Text Practice
Learn
Building reading stamina requires deliberate practice with increasingly complex texts over extended periods. This lesson focuses on developing your ability to maintain focus, comprehension, and analytical thinking during sustained reading sessions.
Why Reading Stamina Matters
The SAT and ACT require you to read and analyze multiple passages in a limited time. College courses demand even more: lengthy academic articles, dense textbooks, and complex primary sources. Developing stamina now prepares you for both standardized tests and higher education.
Key Strategies for Building Stamina
- Incremental Time Extension: Start with 20-minute focused reading sessions and gradually increase to 45-60 minutes
- Active Annotation: Keep your mind engaged by marking key ideas, questions, and connections
- Pacing Awareness: Monitor how long different text types take you to read and comprehend
- Distraction Management: Practice reading without phone, music, or other interruptions
- Comprehension Checkpoints: Pause periodically to summarize what you've read
Understanding Text Complexity
Different texts require different amounts of mental energy. Scientific articles with specialized vocabulary demand more focus than narrative essays. Practice with a variety of text types to build versatile stamina.
Examples
Study these examples of stamina-building reading approaches.
Example 1: Annotation for Focus
When reading a dense passage about economic policy, a student annotates:
- Circles key terms: "fiscal multiplier," "aggregate demand"
- Writes margin notes: "connects to chapter on GDP"
- Marks confusing sections with "?" for re-reading
- Underlines the main argument of each paragraph
Result: Active engagement prevents mental drift and improves retention.
Example 2: Timed Practice Session
A student structures a 40-minute reading practice:
- Minutes 1-15: Read first passage (literary fiction)
- Minutes 16-20: Answer comprehension questions
- Minutes 21-35: Read second passage (science article)
- Minutes 36-40: Answer comprehension questions
Result: Simulates test conditions and builds time management skills.
Practice
Complete these exercises to build your reading stamina. Time yourself for each activity.
Practice 1: Baseline Assessment
Read a 1,000-word academic article without stopping. Record how long it takes and rate your comprehension on a scale of 1-10.
Practice 2: Annotation Marathon
Read a 2,000-word passage while annotating every paragraph. Note the main idea, one question, and one connection to prior knowledge for each section.
Practice 3: Genre Switching
Read three different 500-word passages back-to-back: one literary, one scientific, one historical. Notice how your reading pace changes between genres.
Practice 4: Extended Focus
Set a timer for 30 minutes. Read continuously without checking your phone, taking breaks, or re-reading. Write a summary afterward to check comprehension.
Practice 5: Speed vs. Comprehension
Read a passage as quickly as possible, then answer 5 comprehension questions. Next, read a similar passage at your normal pace and answer questions. Compare your accuracy.
Practice 6: Difficult Vocabulary Passage
Choose a passage with unfamiliar technical vocabulary. Practice using context clues to infer meaning without stopping to look up every word.
Practice 7: Paired Reading
Read two passages on related topics. After reading both, write a paragraph explaining how the passages connect or contrast.
Practice 8: Fatigue Recovery
Read for 20 minutes, take a 2-minute break (stand, stretch, no screens), then immediately read for another 20 minutes. Notice if the break improves your focus.
Practice 9: Question Prediction
Before reading a passage, write 3 questions you expect the text to answer. Read the passage, then check which questions were answered and what new questions arose.
Practice 10: Summary Challenge
After reading a 1,500-word passage, write a 50-word summary without looking back at the text. Then check your summary against the original for accuracy.
Check Your Understanding
Answer these questions to assess your stamina-building progress.
- What is your current comfortable reading time before losing focus?
- Which text types (literary, scientific, historical) challenge your stamina most?
- How does annotation affect your reading speed and comprehension?
- What strategies help you recover focus when you notice your mind wandering?
- How has your reading stamina changed since beginning these exercises?
Next Steps
- Track your reading times in a log to measure improvement over weeks
- Gradually increase your target reading time by 5 minutes each week
- Practice with SAT/ACT-style passages to build test-specific stamina
- Continue to the next lesson: Writing Application