Chapter 4

Effective Reading Strategies

Introduction

Reading is an active process which involves making predictions based on your prior experience, checking your understanding, and asking yourself questions. In our daily life, our purposes for reading vary, and so, too, do the ways in which we read. The key to being an effective reader is adapting your reading techniques to your purpose. In this chapter, different reading strategies are discussed and applied to the main aspects of your reading at university: reading for lectures, reading for assignments and revision reading. The chapter also provides tips on effective note-taking methods.

Purposes of academic reading

The main purposes of academic reading are to:

prepare for lectures, tutorials and pracs.
answer assignment and essay questions.
follow up important ideas discussed in lectures, tutorials, pracs and clinics.

Reading techniques

Skimming

Skimming is the technique you use to get the general idea of a text or to get an overview of the line of argument the author is presenting. Skimming involves reading rapidly without focussing on specific information or taking in every word.

Skimming is useful to:

get a general understanding of the content of a text.
locate a section of a chapter/article to read in detail, for example, as preparation for a lecture or tutorial, or to answer an assignment question.

To get the most out of skimming, you should:

use titles and headings to anticipate the contents of a text.
use the first sentence of each paragraph to help you get an overview of that paragraph.
look at diagrams, tables and figures, as these summarise the content of large slabs of text.

Scanning

You scan a text when you want to locate specific information. Scanning involves reading rapidly while you focus on content words (key words in definitions) rather than grammatical words (e.g. prepositions, pronouns). You use this technique when you want to locate, for example:

specific material in a book/chapter by using headings, sub-headings and key words.
aspects of a research study, for example, aims of the study, hypotheses, results, conclusions.
key words, a definition, data.

Note that skimming and scanning are used in combination to help you identify material you want to read in detail.

In-depth reading

When reading for a thorough understanding of a text, first read it for an overview. In-depth reading does not mean that you laboriously read every page word by word, but that you read actively and critically. For example, when reading a journal article, you need to identify the rationale for and aims of the research, how and why particular results were obtained, and the conclusions drawn from the results.

In-depth reading enables you to:

get a detailed understanding of a structure, process, theory, or experimental method.
critically evaluate research (methods, results, conclusions) or the author’s argument.
identify implications of theory or research for professional practice.

Whatever the purpose of academic reading, to read effectively, you need to:

understand your purpose for reading: What is the problem you need to solve?
adjust your reading technique to your reading purpose. Speed reading does not necessarily result in better understanding.
read actively: Write in the margins; highlight key points/phrases in the text; take notes of major points and examples; draw diagrams/concept maps; evaluate what your are reading and understanding.
read critically: Ask yourself questions, for example:
- How are these concepts/theories/examples related?
- What is the significance of this evidence, for example, in relation to your assignment topic, for professional practice/the Australian content?
- Is there enough evidence to support the author’s conclusions?
- How does this viewpoint compare with another?

Reading for lectures and tutorials: Reading your textbook

The textbooks you use in a particular unit complement the information presented in lectures. In some units, reading beyond the textbook will be expected. Much of your textbook reading will involve understanding and learning the concepts and theories in the unit you are expected to have mastery over.

Familiarising yourself with your textbook

At the beginning of the course, you should familiarise yourself with the structure of your textbook by:

skimming through the table of contents so that you are clear about the textbook’s scope and format.
reading the “Notes to Students” (or equivalent) section at the front of the book.
looking quickly through a chapter to locate chapter summary or overview, and problems or exercises to see how these are related to the content of the chapter.

Reading your textbook actively

Below is a suggested procedure for active and efficient reading of your textbook.

Read headings and subheadings for whole chapter.
Look at diagrams, tables and other visuals. Read the legends.
Read chapter overview or summary.
Locate key terms (usually in bold type or italics).
Read focus questions for a chapter/section (where these are provided), then read the relevant text.
If necessary, write down some focus questions to guide your reading.
Skim through a section the first time for general understanding and to locate answers to questions. Be clear about meaning of key terms.
As you read for a detailed understanding, underline the text, make notes in margins/on paper.
Use figures to help you understand the text.
Make note of any additional questions you have that have not been answered by the text.
Summarise reading material by transferring information you have read into a different form to reinforce your understanding (e.g. from solid text to notes in point form, a table or a diagram) (See ‘Taking notes from sources’).

Clearly, you will not have time to follow the procedure suggested above for all readings for all lectures. Moreover, you may feel it unnecessary to complete all steps, or even always in that order. However, to get the most out of lectures, at the very least, you should aim to complete Steps 1-4 before the lecture/tutorial. This can then be followed up with in-depth reading after the lecture/tutorial.

Reading for assignments and essays

Focussing your reading

As pointed out in Chapter 2, reading for assignments requires substantial research to locate quality and relevant sources. As soon as you know your assignment question or topic, critically analyse what it entails and identify key issues which are relevant. Brainstorm and note down your initial ideas in a linear fashion, or as a ‘mind map’ (branching notes) (See Chapter 7). Mind maps are one way of guiding your literature search and teasing out some focus questions for your reading. They are also a useful way of thinking about how issues are related and how you might organise material for your assignment.

Reading critically

Reading for assignments also involves a critical and interpretative approach. When you read a range of books and journal articles to answer the assignment question, the aim is not simply to look for and obtain information. Critical and interpretative reading involves, for example:

establishing the author’s purpose for writing
establishing the context (e.g. where and when) the author is writing about and its relevance to your argument/the Australian context
analysing the values underpinning the author’s argument
identifying unbalanced view or bias
critically analysing the issues discussed
identifying areas of agreement and disagreement in evidence or opinions
identifying manipulation of research evidence
assessing the validity of arguments presented, evidence or conclusions
identifying implications for professional practice
identifying gaps in the literature

To use your research time effectively and to ensure that you are reading actively and critically, use the points below to help you formulate questions for your reading. For example:

Why am I reading this article? What question/s do I hope to answer? How is this related to the assignment topic?
What does the title and abstract (or introduction) tell me?
Who is the author, when was this written, and in what context?
How does the author support his/her arguments?
How does this viewpoint compare with another?

Taking note from sources

Taking notes may help you to:

understand the material and identify major points
gather evidence to support your own ideas through quotes and appropriately cited paraphrasing
avoid plagiarism
remember what you read
highlight an area for further investigation

Note-taking techniques

There is a variety of approaches to taking notes from your reading. However, as with reading, it is important to understand your purpose in note-taking. As far as possible, you should re-think and re-formulate what you have just read and try to express it in your own words.

When you make notes, try to organise your material in ways that suit your purpose in note-taking and the type of material you are summarising/note-taking. You should not necessarily use the headings used in the book or article, as this was not written with your assignment topic in mind. Organising your material in this way will ensure that in your research, and subsequently your writing, you will be focussed on the assignment topic. Examples of note-taking methods are as follows:

Linear notes - using heading, sub-headings, and bullet points
Branching notes – to show the hierarchy of ideas and their interrelationships
Tables – a static summary, useful for summarising quantitative data, or listing names of components and their features/functions
Concept maps and flow charts – a dynamic summary, useful for summarising a structure/process

The concept map below illustrates one way of summarising the main points made in this chapter about critical reading.

Critical reading concept map

As you make notes from your reading, you may add your own comments while they are still fresh in your mind. However, you need to ensure that in your notes, as in the assignment, you distinguish between the ideas of others and your own. When you have completed all your reading, you may need to refine/summarise the notes you took from each source further to make them easier to access at a later stage.

How to avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of other writers’ words or ideas without proper acknowledgement. It is essential that you avoid plagiarism. If you are a critical reader and an efficient note-taker, you are less likely to plagiarise the writing of other authors. To avoid plagiarism, in your notes you should:

paraphrase and summarise the material you have taken from your sources
write down the exact words of the author only when you want to use them as a direct quotation
if you add your own comments, highlight them, for example, with an asterisk or writing in a different colour pen
keep an accurate record of the bibliographical details of all sources you have read and intend to use in your assignment
keep all notes you have taken from your reading until your assignment has been corrected

Note: When reading for an assignment, you should avoid merely highlighting important material on photocopies of articles or chapters. The highlighted sections should be converted into notes in your own words.

More advice on how to avoid plagiarism is provided in Chapters 7 and 9.

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