Give the second reading a different job
Published
Rereading becomes more purposeful when you can name what remains unclear. Return to a particular connection, reference, or claim.
Locate the exact uncertainty
Instead of writing confusing, write What does this refer to? or Why does the result follow? The smaller question tells you where to look. Sometimes the missing information sits one sentence earlier. Sometimes it arrives later.
Trace the relevant words
For a reference question, underline the pronoun and list the possible things it could mean. For a reasoning question, separate the stated condition from the conclusion. Work only with what the passage supplies. If information is missing, record that limit instead of silently supplying a convenient explanation of your own.
Write what changed
After rereading, finish the sentence I now think this means. Compare it with your first interpretation. If nothing changed, try a narrower question or leave a note to revisit later. Repeated passes are easier to evaluate when each has a visible purpose and a short written result.
Following a reference
Consider: Mira put the empty jar beside the bowl. She filled the latter with water. The question is what latter refers to. Of the two named objects, the bowl comes second, so the bowl receives the water.
Try it
Read: The path passes a shed and a gate. The latter is painted green. What should a focused rereading establish?
Compare your answer
It should establish that latter refers to the second named object, the gate. The passage says the gate is green; it gives no colour for the shed.