Final answer:
You can enhance retention and response skills when reading an essay by highlighting and annotating the text, connecting ideas to personal experiences, and identifying its organizational patterns. Active engagement through margin notes and reading journals helps to deepen understanding, while connecting content to personal experiences aids recall.
Step-by-step explanation:
When you are reading an essay, you can build your retention and response skills by highlighting and annotating as you read, connecting ideas to your own experiences, and identifying the organizational pattern(s) used in the essay. To be more specific, engaging with the text through the use of margin notes, reflections, and highlighting encourages active reading. Writing notes in the margins or keeping a separate reading journal helps you summarize and question the content, fostering a deeper understanding. As you read, connecting the material to your own experiences can enhance comprehension and recall. Additionally, identifying organizational patterns in the text provides insight into the structure and argumentative flow of the essay, making it easier to follow and respond to.
Moreover, promoting active engagement involves more than just passive reading; it includes critical thinking, questioning the author's arguments, and drawing connections between the text and other ideas or experiences. It can also be helpful to use a reading journal for recording quotes and paraphrases, which can be easily referenced later. This practice not only aids in retention but also prepares you for writing essays and analyses of your own.