Background Probe:
Reading Styles and Skills

Name:


Check the response that most closely agrees with your reading style and skills.
1. I wish I had more time to read. Yes No
2. There is a block of time after classes that I assign to reading. Yes No
3. I read with background noise (music, television, etc.) Yes No
4. I regularly read a newspaper or news magazine. Yes No
5. I regularly read for pleasure at night before I go to sleep. Yes No
6. I spend a considerable portion of the weekend reading. Yes No
7. I spend time browsing the library and/or bookstores. Yes No
8. After I read a book, I like to know what critics have said about it. Yes No

9. There is an author I like so well that I read any new book s/he writes.
(if yes, who is the author? )

 Yes No
10. There are science/arts/history magazines I read regularly. Yes No
11. I read textbooks and professional articles with a pen/pencil/highlighter in hand Yes No
12. I read every reading assignment for my classes. Yes No
13. I use specific reading strategies when reading particular document types. Yes No
14. I pay close attention to pictures, charts, graphs in textbooks. Yes No
15. As I read, I usually look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Yes No
16. I regularly stop and try to summarize the material I am reading. Yes No
17. I often debate the author of a document as I read.

Yes No

18. I expect to devote part of most days as a professional to reading. Yes No
19. I would describe myself to others as a “reader”. Yes No
20. During the past year, I read two (2) or more books of my choosing. Yes No
If yes, list some of them: