What are 'cognitive strategies' in reading?

Cognitive strategies in reading refer to the various techniques that readers utilize to enhance their understanding of the text and improve their retention of information. These strategies include skills like summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting, which promote active engagement with the material. By employing cognitive strategies, readers can better process the information, make connections to prior knowledge, and improve their overall comprehension. This focus on enhancing understanding and retention is what distinguishes cognitive strategies from other reading-related concepts, such as the style of writing or instructional methods used by teachers, which are not primarily aimed at the reader's cognitive processing of the text.