Hey chicks, here's another totally not patronizing tutorial on how to read, leading on from a point I made in a previous tutorial. I realize how easy it is when reading to not get the most out of what you’re taking in, so I’ve thrown together some advice on how to read effectively and the different ways you can read!
Work out what level you need to know the text
Chance are you will not need to know all of your required reading in the same depth. Accordingly, your required reading does not all need to be read in the same way for you to get the most out of it
Some texts you will need to follow closely and others partially! If you’re not sure on the relevance of a text, make sure to ask your tutors.
In order to read effectively, always start out knowing what your priorities are and what questions you want to answer
Intensive reading
This kind of reading is particularly suited to texts that will draw heavily from or will write about in detail. Read slowly and respond to what you read my making notes or annotations, or both!
I wouldn’t recommend highlighting although this can be a part of intensive reading as well.
Skim reading
Here you read through a text quickly and lightly to get a grip on whether or not it's actually relevant to your studies. Don’t worry if you can’t skim read right away! Its an acquired skill and incredibly useful. I used to think when I skim read chapters for my English lit classes that I was kinda cheating... I promise you it's not.
Look at back covers, abstracts, indexes and contents pages.To get a good idea of the text contents read the first and last chapters or first and last sentences of a paragraph
once you’ve gone through and marked which areas of the text will be most useful to you, go back and read those sections carefully.
Targeted reading
You’ll find your reading will become a lot more efficient if before you start you have an idea of why you’re reading it and what the text is broadly going to be about. Knowing this allows you to decide what level of attention you need to pay to what your reading and how much you want to meditate on it.
Sound a little confusing? Don’t worry, just read the background texts. Background reading is important because it allows you to situate what you read in what you already know. If you’re stuck for background reading try blurbs, chapter heading and reviews from reputable sources. Texts often have bibliographies as well that are worth looking into
As you read keep in mind what you’re reading what your purpose is, and what you aim to get from your text. This helps to prioritize the more useful parts of what you’re reading.
All this might seem overwhelming at first if you’re not used to it, but I swear, make a few simple changes to the way you read will work wonders on your comprehension. That's it for now, always shoot me an ask if you’d like me to explain something further. Love, Niamh x
