This article focuses on the ways and means by which an individual can improve his/her reading skills. It explains the meaning of reading and elaborates on the different styles and stages of reading. Various tools and techniques have also been highlighted for a person to have an effective and efficient reading experience. Vital tips have been provided for effective reading. Reading skills develop an all-round personality when associated with listening, speaking and writing skills.

Man learns through various sources and by various means such as observation, conversation, experience and reading. Right from the Stone Age to the Space Age man has evolved himself by reading scripts which he himself had created and passed on to the next generation. Everyone has a unique way of reading and yet there are a few styles which are common among all human beings, such as reading within oneself or silent reading. Let us look at the different dimensions of reading skills.

According to the National Reading Panel (NRP), "The ability to read requires proficiency in a number of domains such as `phonemic awareness', `phonics', `fluency', `vocabulary' and `comprehension or reading comprehension'." It indicates connectivity of many things during reading and also all the concepts mentioned will help for effective reading.

Another author Jeanne Chall, Harvard Professor, has come out with different stages of reading, which is popularly known as `Chall's stages of Reading Development'. According to Chall, "Each stage of reading builds on skills mastered in earlier stages; lack of mastery at any level can halt the progress beyond that level."

Chall divided the process of reading into various stages. The first stage being the Zero stage, which symbolizes pre-reading, that is usually up to the age of six years of the child. It is also known as reading readiness. The subsequent stage is stage one, where the child is 6 or 7 years of age and this also known as initial reading stage or decoding stage. In the next stage i.e., stage two where the age of the child is approximately eight years during which time the child confirms himself. Therefore, this is also called as the confirmation stage. Further, in stage three the child who is aged nine years, reads in order to learn. In stage four, the child becomes a teenager and develops multiple shades of opinions and viewpoints and ultimately in the final stage, which is stage five, the man voices his views and opinions independently and forms his own perceptions and judgments on various things.

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