There are a variety of different strategies that an individual can use to read a particular piece of material, but it is important for an individual to find the best strategy for the type of resource that the individual is using. There is a wide range of different written materials that an individual may have to use in order to study for an exam, interview, or other similar purpose and each type of written material requires a different reading strategy in order to use that resource in the most effective way possible. One of the strategies that an individual can use to read and study a variety of different material, especially if that individual is studying in a group setting, is known as Know, Want, and Learned (KWL.) This reading strategy is primarily intended for a group of individuals, such as a study group, that is attempting to learn or understand a particular subject. The KWL method can be used for studying virtually any material and it does not necessarily have to be used with a group, but it has been found to be significantly more effective when used in a group setting.
KWL consists of three separate steps and the entire process is usually carried out by filling in a chart that consists of three columns-a column labeled "I know," a column labeled "I want to know/learn," and a column labeled "I learned." The individual should begin by identifying everything that he or she already knows about the specific topic that the material covers and write a series of brief phrases that describe what he or she already knows in the "I know" column. This allows the individual to gauge exactly how much knowledge he or she already has about the subject and how much knowledge he or she needs to learn about that subject. Next, the individual should make a list of questions or topics in the "I want to know/learn" column that he or she hopes to find the answer to or learn about while reading the material. Finally, the individual should write down a phrase, term, or other brief description of every key point that he or she learned while reading the material in the "I learned" column. This will allow the individual to compare what he or she has learned with what he or she wanted to know and will ultimately help the individual determine whether the individual needs to study that particular topic in more detail.