Ability to Interpret

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eading is very important for providing food to our thought. But mere reading is useless without having the ability to interpret correctly. Wrong interpretation of the written content may convey wrong message to the readers which the author did not intend to convey.

2. Different readers interpret the content differently. Different interpretation by different readers may be due to the following reasons.

(i) Lack of concentration while reading is one of the main reasons for wrong interpretation of the written content. Lack of concentration is due to some thoughts coming in the back of the mind while reading. Most of the time thoughts in the back of the mind interfere with the content while reading which leads to different interpretation of the written content. Lack of concentration may be due to various other reasons i.e., doing something else while reading, unnecessary worries, etc.

 (ii) Preconceived thought about the content or its writer is also one of the reasons for wrong interpretation. Preconceived thought closes our mind and makes us to view the content through the lenses of preconceived mindset or ideas. This leads to wrong interpretation even after repeated reading of the content.

(iii) Not reading between the lines may lead to different interpretation of the written content by the reader which the author did not intend. Reading between the lines means reading with understanding of the underlying meaning in proper context.

(iv) Intermittent reading is also one the reason for wrong interpretation of the written content. Intermittent reading means reading part of the content on one day and remaining parts on other days. Intermittent reading cannot establish proper connectivity between the contents read during various time intervals which may lead to incomplete understanding of the subject matter. With incomplete understanding of the subject matter, one cannot make proper interpretation.

(v) Reading without understanding the central idea of the content may lead to wrong interpretation of the subject matter.

3. For interpretating the contents correctly, the following measures are suggested. One need to develop certain habits based on the measures suggested hereunder to increase the ability of correct interpretation of the written content.

(i) For proper interpretation of the written content, one should develop the habit of reading the content with the understanding of writer’s perspective. One should read the content by understanding the underlying meanings of each and every sentence of the content i.e. reading between the lines.

(ii) One should read the content with full concentration for which one should free his or her mind from all other thoughts before reading. Never do any other work while reading as our mind cannot concentrate on two different things at the same time. Never think on any other matter while reading. Many times, phone calls also divert our attention from reading. It’s better to keep our mobile on silent mode while reading unless you expect some emergency or important calls from someone.

(iii) To increase the concentration, one should develop the habit of fast reading. Slow reading diverts the attention of the reader from the content. By slow reading one fail to establish the link between the contents in various lines and paragraphs. One cannot read fast during the first reading. Spead of reading increases during second and subsequent readings.

(iv) Never read any line or paragraph of the whole content in isolation. Many times, reading a line or paragraph in isolation may convey meaning which may be different from that when you read it in the context of the whole content. Therefore, develop the habit of reading the whole content before reading any line or paragraph of the content.

(v) Always read the content in a serial order. Reading the content in a haphazard manner may lead to wrong interpretation of the whole content.

(vi) For proper interpretation of the whole content one has to read the content more than two times. One may not draw any conclusion of the whole content by a single reading as it may not be possible to develop understanding in a single reading. Read at least three to four times to develop the understanding of the whole content which will help in its proper interpretation.

4. Proper interpretation of content convey the appropriate message which the author intends to convey through his writing. Wrong interpretation may convey different message to the reader which frustrate the very purpose of writing the content by the author. Initially one can practice interpretating small content of few pages. If you can build your expertise in interpretating small content, then you can move towards building expertise in interpretating big contents and even books. Reading ‘acknowledgements by the author’ before starting reading a book will help you in understanding the perspective and context in which the author wrote the book. This will help you in proper interpretation of a book.

5. Let us hone our skill of proper interpretation of the written content whether it’s an article, a story or a book. This skill will make our reading meaningful and interesting.