The Associate, Read and Connect (ARC) method is an instructional reading technique which employs cognitive mapping, or networking, to provide developmental reading students with a strategy for effectively dealing with college-level materials. ARC, based on the ability to utilize prior knowledge of a given subject matter, teaches students to organize their thoughts into a hierarchy of significance, in which a broad subject is broken down into its basic components. As the name implies, the technique consists of three stages: (1) the prereading, "associate" stage, in which students identify the topic and organize any prior knowledge of the topic into a network; (2) the guided reading stage, in which students preview a section of the text, develop questions based on the preview and on prior knowledge, and then read the material to answer these questions; and (3) the postreading, "connect" stage, in which students revise the network to represent the current state of knowledge, form an outline by grouping related details from the network, and write a summary based on this outline. The strategy was born out of a need to find a satisfactory method for teaching developmental college students the processes of notetaking, outlining, and summarizing. The main difference between ARC and strategies used in a lecture style class is the fact that the learning experience is not delivered via the instructor's lecture but is only monitored by the instructor, who works through the assignments with students. The method has proven effective in a developmental reading class through a comparison of pre- and post-course questionnaires. The comparison indicated a marked change in students' learning styles, including the more frequent utilization of study skills, and the ability to take more efficient notes, identify structural cohesiveness, and express main ideas with greater clarity. (JMC)