Studying guide for reading and writing learners

Every child has their own strengths when it comes to studying. For reading and writing learners those strengths are, as you might expect, reading and writing! Does your child have a passion for reading and writing? Then they just might be a reading and writing learner, and this study guide is for them…

Out of all the VARK learning styles, reading and writing learners benefit from learning at their best with what is possibly the most popular teaching style. There are still some useful learning strategies they can be taught to make the most of their studies. 

So let’s take a look at what makes a reading and writing learner tick, and some helpful studying tips. 

What is a reading/writing learner?

Reading and writing learning style is one of the four major learning styles, and probably the most catered to learning style in schools. This learning style is sometimes referred to the second visual learning style, because there are some similarities – a reading and writing learner can learn visually, but the information sinks in best if they take detailed notes or read about something in addition to the visual element.. 

Reading to learn, note taking to memorise

As the name suggests, the best way for a reading/writing learner to retain information is to read about a subject and make detailed notes. Reading alone won’t necessarily help the information sink in, but making notes about what they read, or underneath visual sources, will help a reading and writing learner.

Being presented with just a visual source of information won’t be particularly helpful to a reading and writing learner. They’re more likely to choose textbooks, articles and other written sources as their way of learning about something.  To really help the information sink into their memories, a reading and writing learner will benefit from note taking as well as reading. Reproducing the information they find in their textbooks, rewriting it in their own style will help the information sink in further. This often makes reading and writing learners do well in a traditional classroom setting. 

Characteristics of reading and writing learners

Does your child really enjoy reading for pleasure? Do they have difficulty grasping a concept unless they can read detailed notes about it, or make their own notes? Are they a strong writer? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, it’s possible they might be a reading and writing learner.  Here are some characteristics that might indicate your child is a reading and writing learner… 

• They can recall information that was written down for them (or by themselves) really easily

• Reading is one of their favourite pastimes

• While they prefer to read quietly, sometimes they like to read aloud

• When they write, they’re incredibly detailed

• Their notes may be very personalised and difficult to understand for anyone but themselves

• They can write in a very articulate way, more so than when they talk

• Writing essays is a much more enjoyable task than a verbal presentation

• Doing research is really exciting for them

• They like to get written feedback on their progress

• Making lists helps them keep organised.

Helping a reading and writing learner with studying

One of the main benefits for a reading and writing learner is that their best method of learning matches what many would consider to be the standard teaching style. However, sometimes they might be confronted with a teaching method or subject that’s more visual or better taught in an auditory style. So, it’s good to have learning strategies in place for when that happens, and also to just keep practising good habits that help them learn.

Let’s take a look at some reading and writing learning strategies…

Rewrite in your own words

Reading alone might not be enough to help information sink in for a reading and writing learner. They can’t take their textbooks into exams with them, and recalling the information will be difficult if they’ve not committed it to memory. For a reading and writing learner, one of the easiest ways to help commit something to memory is to rewrite it in their own words. This helps them phrase something in a way that makes more sense to them and is easier to recall when they need to. Those notes can then be good revision material later on! 

Write explanations of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic concepts

When it comes to subjects that are delivered in any other teaching style, the best thing a reading and writing learner can do is play to their strengths. If they’re watching a documentary or a presentation in class, then they should be taking notes throughout to memorise key concepts. They can use those notes later on as a point of reference in their research, looking up more detailed information to make notes on. 

The same can be done for things like charts, diagrams and graphs. A reading and writing learner won’t get much out of those on their own, but if they take the time to write about what’s being shown then they’ll have an easier time understanding and remembering the information. This can be really helpful in maths exams, as a reading and writing learner can take a moment to write out a brief description of what graphs are showing before they move on to tackle the problem. 

Highlight and annotate

Reading and writing learners generally make a lot of notes. These notes can be very detailed, which means that coming back to them when they’re looking for something specific can be a challenge. So encourage your child to highlight key parts of their notes, and make annotations in the margins to refer back to later on. 

As well as providing easy points to come back to in their notes, encouraging your child to highlight key concepts and add annotations can help them engage more with what they’re writing about. It teaches them to understand points of reference and how to clarify concepts more clearly.

Rewrite notes again

It might seem like a step too far, but it can actually be really helpful for your child to write their notes out again after class. Particularly if they were writing up a visual or auditory source of information where they will have had to focus on listening and looking as well as writing, they may find their notes aren’t as thorough or don’t make sense in some places. While the information is still fresh in their mind, rewriting their notes will help clear up any mistakes and help the information sink in better. 

The same can be said for notes they’ve made previously. They could look at areas of notes that they’ve highlighted and annotated and try to clarify those topics further by doing more research, and making more notes. They could also use this as a way to make revision flashcards.

Put revision flashcards up in visible places 

When it comes to studying for exams, putting their flashcards up on display in different places around the home can help. It not only makes the rereading of their notes more exciting, but it encourages them to take a little break from sitting and revising while also encouraging them to do a little bit more revision on the go. 

Tuition and reading/writing learners

Reading and writing learners will benefit from classroom teaching, because a lot of teaching is delivered in this style. However that doesn’t mean that sometimes they don’t need an extra helping hand in learning and practising studying techniques.

Our expert tutors are able to adapt their teaching styles to your child and the way that they learn best. They’ll get to know your child’s reading and writing learning style, and help them develop strong learning and revising strategies, so they can keep doing their best in school.

If your child is a reading and writing learner and you think they could benefit from an extra helping hand in the run up to their exams, why not try tuition?