance travel or a protracted vacation from work can be tedious. In such instances, books come in handy and keep you from being bored.

Reading books adds knowledge and plays a great role in education. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, we get to learn a great deal from books. It exposes us to the outer world which helps acquire sensibility and understanding of different social subjects. It is therefore very important to develop a good reading habit. We should all read daily for at least 30 minutes to enjoy the wonderful beneficial perks of reading. It is a great happiness to live in a calm place and to enjoy the moments of reading. Reading a good and informative book is one of the most rejuvenating and enthusiastic experiences a person can have. 

One must inculcate the habit of reading. Reading is said to be a great mental exercise. Reading also helps us release boredom. Reading allows us to sleep better. Hence, we must develop the habit of reading books before bedtime. Even in this digital age where any information is just a click away, reading has its own charm. The benefits of reading are irreplaceable as the detailed knowledge it provides is unmatched to anything we read on the internet. Happy reading!

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FAQs on Reading is a Good Habit Essay

1. Why is the habit of reading so important?

Reading is important as it develops our thinking capacity and gives important life lessons. Reading molds our personality and makes us a better person. It also enhances our creativity and keeps our minds healthy and active. Reading improves communication and vocabulary skills. Whenever you try to speak in front of everyone, you are unable to speak proper English. This habit of speaking fluent English can only be corrected with the help of reading books regularly and speaking in English with your peers.

2. Why is the habit of reading declining?

The habit of reading is gradually declining. The advent of the internet is often described as the reason behind the changing habits of reading. Nowadays, most people go to the internet for information rather than reading books. The deterioration in reading habits can also lead to a decline in the world’s cultural development. Hence, people should give reading the importance it deserves. Accordingly, people are becoming lazier and not wanting to read as they find it a waste of time. The students nowadays find newspapers to be boring and they perceive mobile applications of new channels to be the ultimate source of news information.

3. What are the difficulties you will face if you don’t read?

If a student is unwilling to read and speak English or any other languages they intend to learn, then he or she will never be able to be creative and innovative in their approach to any other aspect of life. Reading opens up with the mind of the people and leads them to understand the concept of vocabulary and innovation. A lot of students struggle with their vocabulary and grammar. All of this is just done to help the students improve their speaking ability and experience. If you don't read then you won't be able to write good English literature answers in school as you won't be able to manage the content well.

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Essays About Reading: 5 Examples And Topic Ideas

As a writer, you love to read and talk to others about reading books. Check out some examples of essays about reading and topic ideas for your essay.

Many people fall in love with good books at an early age, as experiencing the joy of reading can help transport a child’s imagination to new places. Reading isn’t just for fun, of course—the importance of reading has been shown time and again in educational research studies.

If you love to sit down with a good book, you likely want to share your love of reading with others. Reading can offer a new perspective and transport readers to different worlds, whether you’re into autobiographies, books about positive thinking, or stories that share life lessons.

When explaining your love of reading to others, it’s important to let your passion shine through in your writing. Try not to take a negative view of people who don’t enjoy reading, as reading and writing skills are tougher for some people than others.

Talk about the positive effects of reading and how it’s positively benefitted your life. Offer helpful tips on how people can learn to enjoy reading, even if it’s something that they’ve struggled with for a long time. Remember, your goal when writing essays about reading is to make others interested in exploring the world of books as a source of knowledge and entertainment.

Now, let’s explore some popular essays on reading to help get you inspired and some topics that you can use as a starting point for your essay about how books have positively impacted your life.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

Examples Of Essays About Reading

  • 1. The Book That Changed My Life By The New York Times
  • 2. I Read 150+ Books in 2 Years. Here’s How It Changed My Life By Anangsha Alammyan
  • 3. How My Diagnosis Improved My College Experience By Blair Kenney

4. How ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ Saved Me By Isaac Fitzgerald

5. catcher in the rye: that time a banned book changed my life by pat kelly, topic ideas for essays about reading, 1. how can a high school student improve their reading skills, 2. what’s the best piece of literature ever written, 3. how reading books from authors of varied backgrounds can provide a different perspective, 4. challenging your point of view: how reading essays you disagree with can provide a new perspective, 1.  the book that changed my life  by  the new york times.

“My error the first time around was to read “Middlemarch” as one would a typical novel. But “Middlemarch” isn’t really about plot and dialogue. It’s all about character, as mediated through the wise and compassionate (but sharply astute) voice of the omniscient narrator. The book shows us that we cannot live without other people and that we cannot live with other people unless we recognize their flaws and foibles in ourselves.”  The New York Times

In this collection of reader essays, people share the books that have shaped how they see the world and live their lives. Talking about a life-changing piece of literature can offer a new perspective to people who tend to shy away from reading and can encourage others to pick up your favorite book.

2.  I Read 150+ Books in 2 Years. Here’s How It Changed My Life  By Anangsha Alammyan

“Consistent reading helps you develop your  analytical thinking skills  over time. It stimulates your brain and allows you to think in new ways. When you are  actively engaged  in what you’re reading, you would be able to ask better questions, look at things from a different perspective, identify patterns and make connections.” Anangsha Alammyan

Alammyan shares how she got away from habits that weren’t serving her life (such as scrolling on social media) and instead turned her attention to focus on reading. She shares how she changed her schedule and time management processes to allow herself to devote more time to reading, and she also shares the many ways that she benefited from spending more time on her Kindle and less time on her phone.

3.  How My Diagnosis Improved My College Experience  By Blair Kenney

“When my learning specialist convinced me that I was an intelligent person with a reading disorder, I gradually stopped hiding from what I was most afraid of—the belief that I was a person of mediocre intelligence with overambitious goals for herself. As I slowly let go of this fear, I became much more aware of my learning issues. For the first time, I felt that I could dig below the surface of my unhappiness in school without being ashamed of what I might find.” Blair Kenney

Reading does not come easily to everyone, and dyslexia can make it especially difficult for a person to process words. In this essay, Kenney shares her experience of being diagnosed with dyslexia during her sophomore year of college at Yale. She gave herself more patience, grew in her confidence, and developed techniques that worked to improve her reading and processing skills.

“I took that book home to finish reading it. I’d sit somewhat uncomfortably in a tree or against a stone wall or, more often than not, in my sparsely decorated bedroom with the door closed as my mother had hushed arguments with my father on the phone. There were many things in the book that went over my head during my first time reading it. But a land left with neither Rhyme nor Reason, as I listened to my parents fight, that I understood.” Isaac Fitzgerald

Books can transport a reader to another world. In this essay, Fitzgerald explains how Norton Juster’s novel allowed him to escape a difficult time in his childhood through the magic of his imagination. Writing about a book that had a significant impact on your childhood can help you form an instant connection with your reader, as many people hold a childhood literature favorite near and dear to their hearts.

“From the first paragraph my mind was blown wide open. It not only changed my whole perspective on what literature could be, it changed the way I looked at myself in relation to the world. This was heavy stuff. Of the countless books I had read up to this point, even the ones written in first person, none of them felt like they were speaking directly to me. Not really anyway.” Pat Kelly

Many readers have had the experience of feeling like a book was written specifically for them, and in this essay, Kelly shares that experience with J.D. Salinger’s classic American novel. Writing about a book that felt like it was written specifically for you can give you the chance to share what was happening in your life when you read the book and the lasting impact that the book had on you as a person.

There are several topic options to choose from when you’re writing about reading. You may want to write about how literature you love has changed your life or how others can develop their reading skills to derive similar pleasure from reading.

Topic ideas for essays about reading

Middle and high school students who struggle with reading can feel discouraged when, despite their best efforts, their skills do not improve. Research the latest educational techniques for boosting reading skills in high school students (the research often changes) and offer concrete tips (such as using active reading skills) to help students grow.

It’s an excellent persuasive essay topic; it’s fun to write about the piece of literature you believe to be the greatest of all time. Of course, much of this topic is a matter of opinion, and it’s impossible to prove that one piece of literature is “better” than another. Write your essay about how the piece of literature you consider the best positive affected your life and discuss how it’s impacted the world of literature in general.

The world is full of many perspectives and points of view, and it can be hard to imagine the world through someone else’s eyes. Reading books by authors of different gender, race, or socioeconomic status can help open your eyes to the challenges and issues others face. Explain how reading books by authors with different backgrounds has changed your worldview in your essay.

It’s fun to read the information that reinforces viewpoints that you already have, but doing so doesn’t contribute to expanding your mind and helping you see the world from a different perspective. Explain how pushing oneself to see a different point of view can help you better understand your perspective and help open your eyes to ideas you may not have considered.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our round-up of essay topics about education .

essay english reading

Amanda has an M.S.Ed degree from the University of Pennsylvania in School and Mental Health Counseling and is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer. She has experience writing magazine articles, newspaper articles, SEO-friendly web copy, and blog posts.

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essay english reading

Reading is a skill many people take for granted, but the act of reading and properly comprehending a text is a complex and interactive process. It requires several different brain functions to work together and most often requires one to puzzle through multiple layers of context and meaning.

Because reading comprehension is so complicated, we can often find ourselves understanding the most basic interpretation of a text, but missing the emotional core or the "big picture." Or we might just find our brains spinning with no clue at all as to what a text is attempting to convey.

But luckily for everyone who struggles in English classes, on standardized tests, or in daily life, reading comprehension can be improved upon (and it's never too late to start!). In this guide, I explain step-by-step how to improve reading comprehension over time and offer tips for boosting your understanding as you read.

What Is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the understanding of what a particular text means and the ideas the author is attempting to convey, both textual and subtextual. In order to read any text, your brain must process not only the literal words of the piece, but also their relationship with one another, the context behind the words, how subtle language and vocabulary usage can impact emotion and meaning behind the text, and how the text comes together as a larger, coherent whole.

For instance, let's look at the first line from Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice :

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Now, a completely literal interpretation of the text, just based on word-meaning, would have us believe that 'all rich men want wives.' But the context, word choice, and phrasing of the text actually belie that interpretation. By using the phrases "universally acknowledged" and " must be in want of" (emphasis ours), the text is conveying a subtle sarcasm to the words. Instead of it being an actual truth that 'rich men want wives,' this one sentence instantly tells us that we're reading about a society preoccupied with marriage, while also implying that the opening statement is something people in that society may believe, but that isn't necessarily true.

In just a few short words, Austen conveys several ideas to the reader about one of the main themes of the story, the setting, and what the culture and people are like. And she does so all the while seeming to contradict the literal words of the piece.

Without practice in reading comprehension, nuances like these can become lost. And so it can happen that someone may find themselves reading, but not truly comprehending the full meaning of a text.

As you can see, reading comprehension involves many processes happening in your brain at once, and thus it can be easy for some aspects of a text to get lost in the muddle. But the good news for anyone who struggles is that reading comprehension is a skill just like any other. It must be learned through practice, focus, and diligence, but it absolutely CAN be learned.

Why Reading Comprehension Is Important

Proper reading comprehension can be difficult, so why bother? Even though learning how to properly read and comprehend texts is a complicated process, it is a necessary skill to master, both for work and for pleasure.

You will need to know how to read and interpret all kinds of different texts—both on the basic, literal level and on a more in-depth level—throughout your schooling, in college, and in the working world (as well as in your recreation time!). If we think about "reading" just as a literal or surface understanding of a piece and "reading comprehension" as the complete understanding, a person can only get by in the world on pure "reading" for so long.

Reading comprehension is essential for many significant aspects of daily life, such as:

  • Reading, understanding, and analyzing literature in your English classes
  • Reading and understanding texts from your other class subjects, such as history, math, or science
  • Doing well on both the written and math sections of the SAT (or all five sections of the ACT)
  • Understanding and engaging with current events presented in written form, such as news reports
  • Properly understanding and responding to any and all other workplace correspondence, such as essays, reports, memos, and analyses
  • Simply taking pleasure in written work on your own leisure time

essay english reading

Just like with any goal or skill, we can master reading comprehension one step at a time.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension: 3 Steps

Because reading comprehension is a skill that improves like any other, you can improve your understanding with practice and a game plan.

Dedicate yourself to engaging in a combination of both "guided" and "relaxed" reading practice for at least two to three hours a week. Guided practice will involve structure and focused attention, like learning new vocabulary words and testing yourself on them, while relaxed practice will involve merely letting yourself read and enjoy reading without pressure for at least one to two hours a week. (Note: if you already read for pleasure, add at least one more hour of pleasure-reading per week.)

By combining reading-for-studying and reading-for-pleasure, you'll be able to improve your reading skill without relegating reading time to the realm of "work" alone. Reading is a huge part of our daily lives, and improving your comprehension should never come at the cost of depriving yourself of the pleasure of the activity.

So what are some of the first steps for improving your reading comprehension level?

Step 1: Understand and Reevaluate How You're Currently Reading

Before you can improve your reading comprehension, you must first understand how you're currently reading and what your limitations are.

Start by selecting excerpts from different texts with which you are unfamiliar—text books, essays, novels, news reports, or any kind of text you feel you particularly struggle to understand—and read them as you would normally. As you read, see if you can notice when your attention, energy, or comprehension of the material begins to flag.

If your comprehension or concentration tends to lag after a period of time, start to slowly build up your stamina. For instance, if you continually lose focus at the 20 minute mark every time you read, acknowledge this and push yourself to slowly increase that time, rather than trying to sit and concentrate on reading for an hour or two at a stretch. Begin by reading for your maximum amount of focused time (in this case, twenty minutes), then give yourself a break. Next time, try for 22 minutes. Once you've mastered that, try for 25 and see if you can still maintain focus. If you can, then try for thirty.

If you find that your concentration or comprehension starts to lag again , take a step back on your timing before pushing yourself for more. Improvement comes with time, and it'll only cause frustration if you try to rush it all at once.

Alternatively, you may find that your issues with reading comprehension have less to do with the time spent reading than with the source material itself. Perhaps you struggle to comprehend the essential elements of a text, the context of a piece, character arcs or motivation, books or textbooks with densely packed information, or material that is heavily symbolic. If this is the case, then be sure to follow the tips below to improve these areas of reading comprehension weakness.

Improving your reading comprehension level takes time and practice, but understanding where your strengths and weaknesses stand now is the first step towards progress.

Step 2: Improve Your Vocabulary

Reading and comprehension rely on a combination of vocabulary, context, and the interaction of words. So you must be able to understand each moving piece before you can understand the text as a whole.

If you struggle to understand specific vocabulary, it's sometimes possible to pick up meaning through context clues (how the words are used in the sentence or in the passage), but it's always a good idea to look up the definitions of words with which you aren't familiar. As you read, make sure to keep a running list of words you don't readily recognize and make yourself a set of flashcards with the words and their definitions. Dedicate fifteen minutes two or three times a week to and quizzing yourself on your vocab flashcards.

To get started, you'll need some blank index cards and a system to keep them organized. These basic cards are an affordable option that are also available in fun colors . You can keep them organized with plastic baggies or rubber bands, or you can get an organizer .

Alternatively, try these easy-flip flashcards that include binder clips. Though we strongly recommend making your own flashcards, you can also buy pre-made ones —the best option is Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know , a series of exercises to master key words and idioms.

In order to retain your vocabulary knowledge, you must employ a combination of practiced memorization (like studying your flashcards) and make a point of using these new words in your verbal and written communication. Guided vocabulary practice like this will give you access to new words and their meanings as well as allow you to properly retain them.

Step 3: Read for Pleasure

The best way to improve your reading comprehension level is through practice. And the best way to practice is to have fun with it!

Make reading a fun activity, at least on occasion, rather than a constant chore. This will motivate you to engage with the text and embrace the activity as part of your daily life (rather than just your study/work life). As you practice and truly engage with your reading material, improvement will come naturally.

Begin by reading texts that are slightly below your age and grade level (especially if reading is frustrating or difficult for you). This will take pressure off of you and allow you to relax and enjoy the story. Here are some fun, easy reads that we recommend to get you started:

  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roksani Chokshi
  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Ghost   by Jason Reynolds
  • The Westing Game by Ellen Rankin
  • From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
  • The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone   by J.K .Rowling

Once you feel more comfortable reading and practicing your comprehension strategies (tips in the next section), go ahead and allow yourself to read at whatever reading or age level you feel like. Even if you feel that you don't understand some of the text right now—or even a large portion of it!—if you enjoy yourself and give it your best shot, you'll find that your reading comprehension levels will improve over time.

essay english reading

Reading these problematic passages aloud can often help circumvent that block and help you to form a visual of what the text is trying to convey.

Tip 3: Re-read (or Skim) Previous Sections of the Text

For the most part, reading is a personal activity that happens entirely in your head. So don't feel you have to read just like anyone else if "typical" methods don't work for you. Sometimes it can make the most sense to read (or re-read) a text out of order.

It is often helpful to glance backwards through a piece of text (or even re-read large sections) to remind yourself of any information you need and have forgotten—what happened previously, what a particular word means, who a person was...the list is endless.

Previous sentences, sections, or even whole chapters can provide helpful context clues. Re-reading these passages will help to refresh your memory so that you can better understand and interpret later sections of the text.

Tip 4: Skim or Read Upcoming Sections of the Text

Just like with the previous step, don't feel that the only way to read and understand a text is to work through it completely linearly. Allow yourself the freedom to take apart the text and put it back together again in whichever way makes the most sense to you.

Sometimes a current confusion in a work will be explained later on in the text, and it can help you to know that explanations are upcoming or even just to read them ahead of time.

So skip forward or backwards, re-read or read ahead as you need to, take the piece in whatever order you need to in order to make sense of the text. Not everyone thinks linearly, and not everyone best understands texts linearly either.

Tip 5: Discuss the Text With a Friend (Even an Imaginary Friend)

Sometimes discussing what you know so far about a text can help clear up any confusion. If you have a friend who hasn't read the text in question, then explain it to them in your own words, and discuss where you feel your comprehension is lacking. You'll find that you've probably understood more than you think once you've been forced to explain it to someone who's completely unfamiliar with the piece.

Even if no one else is in the room, trying to teach or discuss what a passage says or means with "someone else" can be extremely beneficial. In fact, software engineers call this technique "rubber duck debugging," wherein they explain a coding problem to a rubber duck. This forces them to work through a problem aloud, which has proven time and time again to help people solve problems. So if a piece of text has your head spinning from trying to work through it by yourself, start chatting with your nearest friend/pet/rubber duck. You'll be surprised with how much easier it is to understand a text once you've talked it through with someone.

Even if that someone is a duck.

essay english reading

The Take-Aways

Improving reading comprehension takes time and effort, but it can be done. Be patient with yourself, work through your reading comprehension steps, and try not to get frustrated with yourself if you feel your progress is slow or if you feel you're "falling behind." You will utilize your reading skills throughout your life, so go at a pace that works for you, and take care to maintain that balance between reading for pure pleasure and reading for dedicated improvement.

As you begin to incorporate more and more reading into your daily life, you'll find that comprehension will become easier, and reading will become more fun. In every piece of text, there are worlds of meaning to explore, and learning how to uncover them can be the ultimate rewarding journey.

What's Next?

Can't get enough reading? Whether as part of your reading practice or just for fun, check out our picks for the 31 best books to read in high school.

Problems with procrastination? Whether you're studying for the SAT's or studying your reading comprehension vocabulary check out how to beat procrastination and get your studies back on track.

Want to earn better grades? Our guide will help you get that 4.0 you're striving for .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?   We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Courtney scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT in high school and went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. She is passionate about bringing education and the tools to succeed to students from all backgrounds and walks of life, as she believes open education is one of the great societal equalizers. She has years of tutoring experience and writes creative works in her free time.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Academic Reading Strategies

Completing reading assignments is one of the biggest challenges in academia. However, are you managing your reading efficiently? Consider this cooking analogy, noting the differences in process:

Taylor’s process was more efficient because his purpose was clear. Establishing why you are reading something will help you decide how to read it, which saves time and improves comprehension. This guide lists some purposes for reading as well as different strategies to try at different stages of the reading process.

Purposes for reading

People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly articles, textbooks, reviews) for different reasons. Some purposes for reading might be

  • to scan for specific information
  • to skim to get an overview of the text
  • to relate new content to existing knowledge
  • to write something (often depends on a prompt)
  • to critique an argument
  • to learn something
  • for general comprehension

Strategies differ from reader to reader. The same reader may use different strategies for different contexts because their purpose for reading changes. Ask yourself “why am I reading?” and “what am I reading?” when deciding which strategies to try.

Before reading

  • Establish your purpose for reading
  • Speculate about the author’s purpose for writing
  • Review what you already know and want to learn about the topic (see the guides below)
  • Preview the text to get an overview of its structure, looking at headings, figures, tables, glossary, etc.
  • Predict the contents of the text and pose questions about it. If the authors have provided discussion questions, read them and write them on a note-taking sheet.
  • Note any discussion questions that have been provided (sometimes at the end of the text)
  • Sample pre-reading guides – K-W-L guide
  • Critical reading questionnaire

During reading

  • Annotate and mark (sparingly) sections of the text to easily recall important or interesting ideas
  • Check your predictions and find answers to posed questions
  • Use headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text
  • Create a vocabulary list of other unfamiliar words to define later
  • Try to infer unfamiliar words’ meanings by identifying their relationship to the main idea
  • Connect the text to what you already know about the topic
  • Take breaks (split the text into segments if necessary)
  • Sample annotated texts – Journal article · Book chapter excerpt

After reading

  • Summarize the text in your own words (note what you learned, impressions, and reactions) in an outline, concept map, or matrix (for several texts)
  • Talk to someone about the author’s ideas to check your comprehension
  • Identify and reread difficult parts of the text
  • Define words on your vocabulary list (try a learner’s dictionary ) and practice using them
  • Sample graphic organizers – Concept map · Literature review matrix

Works consulted

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. Harlow: Longman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

essay english reading

English Texts for Beginners

essay english reading

English texts for beginners to practice reading and comprehension online and for free. Practicing your comprehension of written English will both improve your vocabulary and understanding of grammar and word order. The texts below are designed to help you develop while giving you an instant evaluation of your progress.

essay english reading

Prepared by experienced English teachers, the texts, articles and conversations are brief and appropriate to your level of proficiency. Take the multiple-choice quiz following each text, and you'll get the results immediately. You will feel both challenged and accomplished! You can even download (as PDF) and print the texts and exercises. It's enjoyable, fun and free. Good luck!

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So here are your next steps:

  • Pick an article and start reading!
  • Make sure you use a good dictionary to check the words you don't understand.
  • Do the exercise for that specific article.
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Human Rights (videos, stories and exercises) Videos, stories and exercises on the 30 human rights. For example: The Right to Life, Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Expression, and others. A video and story to illustrate each right. Moral Stories (videos, stories and exercises) Videos, stories and exercises on the 21 principles of The Way to Happiness. It is a common sense guide to better living which has been distributed to more than 100 million people in over 100 languages.  It describes 21 principles to a better quality of life. For example: Love and Help Children, Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others, Set a Good Example, Be Worthy of Trust, Safeguard and Improve Your Environment, and others. A video and story to illustrate each principle. Drug Education Stories (videos, stories and exercises) Videos, stories and exercises on common drugs and their dangerous hidden effects. Countries (articles and exercises) Articles and exercises about the countries of the world. What is special about each country? What is its history? Interesting stories and inspiring leaders from around the world.

Reading Comprehension Texts and Exercises

Reading practice on diverse topics and different comprehension exercises, with an emphasis on collocations.

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A man

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Moral Story Number 1: Take Care of Yourself Moral Story Number 2: Be Temperate Moral Story Number 3: Do Not Be Promiscuous Moral Story Number 4: Love and Help Children Moral Story Number 5: Honor and Help Your Parents Moral Story Number 6: Set a Good Example

Moral Story Number 7: Seek to Live With the Truth Moral Story Number 8: Do Not Murder Moral Story Number 9: Don't Do Anything Illegal Moral Story Number 10: Support a Government Designed and Run for All the People Moral Story Number 11: Do Not Harm a Person of Good Will Moral Story Number 12: Safeguard and Improve Your Environment Moral Story Number 13: Do Not Steal Moral Story Number 14: Be Worthy of Trust

Drug Education Stories

Drug Education Story Number 1: Ecstasy

Drug Education Story Number 2: Marijuana

Drug Education Story Number 3: LSD

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Abraham Lincoln , Aristotle , Confucius ,  Eleanor Roosevelt , Mahatma Gandhi , Martin Luther King Jr. ,  Mother Teresa , Nelson Mandela , Plato , Socrates , Sri Krishna , Buddha

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12 English Reading Websites

The internet connects people in ways that were never possible before. It’s also a place where you can find some incredible English writing.

When you think of practicing English reading , you probably think of books or magazines . You might think of going online when you want to learn internet slang or talk to others .

But there’s so much more to discover online!

There are some amazing websites out there for native speakers that provide great content for when you’re learning English. Here are the 12 best English reading websites for you to try! 

Hobbies and Entertainment

1. a beautiful mess, 2. nomadic matt, fashion and style, 3. refinery29, 4. the everygirl, 5. mantelligence, news and current events, science and technology, 8. discover, 9. techcrunch, history and trivia, 10. atlas obscura, 11. mental floss, 12. lifehacker, how reading english online will help you learn , tips for english reading on websites for native speakers, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

What it is: Sisters Elsie and Emma share their favorite crafts, home decor and cooking projects in one of the most widely-read blogs online.

What to expect: The language is extremely upbeat and playful, and each blog reads as though one of the sisters is talking to you over a cup of coffee. Study their instruction posts to learn how to explain yourself clearly.

Sample article: “5 Easy Watercolor Techniques”

What it is: Matt has been traveling the world since 2006, and he shares his experiences and travel tips on this blog.

  • Thousands of learner friendly videos (especially beginners)
  • Handpicked, organized, and annotated by FluentU's experts
  • Integrated into courses for beginners

essay english reading

What to expect: Matt uses very simple language so anyone can use his knowledge to plan their own trips. You can learn a lot about other cultures here, how to plan a trip of your own (without spending too much money) and other topics that would interest fans of traveling.

Sample article:   “How to Plan a Trip to a Place You Know Nothing About”

What it is: A huge online magazine mostly for young women. There are articles about style, fashion, entertainment and some current events from a different perspective.

What to expect: Refinery29 uses an informal writing style, and sometimes uses internet slang. This is a good place to get in touch with how younger internet users write and speak (and dress). You’ll find a lot of articles with lists on what’s trendy at the moment, including some longer articles about the personal experiences of the writers. 

Sample article: “The Return of the Perm”

What it is: A magazine for career women who are (or want to be) successful while still looking and feeling fantastic. Many different topics are covered such as careers, fashion and wellness.

  • Interactive subtitles: click any word to see detailed examples and explanations
  • Slow down or loop the tricky parts
  • Show or hide subtitles
  • Review words with our powerful learning engine

essay english reading

What to expect: Some articles are similar to Refinery29 , but they have a bit less slang in them and are slightly more sophisticated. They’re still perfect for intermediate and even beginner English learners. 

Sample article: “6 Ways to De-stress for Free”

What it is: Expert lifestyle tips for men, teaching how to live and dress like a gentleman.

What to expect: This is like the male version of the last two, but with a bigger emphasis on how to be classy (stylish or well-mannered). The language is somewhere between “intelligent man” and “bro.” That is, it’s a mix of more complex writing while still being friendly. Intermediate English learners should feel comfortable here.

Sample article: “57 Life Tips That Will Instantly Make You a Better Man”

What it is: Articles about pop culture, plus opinion pieces about serious current events and issues. Interesting things about the world we live in, and the people who live in it.

What to expect: Vice is not a typical media outlet, since it includes a lot of opinion in its articles, covers unusual topics and is targeted at young people. The writing is more complex, and may cause some trouble for early-intermediate English learners. Try an article: If you don’t get it, you probably need something a little simpler (work your way up to this!). 

  • Learn words in the context of sentences
  • Swipe left or right to see more examples from other videos
  • Go beyond just a superficial understanding

essay english reading

Sample article: “It Used To Be An Oil Ship. Now It Helps Scientists Understand the Ocean.”  

What it is: News from National Public Radio, on everything from culture and current events, to art and music.

What to expect: Some of the articles on the NPR website are more difficult to read, as it’s a serious news and arts website. Many articles also include an audio clip, as well as a written transcript of the audio file, which makes this option perfect for English reading. Listen and read along, or read and then listen, to make sure you got things right.

Sample article: “ Honeybee Deaths Rose Last Year. Here’s Why Farmers Would Go Bust Without Bees.”

What it is: The latest news in science and nature, presented in articles for the average (ordinary) reader. 

What to expect: Discover takes scientific research papers and news, and turns them into enjoyable and approachable articles. You don’t need to know too many science-related vocabulary words to understand these articles, making them perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about the topic.

Sample article: “Honeybees Have Personalities (Sort Of)”

  • FluentU builds you up, so you can build sentences on your own
  • Start with multiple-choice questions and advance through sentence building to producing your own output
  • Go from understanding to speaking in a natural progression.

essay english reading

What it is: A tech news website with reviews and articles about gadgets, new technology, AI and more.

What to expect: TechCrunch assumes its readers already know some things about technology, so expect to look up some new tech words. The articles are of varying lengths. Some are shorter and some are features (long articles) so you can choose what you’re most interested in. 

Sample article: “Age of AI: Everything You Need to Know About Artificial Intelligence”

What it is: Interesting stories about strange places around the world. Tales from history about curious people, places and events.

What to expect: The writing on this website is a bit more complex, but if you love history, food and culture, it’s worth working your way through it just for the incredibly unique stories.

Sample article: “Is This the World’s Most Beloved Asparagus?”

  • Images, examples, video examples, and tips
  • Covering all the tricky edge cases, eg.: phrases, idioms, collocations, and separable verbs
  • No reliance on volunteers or open source dictionaries
  • 100,000+ hours spent by FluentU's team to create and maintain

essay english reading

What it is: Trivia and interesting facts about everything from nature and animals, to people and history.

What to expect: Unlike Atlas Obscura , Mental Floss uses a friendly and simple writing style. Check out their language section as well to learn some things you might not have known about the English language.

Sample article: “A Cool History of Ice Cream”

What it is: Tips and tricks for making your life easier, one small thing at a time.

What to expect: Clear instructions and informative articles make Lifehacker useful to anyone. Some “hacks” (tricks or ways to make things easier) even involve language and learning, and might be especially useful for English learners. Others are just useful!

Sample article: “How to Study a Language So You Can Actually Understand It”

essay english reading

Let me start by telling you that there’s a place where you can improve your reading skills with a wonderful twist:  FluentU .

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Reading online has many benefits. Online reading is:

  • Portable: That means you can take it anywhere! If you have a device that connects to the internet, and an internet connection, you can read. No need to carry around a bulky book or a large magazine.
  • Always updating: When you finish a book, you have to get a new one. When you finish an online article, you can just wait a day or so for more articles to be published.
  • Well-written: Not everything online is written in internet slang. Many websites have great writers and editing teams to make sure what you’re reading is the best quality English.
  • Easy to understand: Online articles and blogs are meant to be read by everyone, so the language is usually easy to understand.
  • Fun: There’s a website for everything! You’re sure to find something that you find interesting.

Since you’re probably reading this online on an internet-connected device, you’re already halfway there. All you need now is to choose a website (or a few websites) to learn from. Before you go exploring online, though, it’s important to understand how these websites can teach you English reading skills.

There are a few different kinds of websites that can help you practice reading English.

  • Blogs are more casual websites with writing on them. They’re often personal and run by a single person who shares their experiences or thoughts with their readers.
  • Some websites are more like online magazines , which publish longer articles about certain topics.
  • Others are news websites , which usually have shorter articles about current events (things that are happening now).

All these websites can help you learn, if you use them the right way. When you’re browsing through our list of great websites to learn from, keep these things in mind:

  • Level of difficulty: The ideal website should be slightly challenging for you to read. This will help you improve your reading and keep pushing yourself to get even better. If you’re an advanced English learner , don’t use a beginner resource. If you’re a beginner, don’t use a website for advanced learners.
  • Type of language used: Blogs usually use friendly, casual language, while news websites use more professional and business-like words. Magazines can use either type of language—it depends on the magazine.
  • Frequency of posting: How often does the website update their content? A blog that updates once a month might not be enough to learn from. A website that posts four articles a day might be overwhelming (remember that you don’t have to read each article, though).
  • Topic: You want to read about something you care about!

Once you choose the perfect website based on these factors, you can begin to learn. Here are some ideas for learning with online content:

  • Skim before reading: Before you even start reading, take a look at the article. Many websites separate their writing into chunks using subheadings. You can get some sense of what you’ll read by looking at these subheadings, and glancing at the pictures. Doing this will help you prepare for the reading, and maybe even understand it better.
  • Read and summarize: After you read an article, try to explain it in your own words. You can write down your summary, or pretend you’re telling a friend about it.
  • Make word lists: You don’t have to understand every word in order to understand an article, but there are some words you’ll just have to look up. Instead of stopping to check the dictionary every time you find a word you don’t know, write these words down. Look them up after you’ve finished reading. Then read the article again. Do you understand it better now?
  • Read the comments: When you finish reading the article, scroll down to the comments (if there are any). Comments are not always useful, but sometimes they can add more information or another point of view to what you just read about. Add your own comment and join the discussion.
  • Click on relevant links: If you find an interesting link in the article, click on it and move on to the next article. This keeps you reading—the more you read, the better you will get at it. To keep yourself from getting distracted halfway through an article, open all new links in new tabs (right-click on the link and choose “open link in new tab”).

Use these tips and you’ll improve your reading skills even faster!

The best thing about reading online is that you can start at any of these websites, and explore other related topics and websites from there.

Find your new favorite website, and practice your English reading skills with something you actually enjoy and care about.

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

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If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

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FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

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FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

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FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Essay on Reading is Good Habit in English for Children and Students

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Essay on Reading is Good Habit: Reading is one of the most important and beneficial activities. If you have ever read a book in life you will know the pleasure and rewards of reading. Reading is the kind of exercise that keeps your mind engaged, active and healthy. It is important to develop the habit of reading not only for the sake of knowledge but also for personal growth and development.

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It develops positive thinking and gives you a better perspective of life. Reading enhances your knowledge, improves your concentration and makes you more confident and debate ready. The more you read the more wise you become and the more you will be recognized and appreciated.

Long and Short Essay on Reading is a Good Habit in English

Here are short and long essay on “Reading is a Good Habit” of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exams/school assignments.

These Reading is a Good Habit Essay will inspire you to take up reading as a hobby, by letting you know the benefits of reading and the changes that it brings to your personality and life.

Also Check: Essay on Importance of Education

You can select any Reading is a Good Habit Essay as per your need and interest:

Essay on Reading is Good Habit in 200 words

Reading daily is one of the best habits one can posses. It develops your imagination and provides you with a fortune of knowledge. Books are your best friend is rightly said as reading helps build up your confidence and uplifts your mood. Once you start reading, you experience a whole new world.

When you develop the habit of reading you eventually get addicted to it. Reading can help you grow and give a new perspective about life. Good books can influence you positively and guide you towards the right direction in life. The more you read the more you fall in love with reading. Reading develops language skills and vocabulary. Reading books is also a way to relax and reduce stress.

Reading increases creativity and enhances your understanding of life. Reading also inspires you to write and one can fall in love with writing as well. If we want to adopt some good habits in life then reading should definitely be on the top of our list. It plays a vital role in the optimistic growth and development of a person.

Reading leads to self-improvement. The pleasure of reading cannot be expressed in words. One needs to read to experience the joy of reading.

Also Check: Me & My Habits

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Essay on Importance of Good Reading is a Habit in 300 words

Reading is one of the most important and best habits one can inculcate. Those who have the habit of reading are actually the ones who can really understand the value and pleasure of reading. There are very few who are aware of the advantages of reading good books.

Importance of Good Reading Habits

Reading habits develop vivid imagination, knowledge and vocabulary. Here are some points describing importance of good reading habits:

  • The most important reason of reading is that we gain knowledge. Books are a rich source of information and knowledge. Reading books on diverse genres imparts information and gives you a deep insight of to the topic you read about. You always learn something new when you read.
  • It is a proven fact that those who have good reading habit show signs of higher intelligence. With diverse and bountiful genres books open up the mind and enhance the creative ability and language skills.
  • Reading fiction develops empathy and helps build better relations with others. You become a part of the story and naturally empathize and sympathize with characters. You become more aware about how people get affected in different situations. It enhances your overall ability to empathize with others.
  • Good reading also inspires you to write. Many writers get inspired and gain expertise by reading more and more. You learn the art of using language and enjoy playing with words.
  • Reading is also a kind of motivation that works wonders in when it comes to de-stressing. Reading motivational books can really change our life for better. Reading autobiographies can also encourage us to work hard and stay dedicated to achieve our goals. It helps us become a better person in life.

There are many perks of good reading habits. It keeps your mind active, strong and healthy. Reading is important for your overall personal growth and development. Besides, you never feel bored or lonely if you develop good reading habits.

Essay on Reading and Its Importance in 400 words

We do so many activities for entertainment but one is really missing out something if he/she is not reading. The most enjoyable and beneficial activity is reading. Reading is important because it is good for your overall well-being. Lying on a couch and reading a good book is the best way to reduce stress and have a tranquil day at home.

Positive Effects of Reading on Mind and Body

Reading has following positive effects on mind and body:

  • Knowledge : It is rightly said that books are the best source of knowledge. Every time you read you get new bits of information and knowledge that are useful. The more knowledge you possess the more wisely you handle various situations in life. The knowledge you get from books is the true wisdom as you may lose anything in life but not knowledge.
  • Improves Imagination : Reading fictional stories can take you to a new world. You actually visualize the whole setup in the fictional world and get familiar to characters. It develops your imagination and makes you feel amazed. You imagine and fantasize fictional stories and characters in your mind.
  • Wise use of time : Reading good books means making good use of time. It is a perfect way to stay occupied and at the same time learn something and have pleasure. There is so much that you gain from reading. It is the best way to relieve your stress and enhance your mood.
  • Boost self-esteem : By reading more and more books you communicate better and are well informed. Since you are more confident you become more productive and dynamic. It builds your confidence and leads to higher self-esteem.
  • Improves Creativity : The more you read the more your thoughts and ideas develop. Your mind opens up and you start thinking in a new direction. You start thinking more creatively and rediscover life in a better way.
  • Helps Socialize : Reading improves individual’s communication skills and boosts confidence. It also enhances your socializing skills naturally as you are more confident about your abilities and knowledge. You can always share your knowledge and reading experience with friends and family. It also makes you more empathetic towards others.

So it is very important to develop good reading habit. We must all read on a daily basis for at least 30 minutes to enjoy the sweet fruits of reading. It is a great pleasure to sit in a quiet place and enjoy reading. Reading a good book is the most enjoyable experience one can have.

Essay on Reasons Why Reading Habits in 500 Words

Reading is one of the most important habits one needs to develop in life. It is rightly quoted that books are your best companions. Good books can inform you, enlighten you and lead you to the right direction. There is no better companion than a good book. Books give you a whole new experience. Developing reading habit from early age leads to enduring love for books.

Why is Good Reading Habit Important?

1) Sharpens your Mind: Reading is vital for the development of brain as it boosts your thinking and understanding. It enhances your critical thinking and analytical skills. It also improves the brain function. Reading gives you knowledge, information and new perception.

2) Self Improvement: Reading helps you develop positive thinking. Reading is important because it develops your mind and gives you excessive knowledge and lessons of life. It helps you understand the world around you better. It keeps your mind active and enhances your creative ability.

3) Reduces Stress: No matter how stressed or depressed you are due to personal life, work or any other problem in your life, reading a good book reduces your stress completely and enhances your mood. Reading helps you calm down your mind, releases strain from the muscles and slows down your heart rate.

4) Increases Knowledge: Active reading is the process that enables lifelong learning. It is an avid thirst for knowledge. Books enable you to have glimpse in to cultures, traditions, arts, history, geography, health, psychology and several other subjects and aspects of life. You get amazing amount of knowledge and information from books.

5) Develops your Analytical Skills: By active reading you explore several aspects of life. It involves questioning what you read. It helps you develop your thoughts and express your opinions. You engage your mind in understanding and thinking higher. You start comparing your perspective to the writer’s perspective. New ideas and thoughts pop up in your mind by active reading. It stimulates and develops your brain and gives you a new perspective.

6) Boosts your Imagination and Creativity: Reading takes you to the world of imagination and enhances your creativity. Reading helps you explore life from different perspectives. While you read books you are building new and creative thoughts, images and opinions in your mind. It makes you think creatively, fantasize and use your imagination.

7) Improves Communication: Active reading increases your vocabulary exponentially. You learn the art of using words creatively and effectively. You are able to communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively. Overall it will boost your confidence and enhance your communication skills.

8) Reading is Pleasure: Not only is reading important for knowledge and information but it is an addiction. Once you indulge yourself into reading a good book, you will surely get addicted to it. It offers intense pleasure to read a good fiction and enter a whole new world. You go through several new feelings and emotions while you read.

Reading is one of the most interesting habits one can possess. It is important to develop the habit of reading daily. We can reap the aforementioned benefits once we develop the habit of reading.

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Essay on Advantages of Reading Books is a Good Habit in 600 words

Reading books has the lot of psychological benefits. Those who have a habit of reading are aware of the pleasure and value of reading books then. They know its magic and power that renders knowledge and makes one wiser. When it comes to reading, most of us these days are addicted to reading online blogs, articles, stories and tweets. It is helpful for gaining lots of knowledge and information but reading a good book is healthier for our brain and a completely different experience. It does wonder for our brains as it is the activity that helps us focus. Reading is the best exercise for your brains.

As we all are aware that mental fitness is equally important as physical fitness so like our body even mind needs to work out daily to maintain fitness. It is important to read a good book at least for a few minutes each day to stretch the brain muscles for healthy functioning.

1) Books are Your Best Friends: Books really are your best friends as you can rely on them when you are bored, upset, depressed, lonely or annoyed. They will accompany you anytime you want them and enhance your mood. They share with you information and knowledge any time you need. Good books always guide you to the correct path in life. You will never regret the company of a good book.

2) Books are Your Best Teachers: Not only can good books be your best friend but also the best teacher. Reading good books will give you immense knowledge, information and a completely different experience. Reading will give you a new and better perspective of life. It will teach you new lessons of life.

3) Great Pleasure: When I read a book, I read it for pleasure. I just indulge myself into reading and experience a whole new world. Once I start reading a book I get so captivated I never want to leave it until I finish. Most of the times it is not possible to finish the book in one sitting but there is always that curiosity until I finish the book. It always gives lot of pleasure to read a good book and cherish it for lifetime.

4) Books Help You Sleep Better: Reading a book is recommended as one of the best habits to calm down your mind before you go to bed. It helps relieve stress. So, instead of using cell phones or watching TV you can always read a good book for a sound sleep.

5) Communication Skills: Reading improves your vocabulary and develops your communication skills. It helps you learn how to use your language creatively. Not only does it improve your communication but it also makes you a better writer. Good communication is important in every aspect of life.

6) Develops Critical Thinking: The chief benefit of reading good books is that it develops your critical thinking. The more you read the deeper you understand and process the information. Critical thinking is important in life to manage day to day situations.

7) Reduces Stress: Reading a good book takes you in a new world and helps you relieve your day to day stress. It has several positive effects on your mind, body and soul. It stimulates your brain muscles and keeps your brain healthy and strong.

Reading books is the most fruitful way to use time. It keeps you occupied and helps you get rid of stress in life. Once you develop the habit of reading you can never get bored. It also improves the function of brain and is the best exercise for brain.

Essay on Reading is Good Habit FAQs

How reading is a good habit.

Reading is a good habit as it improves vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. It also enhances memory, analytical skills, and results at school. Moreover, reading is an exercise for the mind, helping individuals calm down, relax, and gain new knowledge to enlighten their minds. It is beneficial for everyone, promoting cognitive skills and providing numerous advantages for personal and societal development.

What is reading habit in 80 words?

Reading habit involves exploring new ideas, developing imagination, and enhancing conversational skills. It also improves emotional intelligence and general knowledge, contributing to a better understanding of the world and a desire for continuous learning.

Why is reading important 150 words?

Reading is important as it strengthens brain activity, boosts communication skills, and supports self-exploration. It also makes individuals intellectually sound, entertains, and lowers stress. Additionally, reading grows imaginations, develops a sense of accomplishment, and supports all areas of life, providing opportunities for education, entertainment, and personal growth.

What is the importance of reading essay?

The importance of reading lies in its ability to provide knowledge, sharpen critical thinking, and expand education. It fosters curiosity, inquiry, and discovery, leading to personal and academic accomplishments. Reading is a significant tool for learning, relaxation, and self-improvement, offering a wide range of benefits for individuals of all ages.

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Reading essay in English

Reading essay in English

Reading essay in English , contains all the information you care about the importance of reading and how it develops the mind and enlighten the thought and open the horizons of knowledge in front of the reader and it brings him confidence in himself in all areas. All the information is here in Reading essay in English .

Reading is the primary and most important source of information you want to know, whether in your field or in any other field. Here we will learn about the importance of reading for the individual and society in Reading essay in English.

The importance of reading lies mainly in the fact that it is the only way in which a person can acquire knowledge in a continuous and unbroken manner.

A single book gives the reader a great deal of experience that the author can not gather until he has spent a very long time in earnestness, work and diligence.

Reading was one of the important non-secondary issues that all people should prioritize, so that it has to be an integral part of daily activities.

Reading is not only increasing information; it is increasing the ability to analyze and relate things to each other. Many reading people acquire new skills, such as: the ability to understand faster, and the ability to discuss and debate on any of the different topics.

Reading is the only means to enable man to acquire multiple skills at the same time. It is also the only way that can make anyone gain different things, such that it may gain this man some material gains that may turn his life directly and improve his conditions for better conditions.

It is also possible through reading that a person learns languages ​​other than his native language.  It can also improve and develop the languages he possesses, including his native language.

Reading gives people the ability to write better, by giving them a large number of different and diverse vocabulary that contribute greatly to the development of language of this person, and in the development of his ability to express himself and thoughts in his mind.

Reading is one of the most important skills to achieve success and enjoyment for each person during his life, based on the fact that reading is the complementary part of our personal and practical life and is the key to the doors of science and diverse knowledge.

In this way we have provided you with Reading essay in English, and you can read more about reading through the following link:

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How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

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In one sense, the national conversation about what it will take to make sure all children become strong readers has been wildly successful: States are passing legislation supporting evidence-based teaching approaches , and school districts are rushing to supply training. Publishers are under pressure to drop older materials . And for the first time in years, an instructional issue—reading—is headlining education media coverage.

In the middle of all that, though, the focus on the “science of reading” has elided its twin component in literacy instruction: writing.

Writing is intrinsically important for all students to learn—after all, it is the primary way beyond speech that humans communicate. But more than that, research suggests that teaching students to write in an integrated fashion with reading is not only efficient, it’s effective.

Yet writing is often underplayed in the elementary grades. Too often, it is separated from schools’ reading block. Writing is not assessed as frequently as reading, and principals, worried about reading-exam scores, direct teachers to focus on one often at the expense of the other. Finally, beyond the English/language arts block, kids often aren’t asked to do much writing in early grades.

“Sometimes, in an early-literacy classroom, you’ll hear a teacher say, ‘It’s time to pick up your pencils,’” said Wiley Blevins, an author and literacy consultant who provides training in schools. “But your pencils should be in your hand almost the entire morning.”

Strikingly, many of the critiques that reading researchers have made against the “balanced literacy” approach that has held sway in schools for decades could equally apply to writing instruction: Foundational writing skills—like phonics and language structure—have not generally been taught systematically or explicitly.

And like the “find the main idea” strategies commonly taught in reading comprehension, writing instruction has tended to focus on content-neutral tasks, rather than deepening students’ connections to the content they learn.

Education Week wants to bring more attention to these connections in the stories that make up this special collection . But first, we want to delve deeper into the case for including writing in every step of the elementary curriculum.

Why has writing been missing from the reading conversation?

Much like the body of knowledge on how children learn to read words, it is also settled science that reading and writing draw on shared knowledge, even though they have traditionally been segmented in instruction.

“The body of research is substantial in both number of studies and quality of studies. There’s no question that reading and writing share a lot of real estate, they depend on a lot of the same knowledge and skills,” said Timothy Shanahan, an emeritus professor of education at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Pick your spot: text structure, vocabulary, sound-symbol relationships, ‘world knowledge.’”

The reasons for the bifurcation in reading and writing are legion. One is that the two fields have typically been studied separately. (Researchers studying writing usually didn’t examine whether a writing intervention, for instance, also aided students’ reading abilities—and vice versa.)

Some scholars also finger the dominance of the federally commissioned National Reading Panel report, which in 2000 outlined key instructional components of learning to read. The review didn’t examine the connection of writing to reading.

Looking even further back yields insights, too. Penmanship and spelling were historically the only parts of writing that were taught, and when writing reappeared in the latter half of the 20th century, it tended to focus on “process writing,” emphasizing personal experience and story generation over other genres. Only when the Common Core State Standards appeared in 2010 did the emphasis shift to writing about nonfiction texts and across subjects—the idea that students should be writing about what they’ve learned.

And finally, teaching writing is hard. Few studies document what preparation teachers receive to teach writing, but in surveys, many teachers say they received little training in their college education courses. That’s probably why only a little over half of teachers, in one 2016 survey, said that they enjoyed teaching writing.

Writing should begin in the early grades

These factors all work against what is probably the most important conclusion from the research over the last few decades: Students in the early-elementary grades need lots of varied opportunities to write.

“Students need support in their writing,” said Dana Robertson, an associate professor of reading and literacy education at the school of education at Virginia Tech who also studies how instructional change takes root in schools. “They need to be taught explicitly the skills and strategies of writing and they need to see the connections of reading, writing, and knowledge development.”

While research supports some fundamental tenets of writing instruction—that it should be structured, for instance, and involve drafting and revising—it hasn’t yet pointed to a specific teaching recipe that works best.

One of the challenges, the researchers note, is that while reading curricula have improved over the years, they still don’t typically provide many supports for students—or teachers, for that matter—for writing. Teachers often have to supplement with additions that don’t always mesh well with their core, grade-level content instruction.

“We have a lot of activities in writing we know are good,” Shanahan said. “We don’t really have a yearlong elementary-school-level curriculum in writing. That just doesn’t exist the way it does in reading.”

Nevertheless, practitioners like Blevins work writing into every reading lesson, even in the earliest grades. And all the components that make up a solid reading program can be enhanced through writing activities.

4 Key Things to Know About How Reading and Writing Interlock

Want a quick summary of what research tells us about the instructional connections between reading and writing?

1. Reading and writing are intimately connected.

Research on the connections began in the early 1980s and has grown more robust with time.

Among the newest and most important additions are three research syntheses conducted by Steve Graham, a professor at the University of Arizona, and his research partners. One of them examined whether writing instruction also led to improvements in students’ reading ability; a second examined the inverse question. Both found significant positive effects for reading and writing.

A third meta-analysis gets one step closer to classroom instruction. Graham and partners examined 47 studies of instructional programs that balanced both reading and writing—no program could feature more than 60 percent of one or the other. The results showed generally positive effects on both reading and writing measures.

2. Writing matters even at the earliest grades, when students are learning to read.

Studies show that the prewriting students do in early education carries meaningful signals about their decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension later on. Reading experts say that students should be supported in writing almost as soon as they begin reading, and evidence suggests that both spelling and handwriting are connected to the ability to connect speech to print and to oral language development.

3. Like reading, writing must be taught explicitly.

Writing is a complex task that demands much of students’ cognitive resources. Researchers generally agree that writing must be explicitly taught—rather than left up to students to “figure out” the rules on their own.

There isn’t as much research about how precisely to do this. One 2019 review, in fact, found significant overlap among the dozen writing programs studied, and concluded that all showed signs of boosting learning. Debates abound about the amount of structure students need and in what sequence, such as whether they need to master sentence construction before moving onto paragraphs and lengthier texts.

But in general, students should be guided on how to construct sentences and paragraphs, and they should have access to models and exemplars, the research suggests. They also need to understand the iterative nature of writing, including how to draft and revise.

A number of different writing frameworks incorporating various degrees of structure and modeling are available, though most of them have not been studied empirically.

4. Writing can help students learn content—and make sense of it.

Much of reading comprehension depends on helping students absorb “world knowledge”—think arts, ancient cultures, literature, and science—so that they can make sense of increasingly sophisticated texts and ideas as their reading improves. Writing can enhance students’ content learning, too, and should be emphasized rather than taking a back seat to the more commonly taught stories and personal reflections.

Graham and colleagues conducted another meta-analysis of nearly 60 studies looking at this idea of “writing to learn” in mathematics, science, and social studies. The studies included a mix of higher-order assignments, like analyses and argumentative writing, and lower-level ones, like summarizing and explaining. The study found that across all three disciplines, writing about the content improved student learning.

If students are doing work on phonemic awareness—the ability to recognize sounds—they shouldn’t merely manipulate sounds orally; they can put them on the page using letters. If students are learning how to decode, they can also encode—record written letters and words while they say the sounds out loud.

And students can write as they begin learning about language structure. When Blevins’ students are mainly working with decodable texts with controlled vocabularies, writing can support their knowledge about how texts and narratives work: how sentences are put together and how they can be pulled apart and reconstructed. Teachers can prompt them in these tasks, asking them to rephrase a sentence as a question, split up two sentences, or combine them.

“Young kids are writing these mile-long sentences that become second nature. We set a higher bar, and they are fully capable of doing it. We can demystify a bit some of that complex text if we develop early on how to talk about sentences—how they’re created, how they’re joined,” Blevins said. “There are all these things you can do that are helpful to develop an understanding of how sentences work and to get lots of practice.”

As students progress through the elementary grades, this structured work grows more sophisticated. They need to be taught both sentence and paragraph structure , and they need to learn how different writing purposes and genres—narrative, persuasive, analytical—demand different approaches. Most of all, the research indicates, students need opportunities to write at length often.

Using writing to support students’ exploration of content

Reading is far more than foundational skills, of course. It means introducing students to rich content and the specialized vocabulary in each discipline and then ensuring that they read, discuss, analyze, and write about those ideas. The work to systematically build students’ knowledge begins in the early grades and progresses throughout their K-12 experience.

Here again, available evidence suggests that writing can be a useful tool to help students explore, deepen, and draw connections in this content. With the proper supports, writing can be a method for students to retell and analyze what they’ve learned in discussions of content and literature throughout the school day —in addition to their creative writing.

This “writing to learn” approach need not wait for students to master foundational skills. In the K-2 grades especially, much content is learned through teacher read-alouds and conversation that include more complex vocabulary and ideas than the texts students are capable of reading. But that should not preclude students from writing about this content, experts say.

“We do a read-aloud or a media piece and we write about what we learned. It’s just a part of how you’re responding, or sharing, what you’ve learned across texts; it’s not a separate thing from reading,” Blevins said. “If I am doing read-alouds on a concept—on animal habitats, for example—my decodable texts will be on animals. And students are able to include some of these more sophisticated ideas and language in their writing, because we’ve elevated the conversations around these texts.”

In this set of stories , Education Week examines the connections between elementary-level reading and writing in three areas— encoding , language and text structure , and content-area learning . But there are so many more examples.

Please write us to share yours when you’ve finished.

Want to read more about the research that informed this story? Here’s a bibliography to start you off.

Berninger V. W., Abbott, R. D., Abbott, S. P., Graham S., & Richards T. (2002). Writing and reading: Connections between language by hand and language by eye. J ournal of Learning Disabilities. Special Issue: The Language of Written Language, 35(1), 39–56 Berninger, Virginia, Robert D. Abbott, Janine Jones, Beverly J. Wolf, Laura Gould, Marci Anderson-Younstrom, Shirley Shimada, Kenn Apel. (2006) “Early development of language by hand: composing, reading, listening, and speaking connections; three letter-writing modes; and fast mapping in spelling.” Developmental Neuropsychology, 29(1), pp. 61-92 Cabell, Sonia Q, Laura S. Tortorelli, and Hope K. Gerde (2013). “How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers’ Early Writing Skills.” The Reading Teacher, 66(8), pp. 650-659. Gerde, H.K., Bingham, G.E. & Wasik, B.A. (2012). “Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices.” Early Childhood Education Journal 40, 351–359 (2012) Gilbert, Jennifer, and Steve Graham. (2010). “Teaching Writing to Elementary Students in Grades 4–6: A National Survey.” The Elementary School Journal 110(44) Graham, Steve, et al. (2017). “Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta-Analysis.” Reading Research Quarterly, 53(3) pp. 279–304 Graham, Steve, and Michael Hebert. (2011). “Writing to Read: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Writing and Writing Instruction on Reading.” Harvard Educational Review (2011) 81(4): 710–744. Graham, Steve. (2020). “The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated.” Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1) pp. S35–S44 Graham, Steve, Sharlene A. Kiuhara, and Meade MacKay. (2020).”The Effects of Writing on Learning in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis.” Review of Educational Research April 2020, Vol 90, No. 2, pp. 179–226 Shanahan, Timothy. “History of Writing and Reading Connections.” in Shanahan, Timothy. (2016). “Relationships between reading and writing development.” In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 194–207). New York, NY: Guilford. Slavin, Robert, Lake, C., Inns, A., Baye, A., Dachet, D., & Haslam, J. (2019). “A quantitative synthesis of research on writing approaches in grades 2 to 12.” London: Education Endowment Foundation. Troia, Gary. (2014). Evidence-based practices for writing instruction (Document No. IC-5). Retrieved from University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configuration/ Troia, Gary, and Steve Graham. (2016).“Common Core Writing and Language Standards and Aligned State Assessments: A National Survey of Teacher Beliefs and Attitudes.” Reading and Writing 29(9).

A version of this article appeared in the January 25, 2023 edition of Education Week as How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

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How I learned to make the most of summer reading

The leisurely season, I came to realize, offered me the freedom and time to delve into classics like “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Invisible Man.”

It’s hard to tell this story without sounding pretentious, but here goes. Not too long ago, I reached for my old copy of “The Brothers Karamazov.” (I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the Grand Inquisitor sequence.) Opening the pages, I was startled to see a tiny rivulet of sand spill out. I could be even more pretentious and call the moment Proustian, because in the next second, I was lofted back over a span of decades to the place where I first read that book.

It was a beach in Duck, N.C., where my mother liked to rent a house every summer. Like many other English people I’ve met, she welcomed unfiltered sunshine wherever she could find it, and I was happy to go along because, more than the ocean or the salt air, I was drawn to the emptiness, which I knew I would be able to fill with reading.

By then I’d ventured into some approximation of post-collegiate adulthood, and it had dawned on me that reading was no longer a thing the world rewarded. It had to be carried out on the bounce, on the sly, when the day’s drudgery was done or before it had begun. So a week at the beach was the kind of gift I was in no mood to squander. I can still see myself, collapsed in a folding chair beneath a rented beach umbrella. Every part of me is covered or lotioned up (half-English kids burn easy) except for my feet, which are buried in the sand. From time to time, I look up, stare at a sandpiper or a garland of kelp. If there’s no breeze to cool things down, I might get up and wade out in the water, execute a few halfhearted body surfs. Then it’s back to the chair.

I was in a family that valued the written word, which meant that nobody bothered me or expected me to do anything other than what I was doing. The hours didn’t so much fly by as condense into a tidal pool. And it was precisely because I’d been given this expanse of freedom that I couldn’t see spending it on what are normally called “summer books.” This wasn’t snobbery: I was a way-back lover of mysteries and thrillers, which I read and enjoyed throughout the year. But where else would I have the leisure to read, yes, “The Brothers Karamazov”? Or “The Magic Mountain,” “Invisible Man,” “Lord Jim,” “Wuthering Heights” or “Sense and Sensibility”?

It had to be summer because that was the only route to immersion. When I learned, for instance, that I had two months after my college graduation to be idle, I didn’t lounge by a pool — I started reading Henry James and kept reading. “The American,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” “The Bostonians,” “The Golden Bowl”: I plowed through them like sand castles. The more byzantine James’s syntax grew, the harder I pushed, because I had never encountered a sensibility of such infinite subtlety and nuance. (In later months, I would learn that James was both a great writer and a terrible writing model, but the original enchantment lingered.)

Summer reading

essay english reading

I suppose you’d call all these books warhorses now, or else tokens of overstriving, but when I think back to that ardent young man, I don’t believe he was trying to impress anybody. He was operating on the assumption that had driven him since childhood, that people out there knew things, and if he wanted to know them, too, he had to come knocking. And that innocence, that hunger, was part and parcel with summer, because he was entering his own life’s summer.

I sit now, in effect, at the tail end of that summer. The future, which once seemed an endless plain of possibility, is now a peninsula. So many things have changed, including my relationship to the written word. I couldn’t possibly sit down today and read — or do anything — for six consecutive hours. Books are now inseparably tied to my work. When I’m not reading for research, I’m reading for a review or a writer’s workshop or some other professional obligation. Now and again a book fills me with the old engine roar of wonder — I cherish that — but even then, I’m still, consciously or unconsciously, poking under the hood to see how it’s happening. The authorial eye never relaxes. In my mind, I edit the instructions on shampoo bottles.

So I miss, even envy, that disinterested lad on the beach, swathed in towels and sunblock, and I wonder if, by the time my life’s autumn and winter roll around, I’ll be ready to rejoin him. Not on the beach, perhaps, but the nearest best thing. All the deadlines and contracts will be cast to one side, and I’ll be able to say once more, and mean it: Tell me a story . The Karamazovs will be there waiting.

Louis Bayard, a Book World contributing writer, is the author of several novels, including “Jackie & Me” and the upcoming “The Wildes.”

More from Book World

Love everything about books? Make sure to subscribe to our Book Club newsletter , where Ron Charles guides you through the literary news of the week.

Check out our coverage of this year’s Pulitzer winners: Jayne Anne Phillips won the fiction prize for her novel “ Night Watch .” The nonfiction prize went to Nathan Thrall, for “ A Day in the Life of Abed Salama .” Cristina Rivera Garza received the memoir prize for “ Liliana’s Invincible Summer .” And Jonathan Eig received the biography prize for his “ King: A Life .”

Best books of 2023: See our picks for the 10 best books of 2023 or dive into the staff picks that Book World writers and editors treasured in 2023. Check out the complete lists of 50 notable works for fiction and the top 50 nonfiction books of last year.

Find your favorite genre: Three new memoirs tell stories of struggle and resilience, while five recent historical novels offer a window into other times. Audiobooks more your thing? We’ve got you covered there, too . If you’re looking for what’s new, we have a list of our most anticipated books of 2024 . And here are 10 noteworthy new titles that you might want to consider picking up this April.

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Important Tips for Writing TOEFL Essay| Tips 2024

The TOEFL iBT test is a good way to show you know English well enough for university. The test has four parts: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. It takes about three hours to finish. The last part, the writing section, has two essays: one independent and one integrated.

The integrated essay lasts 20 minutes and is based on a reading and a listening passage, similar to a typical school setting. You need to remember what you heard and explain the ideas in your own words without copying. In this article, we will give you some really helpful tips to improve your TOEFL iBT writing skills.

How-to-write-a-good-TOEFL-essay

Table of Content

10 Amazing TOEFL 2024 Essay Writing Tips

Tips for writing a good toefl essay, create an essay plan, know what the examiner wants, give yourself a word limit, stick to the prompt, keep on practising your writing, use effective paragraph structure, use specific examples, use varied sentence structure, use academic vocabulary, use correct grammar and punctuation, integrated writing task, transition words and phrases, integrated essay time breakdown.

Here’s a quick summary of our top 10 TOEFL Writing Tips:

  • Tip 1: Pay close attention to the reading passage because the listening passage will challenge each point made in it.
  • Tip 2: Practice taking brief but accurate notes during the listening passage. You only get to hear it once.
  • Tip 3: Paraphrase the passages. The TOEFL grading criteria include vocabulary, and you will earn zero points if you simply quote the material.
  • Tip 4: Use lots of transitional words and phrases to help develop your essay and connect your ideas.
  • Tip 5: Manage your time wisely. You only have 20 minutes to write an essay of at least 250 words.
  • Tip 6: Add to the discussion. Do not repeat points and ideas from the passages in your response.
  • Tip 7: Stick to a few simple verb tenses.
  • Tip 8: Try to include multiple sentences with more than one clause.
  • Tip 9: Plan to edit your essay for at least one minute at the end. There is no spellcheck on the TOEFL.
  • Tip 10: Practice writing at home and ask a teacher or trained TOEFL expert to give you a grade and point out your weaknesses.
Must Read: Top 10 TOEFL 2024 Writing Tips to Ace the Exam

Having a plan for your TOEFL iBT essay can make your writing flow better and help you organize your ideas. Writing down a short essay plan before you start will help you use your time well. When you know what you will write next, you won’t have to stop and think between each paragraph.

There are several common TOEFL iBT essay plans that work well. However, the most important thing is to find what works best for you. An organized plan is essential to succeed in the TOEFL iBT writing test because it helps the examiner follow your essay easily. Even if you have great ideas, a disorganized essay can make it hard to get the grades you deserve.

Check the writing rubrics for the TOEFL iBT writing test and set a goal for the grade you want.

The writing rubrics show what the examiner expects from your TOEFL iBT essay. This can help you focus on important skills like organization and clarity.

You can find examples of TOEFL iBT writing test essays with estimated grades online. These examples give you a good idea of what to aim for when practicing. Knowing what the examiner is looking for can make you feel more confident in your writing.

A good TOEFL iBT essay should have at least 150 words for the integrated task and 300 words for the independent task. However, it’s up to you to decide.

Setting a word limit helps you know when to stop writing and start checking your essay. This also forces you to focus on what is essential, leading to a higher grade. In writing your TOEFL iBT essay, quality is more important than quantity.

Under pressure during the TOEFL iBT exam, it’s easy to go off-topic.

After each paragraph, quickly read what you have written to ensure it is relevant to the essay prompt. This will save time because you won’t have to rewrite at the end if you realize you strayed from the topic. It also helps you plan the next paragraph.

With limited time, it’s best to stay on track throughout the TOEFL iBT writing test. This is especially important for the independent writing task but is also useful for the integrated writing.

More Practice is key for the TOEFL iBT writing test as it improves both your writing skills and speed. The more you write, the more confident you will feel during the exam.

Becoming good at writing doesn’t happen overnight, so practice is essential. Spending 30 minutes on a sample TOEFL iBT essay regularly will help you improve. By practicing often, you will retain your skills and become familiar with the essays, making them less intimidating during the test.

Also, it’s important to time yourself when you practice.

Paragraphs are the building blocks of your essay. Each paragraph should start with a clear topic sentence that ties into the main idea of the essay. Support your main point with evidence and examples in each paragraph. Make sure each paragraph flows smoothly into the next by using transition words and phrases to link ideas and create a cohesive essay.

To score high on your TOEFL essay, use specific examples to support your ideas. Include real-life examples, statistics, and facts to back up your arguments. This shows your knowledge of the topic and your critical thinking skills. Specific examples also make your essay more interesting and help you stand out from other test-takers.

Vary your sentence structure to make your essay more engaging. Mix short and long sentences, questions, and statements to add variety. This will help avoid repetition and keep your writing interesting. However, ensure that your sentences are grammatically correct and fit well in the context of your essay.

Using academic vocabulary makes your essay sound more professional. Choose words that are suitable for the academic level of the test. Avoid slang, casual language, and overly complex words. Make sure you use words correctly and understand their meanings.

Correct grammar and punctuation are crucial for a high score on the TOEFL writing section. Ensure you use correct verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure. Use appropriate punctuation to make your writing clear and easy to read. If you’re unsure about any grammar or punctuation rules, look them up or ask a tutor for help.

Transitional words and phrases are crucial and should be used in TOEFL essays. Transition between contrasting points of views in both readin and listening passages are important:

Related Articles TOEFL Full Form – Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Benefits TOEFL Exam Pattern 2024: Check Question Types & Scores TOEFL Eligibility 2024: Age Limit, Qualification, Docs & More TOEFL Preparation Tips & Strategies 2024 TOEFL Exam 2024: Fees, Syllabus, Dates, Registration & More TOEFL Exam Registration 2024: Check Dates, Fees, Processes, Centres & More TOEFL Speaking Score: Percentiles, Score Calculation, Score Range, and Score Rubrics

How to write a good TOEFL essay- FAQs

What is the format of the toefl essay.

The TOEFL essay is a 30-minute written task where you are asked to express and support your opinion on a specific topic. The essay is typically four to five paragraphs long and should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Where can I find sample TOEFL essays to practice with?

You can find sample TOEFL essays in TOEFL preparation books or online. The official TOEFL website also provides sample essays and scoring guides.

How can I prepare for the TOEFL writing section?

To prepare for the TOEFL writing section, you should practice writing essays using sample prompts, develop your grammar and vocabulary skills, and learn how to organize and develop your ideas effectively. You may also want to work.

How to write a TOEFL essay?

To write a TOEFL essay, it is important to understand the prompt, brainstorm ideas, create an outline, and then write a well-structured essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Practice organising your thoughts and expressing them clearly within the time limit provided.

Is 27 a good writing score in TOEFL?

Yes, a score of 27 is considered a good writing score in TOEFL. It demonstrates a high level of proficiency in writing and indicates strong language skills, coherence, and clarity in expressing ideas.

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Learn English Through Story

Reading English stories is one of the most effective ways of improving your language skills. We have a lot of story books for all levels to learn English easily and quickly. Each English stories has audio files with subtitles. You can also free download them in PDF book form. We offer you to learn English through stories.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (for Elementary Levels A2)

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English Stories to improve English – “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Free Download

Watch this story on YouTube and improve your English skills.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll

Retold by Jennifer Bassett

Chapter one: Down the rabbit-hole

Chapter two: the pool of tears, chapter three: conversation with a caterpillar, chapter four: the cheshire cat, chapter five: a mad tea-party, chapter six: the queen’s game of croquet, chapter seven: who stole the tarts.

     Alice was beginning to get very bored. She and her sister were sitting under the trees. Her sister was reading, but Alice had nothing to do. Once or twice she looked into her sister’s book, but it had no pictures or conversations in it.

     ‘And what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’

     She tried to think of something to do, but it was a hot day and she felt very sleepy and stupid. She was still sitting and thinking when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran past her.

English Stories to improve English - Suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her

Suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her

      There was nothing really strange about seeing a rabbit.  And Alice was not very surprised when the Rabbit said, ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (Perhaps it was a little strange, Alice thought later, but at the time she was not surprised.)

     But then the Rabbit took a watch out of its pocket, looked at it, and hurried on. At once Alice jumped to her feet.

      ‘I’ve never before seen a rabbit with either a pocket, or a watch to take out of it,’ she thought. And she ran quickly across the field after the Rabbit. She did not stop to think, and when the Rabbit ran down a large rabbit-hole, Alice followed it immediately.

     After a little way the rabbit-hole suddenly went down, deep into the ground. Alice could not stop herself falling, and down she went, too.

     It was a very strange hole. Alice was falling very slowly, and she had time to think and to look around her. She could see nothing below her because it was so dark. But when she looked at the sides of the hole, she could see cupboards and books and pictures on the walls.  She had time to take things out of a cupboard, look at them, and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

     ‘Well!’ thought Alice. ‘After a fall like this, I can fall anywhere! I can fall downstairs at home, and I won’t cry or say a word about it!’

      Down, down, down. ‘How far have I fallen now?’ Alice said aloud to herself. ‘Perhaps I’m near the centre of the earth. Let me think …  That’s four thousand miles down.’ (Alice was very good at her school lessons and could remember a lot of things like this.)

      Down, down, down. Would she ever stop falling? Alice was very nearly asleep when, suddenly, she was sitting on the ground.  Quickly, she jumped to her feet and looked around. She could see the White Rabbit, who was hurrying away and still talking to himself. ‘Oh my ears and whiskers!’ he was saying. ‘How late it’s getting!’

      Alice ran after him like the wind. She was getting very near him when he suddenly turned a corner. Alice ran round the corner too, and then stopped. She was now in a long, dark room with doors all round the walls, and she could not see the White Rabbit anywhere.

      She tried to open the doors, but they were all locked. ‘How will I ever get out again?’ she thought sadly. Then she saw a little glass table with three legs, and on the top of it was a very small gold key. Alice quickly took the key and tried it in all the doors, but oh dear! Either the locks were too big, or the key was too small, but she could not open any of the doors.

      Then she saw another door, a door that was only forty centimetres high. The little gold key unlocked this door easily, but of course Alice could not get through it – she was much too big. So she lay on the floor and looked through the open door, into a beautiful garden with green trees and bright flowers.

     Poor Alice was very unhappy. ‘What a wonderful garden!’ she said to herself. ‘I’d like to be out there – not in this dark room. Why can’t I get smaller?’  It was already a very strange day, and Alice was beginning to think that anything was possible.

     After a while she locked the door again, got up and went back to the glass table. She put the key down and then she saw a little bottle on the table (‘I’m sure it wasn’t here before,’ said Alice).  Round the neck of the bottle was a piece of paper with the words DRINK ME in large letters.

     But Alice was a careful girl.  ‘It can be dangerous to drink out of strange bottles,’ she said. ‘What will it do to me?’ She drank a little bit very slowly. The taste was very nice, like chocolate and oranges and hot sweet coffee, and very soon Alice finished the bottle.

‘What a strange feeling!’ said Alice.  ‘I think I’m getting smaller and smaller every second.’

      And she was. A few minutes later she was only twenty- five centimetres high. ‘And now,’ she said happily, ‘I can get through the little door into that beautiful garden.’

     She ran at once to the door. When she got there, she remembered that the little gold key was back on the glass table. She ran back to the table for it, but of course, she was now much too small! There was the key, high above her, on top of the table. She tried very hard to climb up the table leg, but she could not do it.

      At last, tired and unhappy, Alice sat down on the floor and cried. But after a while she spoke to herself angrily.

      ‘Come now,’ she said. ‘Stop crying at once. What’s the use of crying?’ She was a strange child, and often talked to herself like this.

      Soon she saw a little glass box near her on the floor. She opened it, and found a very small cake with the words EAT ME on it.

     Nothing could surprise Alice now. ‘Well, I’ll eat it,’ she said. ‘If I get taller, I can take the key off the table. And if I get smaller, I can get under the door. One way or another, I’ll get into the garden. So it doesn’t matter what happens!’

English Stories to improve English - Alice tried very hard to climb up the table leg

Alice tried very hard to climb up the table leg.

     She ate a bit of the cake, and then put her hand on top of her head.  ‘Which way?  Which way?’  she asked herself, a little afraid. Nothing happened.  This was not really surprising. People don’t usually get taller or shorter when they eat cake. But a lot of strange things were happening to Alice today. ‘It will be very boring,’ she said, ‘if nothing happens.’

      So she went on eating, and very soon the cake was finished.

       Curiouser and curiouser!’ said Alice. (She was very surprised, and for a minute she forgot how to speak good English.)

      ‘I shall be as tall as a house in a minute,’ she said. She tried to look down at her feet, and could only just see them. ‘Goodbye, feet!’ she called. ‘Who will put on your shoes now? Oh dear! What nonsense I’m talking!’

     Just then her head hit the ceiling of the room. She was now about three metres high. Quickly, she took the little gold key from the table and hurried to the garden door.

     Poor Alice!  She lay on the floor and looked into the garden with one eye.  She could not even put her head through the door.

    She began to cry again, and went on crying and crying. The tears ran down her face, and soon there was a large pool of water all around her on the floor. Suddenly she heard a voice, and she stopped crying to listen.

    ‘Oh, the Duchess, the Duchess! She’ll be so angry! I’m late, and she’s waiting for me. Oh dear, oh dear!’

    It was the White Rabbit again. He was hurrying down the long room, with some white gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other hand.

     Alice was afraid, but she needed help. She spoke in a quiet voice.  ‘Oh, please, sir—’

    The Rabbit jumped wildly, dropped the gloves and the fan, and hurried away as fast as he could.

     Alice picked up the fan and the gloves. The room was very hot, so she began to fan herself while she talked. ‘Oh dear! How strange everything is today! Did I change in the night? Am I a different person today?  But if I’m a different person, then the next question is – who am I? Ah, that’s the mystery.’

English Stories to improve English - The Rabbit jumped wildly, and dropped the gloves and the fan.

The Rabbit jumped wildly, and dropped the gloves and the fan.

     She began to feel very unhappy again, but then she looked down at her hand. She was wearing one of the Rabbit’s white gloves. ‘How did I get it on my hand?’ she thought.  ‘Oh, I’m getting smaller again!’ She looked round the room. ‘I’m already less than a metre high. And getting smaller every second! How can I stop it?’ She saw the fan in her other hand, and quickly dropped it.

      She was now very, very small – and the little garden door was locked again, and the little gold key was lying on the glass table.

     ‘Things are worse than ever,’ thought poor Alice. She turned away from the door, and fell into salt water, right up to her neck. At first she thought it was the sea, but then she saw it was the pool of tears. Her tears. Crying makes a lot of tears when you are three metres tall.

    ‘Oh, why did I cry so much?’  said Alice.  She swam around and looked for a way out, but the pool was very big. Just then she saw an animal in the water near her. It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

     ‘Shall I speak to it?’  thought Alice.  ‘Everything’s very strange down here, so perhaps a mouse can talk.’

     So she began: ‘Oh Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming, oh Mouse!’ (Alice did not know if this was the right way to speak to a mouse. But she wanted to be polite.)

      The mouse looked at her with its little eyes, but it said nothing.

     ‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice. ‘Perhaps it’s a French mouse.’ So she began again, and said in French:  ‘Where is my cat?’  (This was the first sentence in her French lesson-book.)

English Stories to improve English - It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

     The mouse jumped half out of the water and looked at her angrily.

    ‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ cried Alice quickly. ‘Of course, you don’t like cats, do you?’

    ‘Like cats?’ cried the mouse in a high,  angry voice. ‘Does any mouse like cats?’

    ‘Well, perhaps not,’ Alice began kindly.

     But the mouse was now swimming quickly away, and soon Alice was alone again.  At last she found her way out of the pool and sat down on the ground. She felt very lonely and unhappy. But after a while the White Rabbit came past again, looking for his white gloves and his fan.

    ‘The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my ears and whiskers! She’ll cut my head off, I know she will! Oh, where did I drop my gloves?’ Then he saw Alice. ‘Why, Mary Ann, what are you doing here? Run home at once, and bring me some gloves and a fan. Quick, now!’

     Alice hurried away. ‘But where is his house?’  she thought while she ran. Strangely, she was no longer in the long room with the little door, but outside in a wood. She ran and ran but could not see a house anywhere, so she sat down under a flower to rest.

   “Now,’ Alice said to herself. ‘First, I must get a little bigger, and second, I must find my way into that beautiful garden. I think that will be the best plan. But oh dear! How shall I get bigger? Perhaps I must eat or drink something, but the question is, what?’

     Alice looked all around her at the flowers and the trees, but she could not see anything to eat. Then she saw a large mushroom near her. It was as tall as she was. She walked across to look at it, and there, on top of the mushroom, was a large caterpillar, smoking a pipe. After a while, the Caterpillar took the pipe out of its mouth and said to Alice in a slow, sleepy voice, ‘Who are you?’

     ‘I don’t really know, sir,’ said Alice. ‘I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I have changed so often since then. I think I am a different person now.’

    ‘What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar. ‘Explain yourself!’

    ‘I can’t explain myself, sir,’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you know.’

    ‘I don’t know,’ said the Caterpillar.

English Stories to improve English - 'Explain yourself!' said the Caterpillar.

‘Explain yourself!’ said the Caterpillar.

     ‘It’s difficult to describe,’ Alice replied politely.  ‘One minute I’m very small, the next minute I’m as tall as a house, then I’m small again. Usually, I stay the same all day, and changing so often feels very strange to me.’

      ‘You!’ said the Caterpillar, in a very unfriendly voice. ‘Who are you?’

      They were now back at the beginning of their conversation, which was not very helpful. Alice felt a little cross and decided to walk away.

      ‘Come back!’  the Caterpillar called after her. ‘I’ve something important to say.’

      This sounded better, so Alice turned back.

     ‘Never get angry,’ said the Caterpillar.

      ‘Is that all?’ said Alice, trying not to be angry.

     ‘No,’ said the Caterpillar. For some minutes it smoked its pipe and did not speak, but at last it took the pipe out of its mouth, and said, ‘So you’ve changed, have you? How tall do you want to be?’

     ‘I would like to be a little larger, sir, please,’ said Alice. ‘Eight centimetres is really very small.’

     For a while the Caterpillar smoked its pipe. Then it shook itself, got down off the mushroom, and moved slowly away into the grass. It did not look back at Alice, but said, ‘One side will make you taller, and the other side will make you shorter.’

     ‘One side of what?’ thought Alice to herself.

     She did not say this aloud, but the Caterpillar said, ‘Of the mushroom.’ Then it moved away into the wood.

     Alice looked at the mushroom carefully, but it was round, and did not have sides. At last she broke off a piece in each hand from opposite sides of the mushroom. She ate some of the piece in her left hand, and waited to see what would happen.

     A minute later her head was as high as the tallest tree in the wood, and she was looking at a sea of green leaves. Then a bird appeared and began to fly around her head, screaming, ‘Egg thief!  Egg thief! Go away!’

    ‘I’m not an egg thief,’ said Alice.

    ‘Oh no?’ said the bird angrily. ‘But you eat eggs, don’t you?’

    ‘Well, yes, I do, but I don’t steal them,’ explained Alice quickly. ‘We have them for breakfast, you know.’

     ‘Then how do you get them, if you don’t steal them?’ screamed the bird.

      This was a difficult question to answer, so Alice brought up her right hand through the leaves and ate a little from the other piece of mushroom. She began to get smaller at once and, very carefully, she ate first from one hand, then from the other, until she was about twenty- five centimetres high.

     ‘That’s better,’ she said to herself. ‘And now I must find that garden.’ She began to walk through the wood, and after a while she came to a little house.

     There was a boy outside the door, with a large letter in his hand. (He was dressed like a boy, but his face was very like a fish, Alice thought.) The Fish-Boy knocked at the door, and a second later a large plate came flying out of an open window.

      ‘A letter for the Duchess,’ the Fish-Boy shouted. He pushed the letter under the door and went away.

     Alice went up to the door and knocked, but there was a lot of noise inside and nobody answered. So she opened the door and walked in.

English Stories to improve English - 'A letter for the Duchess,' the Fish-Boy shouted

‘A letter for the Duchess,’ the Fish-Boy shouted

      She found herself in a kitchen, which was full of smoke. There was a very angry cook by the fire, and in the middle of the room sat the Duchess, holding a screaming baby. Every few minutes a plate crashed to the floor. There was also a large cat, which was sitting on a chair and grinning from ear to ear.

     ‘Please,’ Alice said politely to the Duchess, ‘why does your cat grin like that?’

     ‘It’s a Cheshire Cat,’ said the Duchess. ‘That’s why.’

     ‘I didn’t know that cats could grin,’ said Alice.

     ‘Well, you don’t know much,’ said the Duchess. Another plate crashed to the floor and Alice jumped. ‘Here!’ the Duchess went on. ‘You can hold the baby for a bit, if you like. The Queen has invited me to play croquet, and I must go and get ready.’ She pushed the baby into Alice’s arms and hurried out of the room.

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There was a large cat, which was grinning from ear to ear.

     ‘Oh, the poor little thing!’ said Alice, looking at the baby, which had a very strange face. She took it outside into the wood and walked around under the trees. Then the baby began to make strange noises, and Alice looked into its face again. Its eyes were really very small for a baby, and its nose now looked very like the nose of a pig.

      ‘Don’t make noises like that, my dear,’ said Alice. ‘It’s not polite. You’re beginning to sound like a pig.’

    But a few minutes later, there was no mistake. It was a pig.  Alice put it carefully on the ground, and it ran quietly away on its four legs into the wood.

    ‘I’m pleased about that,’ Alice said to herself. ‘It will be a good-looking pig, but it would be terrible to be a child with a face like that.’

     She was thinking about pigs and children when she suddenly saw the Cheshire Cat in a tree. The Cat grinned at her, and she went nearer to it.

    ‘Please,’ she said, ‘can you tell me which way to go from here?’

      ‘But where do you want to get to?’ said the Cat.

      ‘It doesn’t really matter—’ began Alice.

      ‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

      ‘But I would like to get somewhere,’ Alice explained.

      ‘If you just go on walking,’ said the Cat, ‘in the end you’ll arrive somewhere.’

     That was true, thought Alice, but not very helpful, so she tried another question.  ‘What kind of people live near here?’

     ‘To the left,’ the Cat said, ‘lives a Hatter. And to the right, lives a March Hare. You can visit either of them. They’re both mad.’

     ‘But I don’t want to visit mad people,’ said Alice.

     ‘We’re all mad here, you know,’ said the Cat. ‘I’m mad. You’re mad.’

     ‘How do you know that I’m mad?’ said Alice.

     ‘Of course you’re mad,’ said the Cat.  ‘Only mad people come here.’

     Alice was thinking about this, but the Cat went on, ‘Are you playing croquet with the Queen today?’

    ‘I would like to very much,’ said Alice, ‘but nobody has invited me yet.’

    ‘You’ll see me there,’ said the Cat, and vanished.

     Alice was not really surprised at this, because so many strange things were happening today. She was still looking at the tree when, suddenly, the Cat appeared again.

     ‘I forgot to ask,’ said the Cat. ‘What happened to the baby?’

     ‘It turned into a pig,’ Alice said.

     ‘I’m not surprised,’ said the Cat, and vanished again.

     Alice began to walk on, and decided to visit the March Hare. ‘It’s the month of May now,’ she said to herself, ‘so perhaps the Hare won’t be as mad as he was in March.’

    Suddenly, there was the Cheshire Cat again, sitting in another tree. Alice jumped in surprise.

    ‘Do you think,’ she said politely, ‘that you could come and go more slowly?’

    ‘All right,’ said the Cat. And this time it vanished very slowly. First its tail went, then its body, then its head, and last, the grin.

      ‘Well!  I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ thought Alice, ‘but never a grin without a cat!’

     Soon she saw the house of the March Hare in front of her.  It was a large house, so she ate a little piece of mushroom to get bigger, and walked on.

This time the Cat vanished very slowly.

      There was a table under a tree outside the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea. A Dormouse was sitting between them, asleep. The three of them were all sitting together at one corner of the table, but the table was large and there were many other seats. Alice sat down in a big chair at one end.

     ‘Have some coffee,’ the March Hare said in a friendly voice.

     Alice looked all round the table, but she could only see a teapot. ‘I don’t see any coffee,’ she said.

    ‘There isn’t any,’ said the March Hare.

     ‘Then why did you ask me to have some?’ said Alice crossly. ‘It wasn’t very polite of you.’

     ‘It wasn’t very polite of you to sit down. We haven’t invited you to tea,’ said the March Hare.

    ‘But there are lots of seats,’ said Alice.

    ‘Your hair’s too long,’ said the Hatter, looking at Alice with interest.

    ‘It’s not polite to say things like that,’ said Alice.

    The Hatter looked surprised, but he said, ‘Why is a bird like a desk?’

    Alice was pleased.  She enjoyed playing wordgames, so she said, ‘That’s an easy question.’

    ‘Do you mean you know the answer?’ said the March Hare.

    ‘Yes,’ said Alice.

    ‘Then you must say what you mean,’ the March Hare said.

    ‘I do,’ Alice said quickly. ‘Well, I mean what I say. And that’s the same thing, you know.’

    ‘No, it isn’t!’ said the Hatter. ‘Listen to this. I see what I eat means one thing, but I eat what I see means something very different.’

    Alice did not know what to say to this. So she took some tea and some bread-and-butter while she thought about it. The Dormouse woke up for a minute and then went to sleep again. After a while the Hatter took out his watch, shook it, then looked at it sadly.

    ‘Two days slow! I told you that butter wasn’t good for watches!’ he said angrily to the March Hare.

    ‘It was the best butter,’ said the March Hare sadly.

    Alice was looking at the watch with interest.  ‘It’s a strange watch,’ she said. ‘It shows the day of the week, but not the time.’

    ‘But we know the time,’ said the Hatter. ‘It’s always six o’clock here.’

    Alice suddenly understood. ‘Is that why there are all these cups and plates?’  she said.  ‘It’s always tea-time here, and you go on moving round the table.  Is that right? But what happens when you come to the beginning again?’

    ‘Don’t ask questions,’ said the March Hare crossly. ‘You must tell us a story now.’

    ‘But I don’t know any stories,’ said Alice.

    Then the March Hare and the Hatter turned to the Dormouse. ‘Wake up, Dormouse!’ they shouted loudly in its ears. ‘Tell us a story.’

    ‘Yes, please do,’ said Alice.

     The Dormouse woke up and quickly began to tell a story, but a few minutes later it was asleep again. The March Hare poured a little hot tea on its nose, and the Hatter began to look for a clean plate. Alice decided to leave and walked away into the wood. She looked back once, and the March Hare and the Hatter were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.

The March Hare poured a little hot tea on the Dormouse’s nose.

    ‘Well, I won’t go there again,’ said Alice.  ‘What a stupid tea-party it was!’ Just then she saw a door in one of the trees. ‘How curious!’ she thought. ‘But everything is strange today. I think I’ll go in.’

    So she went in. And there she was, back in the long room with the little glass table. At once, she picked up the gold key from the table, unlocked the little door into the garden, and then began to eat a piece of mushroom. When she was down to about thirty centimetres high, she walked through the door, and then, at last, she was in the beautiful garden with its green trees and bright flowers.

    Near the door there was a rose-tree and three gardeners, who were looking at the roses in a very worried way.

     ‘What’s the matter?’ Alice said to them.

    ‘You see, Miss,’ said the first gardener, ‘these roses are white, but the Queen only likes red roses, and she—’

    ‘The Queen!’ said the second gardener suddenly, and at once, the three gardeners lay down flat on their faces. Alice turned round and saw a great crowd of people.

     It was a pack of cards, walking through the garden. There were clubs (they were soldiers), and diamonds, and ten little children (they were hearts).  Next came some Kings and Queens. Then Alice saw the White Rabbit, and behind him, the Knave of Hearts. And last of all, came THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS.

    When the crowd came near to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said, ‘Who are you?’

    ‘My name is Alice, Your Majesty,’ said Alice very politely. But she thought to herself, ‘They’re only a pack of cards. I don’t need to be afraid of them!’

    ‘And who are these? said the Queen, looking at the three gardeners. Then she saw the white roses, and her face turned red and angry. ‘Off with their heads!’  she shouted, and soldiers hurried up to take the gardeners away. The Queen turned to Alice. ‘Can you play croquet?’ she shouted.

    ‘Yes!’ shouted Alice.

     ‘Come on, then!’ shouted the Queen. The crowd began to move on, and Alice went with them.

    ‘It’s – it’s a very fine day,’ said a worried voice in her ear. Alice saw that the White Rabbit was by her side.

    ‘Very fine,’ said Alice. ‘Where’s the Duchess?’

     ‘Shhh!’  said the Rabbit in a hurried voice.  ‘She’s in prison, waiting for execution.’

     ‘What for?’ said Alice.

    But just then the Queen shouted, ‘Get to your places!’ and the game began.

    It was the strangest game of croquet in Alice’s life! The balls were hedgehogs, and the mallets were flamingoes. And the hoops were made by soldiers, who turned over and stood on their hands and feet.  Alice held her flamingo’s body under her arm, but the flamingo turned its long neck first this way and then that way. At last, Alice was ready to hit the ball with the flamingo’s head. But by then, the hedgehog was tired of waiting and was walking away across the croquet-ground.  And when both the flamingo and the hedgehog were ready, there was no hoop! The soldiers too were always getting up and walking away.  It really was a very difficult game, Alice thought.

     The players all played at the same time, and they were always arguing and fighting for hedgehogs. Nobody could agree about anything. Very soon, the Queen was wildly angry, and went around shouting ‘Off with his head!’ or ‘Off with her head!’ about once a minute.

    Alice began to feel worried. ‘The Queen is sure to argue with me soon,’ she thought.  ‘And what will happen to me then? They’re cutting people’s heads off all the time here. I’m surprised there is anyone left alive!’

     Just then she saw something very strange. She watched carefully, and after a minute or two she saw that the thing was a grin. ‘It’s the Cheshire Cat,’ she said to herself.  ‘Now I’ll have somebody to talk to.’   

The balls were hedgehogs, and the mallets were flamingoes

    ‘How are you getting on?’ said the Cat, when its mouth appeared.

    Alice waited. ‘I can’t talk to something without ears,’ she thought. Slowly the Cat’s eyes, then its ears, and then the rest of its head appeared. But it stopped at the neck, and its body did not appear.

    Alice began to tell the Cat all about the game. ‘It’s very difficult to play,’ she said.  ‘Everybody argues all the time, and the hoops and the hedgehogs walk away.’

    ‘How do you like the Queen?’ said the Cat quietly.

     ‘I don’t,’ said Alice. ‘She’s very—’ Just then she saw the Queen behind her, so she went on, ‘—clever. She’s the best player here.’

    The Queen smiled and walked past.

    ‘Who are you talking to?’ said the King. He came up behind Alice and looked at the Cat’s head in surprise.

      ‘It’s a friend of mine – a Cheshire Cat,’ said Alice.

      ‘I’m not sure that I like it,’ said the King.  ‘But it can touch my hand if it likes.’

     ‘I prefer not to,’ said the Cat.

    ‘Well!’  said the King angrily.  He called out to the Queen, ‘My dear! There’s a cat here, and I don’t like it.’

     The Queen did not look round. ‘Off with its head!’ she shouted. ‘Call for the executioner!’

      Alice was a little worried for her friend, but when the executioner arrived, everybody began to argue.

     ‘I can’t cut off a head,’ said the executioner, ‘if there isn’t a body to cut it off from.’

      ‘You can cut the head off,’ said the King, ‘from anything that’s got a head.’

     ‘If somebody doesn’t do something quickly,’ said the Queen, ‘I’ll cut everybody’s head off.’

      Nobody liked that plan very much, so they all turned to Alice. ‘And what do you say?’ they cried.

     ‘The Cat belongs to the Duchess,’ said Alice carefully. ‘Perhaps you could ask her about it.’

    ‘She’s in prison,’ the Queen said to the executioner. ‘Bring her here at once.’

     But then the Cat’s head slowly began to vanish, and when the executioner came back with the Duchess, there was nothing there. The King ran wildly up and down, looking for the Cat, and the Duchess put her arm round Alice. ‘I’m so pleased to see you again, my dear!’ she said.

     ‘Let’s get on with the game,’ the Queen said angrily, and Alice followed her back to the croquet-ground.

    The game went on, but all the time the Queen was arguing, and shouting ‘Off with his head!’ or ‘Off with her head!’  Soon there were no hoops left, because the soldiers (who were the hoops) were too busy taking everybody to prison.  And at the end there were only three players left – the King, the Queen, and Alice.

     The Queen stopped shouting and said to Alice, ‘Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?’

    ‘No,’ said Alice. ‘I’m not sure what a Mock Turtle is.’

    ‘Then come with me,’ said the Queen.

    They found the Mock Turtle down by the sea. Next to him was a Gryphon, asleep in the sun. Then the Queen hurried away, saying, ‘I have to get on with some executions.’

    The Gryphon woke up, and said sleepily to Alice, ‘It’s just talk, you know. They never execute anybody.’

    Alice was pleased to hear this. She felt a little afraid of the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, because they were so large. But they were very friendly, and sang songs and told her many stories about their lives. The Mock Turtle was in the middle of a very sad song when they all heard a shout a long way away: ‘It’s beginning!’ ‘Come on! We must hurry!’ cried the Gryphon. It took Alice by the hand and began to run.

The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon were very friendly.

      The King and Queen of Hearts were sitting on their thrones when Alice and the Gryphon arrived. There was a great crowd of birds and animals, and all the pack of cards.

    Soldiers stood all around the Knave of Hearts, and near the King was the White Rabbit, with a trumpet in one hand.

    In the middle of the room there was a table, with a large plate of tarts on it. ‘They look good,’ thought Alice, who was feeling a little hungry.

     Then the White Rabbit called out loudly, ‘Silence! The trial of the Knave of Hearts will now begin!’ He took out a long piece of paper, and read:

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,

All on a summer day.

The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,

And took them all away.

        ‘Very good,’ said the King. ‘Call the first witness.’

    Alice looked at the jury, who were now writing everything down. It was a very strange jury. Some of the jurymen were animals, and the others were birds.

     Then the White Rabbit blew his trumpet three times, and called out, ‘First witness!’

    The first witness was the Hatter.  He came in with a teacup in one hand and a piece of bread-and-butter in the other hand.  ‘I’m very sorry, Your Majesty,’ he said.  ‘I was in the middle of tea when the trial began.’

     ‘Take off your hat,’ the King said.

     ‘It isn’t mine,’ said the Hatter.

    ‘Stolen! Write that down,’ the King said to the jury.

     ‘I keep hats to sell,’ explained the Hatter. ‘I don’t have a hat myself. I’m a Hatter.’

     ‘Give your evidence,’ said the King, ‘or we’ll cut your head off.’

    The Hatter’s face turned white. ‘I’m a poor man, Your Majesty,’ he began, in a shaking voice.

     Just then Alice had a strange feeling. After a minute or two she understood what it was.

    ‘Don’t push like that,’ said the Dormouse, who was sitting next to her. ‘I’m nearly falling off my seat.’

     ‘I’m very sorry,’ Alice said politely. ‘I’m getting bigger and taller, you see.’

     ‘Well, you can’t do that here,’ said the Dormouse crossly, and he got up and moved to another seat.

    The Hatter was still giving evidence, but nobody could understand a word of it. The King looked at the Queen, and the Queen looked at the executioner.

     The unhappy Hatter saw this, and dropped his bread- and-butter.  ‘I’m a poor man, Your Majesty,’ he said again.

    ‘You’re a very poor speaker,’ said the King. He turned to the White Rabbit. ‘Call the next witness,’ he said.

    The next witness was the Duchess’s cook, who spoke very angrily and said  that  she  would  not  give  any evidence. The King looked worried and told the White Rabbit to call another witness. Alice watched while the White Rabbit looked at the names on his piece of paper. Then, to her great surprise, he called out loudly, ‘Alice!’ ‘Here!’ cried Alice, jumping to her feet.

     ‘Here!’ cried Alice, jumping to her feet.

     ‘What do you know about these tarts?’ said the King.

     ‘Nothing,’ said Alice.

     The Queen was looking hard at Alice. Now she said,

     ‘All people a mile high must leave the room.’

     ‘I’m not a mile high,’ said Alice. ‘And I won’t leave the room. I want to hear the evidence.’

    ‘There is no more evidence,’ said the King very quickly, ‘and now the jury will—’

     ‘Your Majesty!’ said the White Rabbit, jumping up in a great hurry.  ‘We’ve just found this letter. There’s no name on it, but I think the Knave wrote it.’

    ‘No, I didn’t!’ said the Knave loudly.

    ‘Read it to us,’ said the King.

    ‘Where shall I begin, Your Majesty?’ asked the Rabbit.

    ‘Begin at the beginning,’ said the King, ‘and go on until you get to the end, then stop.’

    Everybody listened very carefully while the White Rabbit read these words.

They tell me you have been to her,

And talked of me to him.

She thought I was a gardener,

But said I could not swim.

He tells them that I have not gone,

(We know that this is true).

If she decide to hurry on,

What will they do to you?

I gave her one, they gave him two,

You gave us three or more.

They all returned from him to you,

But they were mine before.

   ‘That’s a very important piece of evidence,’ said the King. He looked very pleased. ‘Now the jury must—’

     ‘If anybody in the jury can explain that letter,’ said Alice (she was not afraid of anything now, because she was much bigger than everybody in the room), ‘I’ll give him sixpence. It’s all nonsense! It doesn’t mean anything.’

    The jury busily wrote this down.  ‘She thinks it’s all nonsense.’

     ‘All nonsense, eh?’ said the King. He read some of the words again. ‘But said I could not swim. You can’t swim, can you?’ he said to the Knave.

    The Knave’s face was sad. ‘Do I look like a swimmer?’ he said. (And he didn’t – because he was made of paper.)

     The King smiled. ‘I understand everything now,’ he said. ‘There are the tarts, and here is the Knave of Hearts. And now the jury must decide who the thief is.’

    ‘No, no!’ said the Queen. ‘Off with his head! The jury can say what it thinks later.’

    ‘What nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The jury must decide first. You can’t—’

    ‘Be quiet!’ said the Queen, her face turning red.

    ‘I won’t!’ said Alice.

    ‘Off with her head!’  screamed the Queen.  Nobody moved.

    ‘It doesn’t matter what you say,’ said Alice.  ‘You’re only a pack of cards!’

    Then the pack of cards flew up into the sky and began to fall on Alice’s face. She gave a little scream . . . and woke up. She was lying next to her sister under the trees, and some leaves were falling on her face.

    ‘Wake up, Alice dear,’ said her sister.  ‘You’ve been asleep a long time.’

    ‘Oh, I’ve had a very curious dream!’  said Alice, and she told her sister all about the strange adventures in her wonderful dream.   

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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2024/05/27/fattal-annotations-for-an-essay-that-will-never-exist-reading-barbara-johnson-and-narrativizing-a-week-in-new-york/)

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Max Fattal / Associate Editor

10 hours ago

Arts & culture, fattal | annotations for an essay that will never exist: reading barbara johnson and narrativizing a week in new york, by max fattal | 10 hours ago.

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My apartment smells like weed: I have been here for three days and been offered some two dozen joints from my roommate. I haven’t taken one yet — my psychiatrist’s anti-scientific fear mongering must have gotten to me. Anyways, I’m busy and I’ve got to get out of the house. I need a new suit, a haircut, housing for the second half of the summer and (if my insurance lets me swing it) prescription sunglasses. I haven’t started my law school essays though they’re due in less than a month and I can’t seem to pick a coffee shop in which to work. I go to The Strand — I’ve decided that it’s finally time to read Walter Benjamin. 

I Google: “Where start Walter Benjamin” 

“DO NOT DARE READ BENJAMIN IF YOU HAVEN’T READ HEGEL FIRST” 

Gotta love philosophy Reddit. Whelp, time to finally read Hegel. 

“Where start Hegel” 

“DO NOT TRY TO READ HEGEL WITHOUT AT LEAST ONE PHD.” 

I pick up Philosophy of History . Knowing, inevitably, that I’ll be bored or confused, I also grab a copy of Barbara Johnson’s The Feminist Difference — last week I’d had it recommended (perhaps that’s overselling). I check out with both. I might as well have preemptively deposited Philosophy of History in my storage unit to gather dust. The Feminist Difference , on the other hand, has already been read twice cover-to-cover. It’s all I can think about. 

Lacking the intellectual ammunition to place Barbara Johnson within a broader history of critical theory, or to analyze the texts she analyzes, I can only speak to what it feels like The Feminist Difference is doing. So here goes nothing. Obviously, Johnson knows what Freud or Lacan are going to conclude about that case of insanity or trauma — don’t we all. She knows that Baudelaire had already decided to uplift Desbordes-Valmore above all other women poets before he’d written a word about her — why he made that decision becomes semi-irrelevant. The conclusions are given and uninteresting; just as boring is the unremarkable observation that many of those conclusions neither make sense nor fit within their own internal logic. At this point that’s baked into the whole deal of reading the masculine literary and psychoanalytic canon. 

So, rather than a righteous feminist assault or precise dismantling of silly observations, Johnson simply refracts the narratives her subjects develop. She takes, for a moment, Baudelaire or Freud or Kohut at their word and enables their line of reasoning to expand outward —  the positing “as universal what may be the perspective of a particular place and time.” As the logic balloons outward and slams into walls of contradictions, cascading back and down with the force of true nonsense, she keeps going. With each essay’s final paragraphs, having successfully universalized beyond any one idea’s legitimate reach, she allows us a look at the fallen pieces of titular difference. Her conclusions are the various strands within which her subject’s reasoning cannot fit, and the perhaps unexpected places where they can.

In perhaps the collection’s best essay, Johnson cites Patricia Williams, writing about style and the often toxic veneer of face neutrality with its violations. Johnson’s appreciation for Williams is unsurprising, given the two’s common attention to causal directionality: Johnson frames the essay around The Alchemy of Race and Rights , where Williams describes the narratives necessary in the interpretation of the law. As I read her, we might view our unjust legal bedrock as a given, existing in order to preserve systems of inequality that predate it. Thus, jurisprudence follows the exact same formula of intermediating through narrative: How can we make this make sense from a social or logical perspective? Why is this injustice legally sound? From there, we can read the law as a story, knowing that it began with the ending and examining how the author gets to that point. 

So now, back to New York. I’d decided I wanted to start my column with an essay on NYC about two months ago — it was the longest stretch of my adult life that I’d spent away from the city, and my bus ticket was booked for the inevitably traumatic, closing, perhaps cathartic return just a couple weeks down the road. Before I had even arrived I was certain that the proceeding events would become the opening salvo of my next phase of writing — I’d even developed some preliminary theses. I was preparing to treatise on the process of retraumatization before I even knew an experience to be traumatic. In perhaps a libidinal display of masculinity (or maybe a preemptive pre-law hubris), I was attempting to tell a story (that is, accurately convey my internal monologue) with my conclusion already decided. 

Re-reading the half-drafted essay I attempt to follow Johnson’s approach — the perpetual expansion of my own conclusions until they collapse under the weight of an impossible universalism. My past self anticipated the draw of bold claims and offered up plenty (after all, what even is a city). In expanding I quickly came to the contradictions of my own writing; I already tend to notice the possibility as I outline, but I’ll shut my brain off for fear of perpetual dissonance — I love contradiction unless it’s my own, then I fear it. As an act of exposure therapy, the retraumatization I’d been pursuing in the original essay, that is the exercise of slamming one’s own thoughts into walls of failed universalism, was manageable. But with regards to its replacement (I still insisted upon starting my column with New York, but I’ve above flattened the phony philosophizing into a precise-diary entry reflection), I worry that I may have lost something in the deliberate attempt not to make everything about the things I make everything about. 

After a first skim of “Muteness Envy” (the first of the collection I encountered), I was asked what I thought. I said I liked it and pointed out a few quotes, but shied away from any fuller articulation. I felt thrown in the middle of a narrative without an understanding of either theses or reference points. Reading the whole collection I felt better for my fitting silence, and perhaps wonder if I’ve erred in my above articulation. For all its little digressions, thorny lines and moments of fascinating internal conflict, the overly conclusive lesson I’ve learned from The Feminist Difference is to avoid dogmatic interpretation and check for the causality of narrativization. Then again, it is precisely those things that make for such exhilarating criticism… I’ve already hit a contradiction. 

Max Fattal is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. They* can be reached at [email protected] .   Let’s Unpack That is an arts column that traverses autocriticism and borderline psychotic hyperfixation through the lenses of pseudo-intellectualism and film analysis. It runs occasionally throughout the year.

Fall 2025 UGA Essay Questions

  david graves        may 22nd, 2024 in blog.

For First Year students applying to UGA for Fall 2025, we will keep the same longer personal essay (250-650 words) as before, using the essay prompts from the Common App . The shorter UGA specific essay (200-300 words suggested) topic will also remain the same as last year, with the following essay prompt:

“ The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery. Please share a book (novel, non-fiction, etc.) that had a serious impact on you during this time. Please focus more on why this book made an impact on you and less on the plot/theme of the book itself (we are not looking for a book report).”

  • FYI – We are not restricting you to the exact years of 8th-9th grades, but rather the general timeframe of the middle to high school transition, which can extend somewhat further than one year on each end. Feel free to use your discretion in your choice of the timeline focused on the shift to your high school years.

As always, we also share an essay from an enrolling First-Year student that we believe shows great writing skills:

As a middle-schooler on the brink of entering high school, I was like lost cattle entering a vast social and academic wilderness. In the center, a winding, sun-soaked desert path stretched far into the horizon, beckoning my gaze with its promise of adventure and discovery. Enter The Alchemist and its magnificent idea of the “Personal Legend”– a life goal so lofty that it made locating my locker on the first day of high school appear easy. Forget about the difficulty of making new hobbies or friends; the content from this novel sure played an essential role in determining my ideology related to pursuing my future.

The protagonist enthusiastically praised the significance of believing in one’s dreams, which led my younger self down the correct path. Generating profits after extensive hours of work through my business, navigating changes in learning after COVID-19, and confronting adversity due to my darker skin color all presented difficult periods where persistence and faith were important in progress. Although self-belief was a crucial aspect of pushing through difficult times, it also motivated me to be more confident. Taking risks, from soloing in my 8th-grade jazz band to giving my crush a cringeworthy love letter, changed my belief in embracing adversity.

Furthermore, the book’s emphasis on interacting with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems mirrors my journey into the real world. Whether developing a dancing board at a Purdue summer camp or a calculus Halloween graph, collaboration enforces the ability to work with others who may share different ideas. Diverse backgrounds boosted my understanding, tolerance, and empathy while increasing my engineering career readiness. Not only was The Alchemist a great book, but it enforced critical systems that I use until this day to succeed in life. The Alchemist played an essential role in instilling new concepts I needed as an adolescent. “And when you want something, all the universe conspires you to achieve it.” Thank you, Paulo Coelho.  – Josh W, Collins Hill HS.

  • This essay gives us insight into the student’s feelings and thoughts, and he shares his ideas through descriptive word choice. This is an excellent essay, but please know that we are not expecting this level of writing from the applicant pool overall. This essay example is meant to show our applicant pool how to express themselves through examples, personal growth and emotion. When we are reviewing essays, we are looking more at the student’s voice coming through and less on technical writing skills.

Tags: admissions , essays , file reading , freshman admission

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essay english reading

  • Education, training and skills
  • School curriculum
  • Primary curriculum, key stage 2
  • English (key stage 2)

Key stage 2 tests: 2024 English reading test materials

English reading test materials administered to eligible pupils at the end of key stage 2 in May 2024.

2024 key stage 2 English reading booklet

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83507-026-0, STA/24/8811/e

PDF , 12.6 MB , 12 pages

2024 key stage 2 English reading answer booklet

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83507-025-3, STA/24/8810/e

PDF , 437 KB , 20 pages

2024 key stage 2 English reading – administering the reading booklet and reading answer booklet

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83507-142-7, STA/24/8827/e

PDF , 236 KB , 8 pages

2024 key stage 2 English reading mark schemes

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83507-027-7, STA/24/8812/e

PDF , 833 KB , 36 pages

2024 copyright ownership: key stage 2 national curriculum tests

Key stage 2 English reading tests were administered in schools in May 2024. Test administration instructions and mark schemes are also provided.

Please refer to the copyright ownership report for details of how schools, educational establishments and third parties can use these materials.

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  • 21 May 2024

First ‘bilingual’ brain-reading device decodes Spanish and English words

  • Amanda Heidt 0

Amanda Heidt is a freelance journalist in southeastern Utah.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

MRI image of brain activity in speech production.

Medical imaging shows brain activity during speech production (artificially coloured). Credit: Zephyr/SPL

For the first time, a brain implant has helped a bilingual person who is unable to articulate words to communicate in both of his languages. An artificial-intelligence (AI) system coupled to the brain implant decodes, in real time, what the individual is trying to say in either Spanish or English.

The findings 1 , published on 20 May in Nature Biomedical Engineering , provide insights into how our brains process language , and could one day lead to long-lasting devices capable of restoring multilingual speech to people who can’t communicate verbally.

“This new study is an important contribution for the emerging field of speech-restoration neuroprostheses,” says Sergey Stavisky, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study. Even though the study included only one participant and more work remains to be done, “there’s every reason to think that this strategy will work with higher accuracy in the future when combined with other recent advances”, Stavisky says.

Speech-restoring implant

The person at the heart of the study, who goes by the nickname Pancho, had a stroke at age 20 that paralysed much of his body. As a result, he can moan and grunt but cannot speak clearly. In his thirties, Pancho partnered with Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, to investigate the stroke’s lasting effects on his brain. In a groundbreaking study published in 2021 2 , Chang’s team surgically implanted electrodes on Pancho’s cortex to record neural activity, which was translated into words on a screen.

Pancho’s first sentence — ‘My family is outside’ — was interpreted in English. But Pancho is a native Spanish speaker who learnt English only after his stroke. It’s Spanish that still evokes in him feelings of familiarity and belonging. “What languages someone speaks are actually very linked to their identity,” Chang says. “And so our long-term goal has never been just about replacing words, but about restoring connection for people.”

essay english reading

Brain-reading device is best yet at decoding ‘internal speech’

To achieve this goal, the team developed an AI system to decipher Pancho’s bilingual speech. This effort, led by Chang’s PhD student Alexander Silva, involved training the system as Pancho tried to say nearly 200 words. His efforts to form each word created a distinct neural pattern that was recorded by the electrodes.

The authors then applied their AI system, which has a Spanish module and an English one, to phrases as Pancho tried to say them aloud. For the first word in a phrase, the Spanish module chooses the Spanish word that matches the neural pattern best. The English component does the same, but chooses from the English vocabulary instead. For example, the English module might choose ‘she’ as the most likely first word in a phrase and assess its probability of being correct to be 70%, whereas the Spanish one might choose ‘estar’ (to be) and measure its probability of being correct at 40%.

Word for word

From there, both modules attempt to build a phrase. They each choose the second word based on not only the neural-pattern match but also whether it is likely to follow the first one. So ‘I am’ would get a higher probability score than ‘I not’. The final output produces two sentences — one in English and one in Spanish — but the display screen that Pancho faces shows only the version with the highest total probability score.

The modules were able to distinguish between English and Spanish on the basis of the first word with 88% accuracy and they decoded the correct sentence with an accuracy of 75%. Pancho could eventually have candid, unscripted conversations with the research team. “After the first time we did one of these sentences, there were a few minutes where we were just smiling,” Silva says.

Two languages, one brain area

The findings revealed unexpected aspects of language processing in the brain. Some previous experiments using non-invasive tools have suggested that different languages activate distinct parts of the brain 3 . But the authors’ examination of the signals recorded directly in the cortex found that “a lot of the activity for both Spanish and English was actually from the same area”, Silva says.

Furthermore, Pancho’s neurological responses didn’t seem to differ much from those of children who grew up bilingual, even though he was in his thirties when he learnt English — in contrast to the results of previous studies. Together, these findings suggest to Silva that different languages share at least some neurological features, and that they might be generalizable to other people.

Kenji Kansaku, a neurophysiologist at Dokkyo Medical University in Mibu, Japan, who was not involved in the study, says that in addition to adding participants, a next step will be to study languages “with very different articulatory properties” to English, such as Mandarin or Japanese. This, Silva says, is something he’s already looking into, along with ‘code switching’, or the shifting from one language to another in a single sentence. “Ideally, we’d like to give people the ability to communicate as naturally as possible.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01451-4

Silva, A. B. et al. Nature Biomed. Eng . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01207-5 (2024).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Moses, D. A. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 385 , 217–227 (2021).

Kim, K. H. S., Relkin, N. R., Lee, K.-M. & Hirsch, J. Nature 388 , 171–174 (1997).

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