After skimming and scanning the text, it’s time to take the information you’ve gathered and actually put it to use. Predicting means that you take all of the clues you’ve collected, combine them with your prior knowledge about the topic, and make an educated guess about what the text will say. Ask yourself questions such as: · What is the main idea? · What is the author’s perspective? What does the author want me to understand? · What will help me as I read? (headings, text boxes, pictures and captions, sidebars, etc.) · What do I already know about this topic? Does it seem the author agrees with me? What are some of the visual clues in the text which will help you emphasize the important details?