To improve your reading habits, you must understand the characteristics of a good reader. First, the good reader usually reads rapidly. Of course, he does not read every piece of material at the same rate. But whether he is reading a newspaper or a chapter in a physics text, his reading rate is relatively fast. He has learned to read for ideas rather than words one at a time. Next, the good reader can recognize and understand general ideas and specific details. Thus he is able to comprehend the material with a minimum of effort and a maximum of interest. Finally, the good reader has in his command several specific skills, which he can apply to reading problems as they occur. For the college student, the most helpful of these skills include making use of the various aids to understanding that most text books provide and skim-reading for a general survey.