What follows is a summary of strategies that are being used by students who are successful in biology. The flow of a biology book is not like the flow of a novel. A novel can be read effortlessly, smoothly and rapidly, but biology books cannot be. If you are reading a novel and are somewhat distracted, you can still get the idea of what it is about. When you are not concentrating on biology you will get very little out of it, and it will seem more difficult than it really is.
Every word counts.
Biology books are usually not repetitive, so there is little chance of picking something up from reading on. Writers of biology texts believe that extra words and repeats get in the way of clarity. It is best to tackle each chapter at least 3 times. The first time you should skim the chapter, noting topic sentences, words in bold print, all tables, diagrams and summary charts. This is best read before the lecture.