Reading for Study
Reading for Study
There is a great deal, potentially, to read at university, and generally not much guidance about what and how much you read. It is Important to ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁϱ¬ÁϹÙÍø active reading skills to help you be selective and critical about your reading.
Key points
Reading lists are a guide - practice finding and using texts for different purposes
You can’t read everything in detail – ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁϱ¬ÁϹÙÍø skimming and scanning skills to get a quick overview of a text
Check out your subject section in the library – familiarise yourself with range of texts, types, where information is stored – and explore library database.
Be selective – why should I read this? How would I use it?
Useful questions to help your reading decisions
Why am I reading this? On reading list? Looks useful?
What would I use it for? Background? Key information? Latest essay?
Is it straightforward or difficult? Should I read it later?
What’s the best way to read it? Skim? In detail? Scan index?
Should I take notes? What kind? What do I need?
Shall I come back to it? Take details and read/use later in course?
SQ3R: Five steps to effective reading when you want to read in-depth
Skim and scan
Scan text quickly to get an overall impression. Look at it quickly: notice headings, key words, images, pictures. Get an overall impression. Flick backwards and forwards; glance at first sentence of each paragraph.
Question
Make up questions to help engage: Who? What? Why? When? How?
Read
If you want to, read the text more carefully. Try to read in a relaxed way – don’t worry about difficult words or ideas. Have breaks- read in short bursts.
Recall
Look up, check you have an ‘overview’. What’s it about? Key issues?
Review
Read carefully again, taking brief notes, paragraph by paragraph. N. B. Make a note of key details for your reference list/bibliography.
