Effective Reading

Lengthy reading lists for courses and essays can be frightening, particularly when the subject is unfamiliar. Start by asking questions about what you need to find out, and then select reading that relates to your questions.

Reading with a Purpose

Why are you reading?

How you read depends on your purpose. For most people, tertiary study demands a great deal of reading, and new skills need to be learned in order to cope with the workload. Although only rarely will you be expected to read all the references, if the thought of all that reading is daunting, don't hesitate to ask a lecturer or tutor for help. The purpose of most of your reading will be to seek information related to an assignment or course material.

Reading has many purposes, and there are many ways to read:

• To locate specific information means skimming rapidly over text until you find what you're looking for, e.g. reading a newspaper.
• To understand reasons and facts and to learn, read slowly and deliberately.
• To enjoy words and descriptions, as in poetry and some prose, slow or repeated reading is needed to get the feel of the language or to picture a scene.
• To escape into a novel, you might skip the dull parts and pick up enough detail to see what happens and how it ends, skimming some parts and dwelling on others.

Reading at Uni

At University you will be expected to read for . . .

• Lectures: Pre-reading material before lectures makes them more relevant.
• Tutorials: Tutorials are often based on a set of readings. If you haven't read the material, you can't participate in the discussion.
• Assignments: You can't write your assignment until you have done the research.

Begin Reading with Questions

What (if anything) do you already know about a topic?

When the topic or material is new:

1. Begin with a general introductory text and read slowly.
2. Jot down any new terms and make sure you understand their meanings and spellings.

Is your reading relevant?

1. From your reading list, select a book or article that gives an overview of the topic. Ask yourself what it is you must find out.
2. Use the contents page first. Is the information you are looking for listed?
3. Go to the index at the back. Locate key words.
4. Skim through the first chapter. If the chapter is relevant, read the first and last paragraphs. Ask yourself what the author is saying. From this, you can gain an overall view of the content, enabling you to decide on the relevance of the book to your topic.

For Your Bibliography

Record details of author, title, place of publication, publisher and date now so that you don't have the frustration of trying to find the book again when preparing your bibliography. Record page numbers with any notes you take.