In this paper, I identify five effective proof reading strategies that mathematics majors can use to comprehend proofs. This paper reports two studies. The first study is a qualitative study in which four successful mathematics majors were videotaped reading six proofs. These students used five proof reading strategies to foster comprehension: (i)…

n a recent article, Inglis and Alcock (2012) contended that their data challenge the claim that when mathematicians validate proofs, they initially skim a proof to grasp its main idea before reading individual parts of the proof more carefully. This result is based on the fact that when mathematicians read proofs in their study, on average their…