Read effectively
Reading at uni isn’t just about getting through the pages, it’s about really understanding what you’re reading and making sense of the big ideas. A few smart strategies can make it easier to stay on top of your study and save time along the way.
Reading at uni is an essential skill, and being purposeful with your reading will help you get more out of it.
Before you start, ask yourself: Why am I reading this? Your reason will guide how you approach the text. Is it:
- background reading before a lecture
- preparation for a tutorial discussion
- research for an assessment task
- just for fun?
Next, note down what you already know and any questions you have. You might know more than you think, and writing it down helps you stay engaged. Being aware of gaps in your knowledge will help you focus on finding new information as you read.
Active reading
Active reading is about questioning what you read as you read it. Adding questions as you read helps you stay focused and makes it easier to connect ideas later. It is also important to reflect on what you have read before putting it away. Consider how the information sits in relation to what you already know, your course material, and other readings you have done on the topic.
Questions to ask yourself
- What do I want to find out?
- What do I think now?
- Why do I think this?
- What is the author’s basic argument?
- What would I like to ask the author?
- What are the limitations or flaws in the evidence?
- What examples would prove the opposite theory?
- Can the theory be disproved or is it too general?
- Is this convincing? Why / Why not?
- What are the implications?
- What are the alternatives?
- How does this fit in with my own theory/beliefs?
- How does it fit with the opposite theory/beliefs?
- How does it fit with other relevant theory/beliefs I’ve come across?
- Is my own theory/belief still valid?
- Which parts of the author’s argument do I want to use/reflect on in my writing?
Reading efficiently
To maximise your study time, use these different reading techniques depending upon what kind of text you are working with.
Reading techniques
Scanning first gives you an idea of whether the resource is useful to you. The aim is to see what it contains as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Scanning involves looking at the following sections in these resource types.
| Book | Journal |
| The cover | Blurb or extract |
| Title | Section headdings |
| The contents page | Tables or graphs |
| Chapter headings | |
| Tables or graphs in the body of the text |
Skimming is helpful if you are unsure what the text is about. It involves glancing through a few pages to get a sense of the content: what they discuss and how they discuss it.
To skim a text, read:
- subheadings
- words that are in bold, in italics or underlined
- diagrams
- the abstract, introduction or conclusion
- the first sentence of every paragraph (topic sentence)
- chapter questions (for textbooks) or chapter summaries
- discussion section and conclusion (journal article).
Reading quickly is not necessarily a reliable way to ensure you understand the material. Comprehension and strategy are the most important aspects to reading for study purposes.
Reading rates will differ depending on the material and your present understanding of it. Think of how easy it is to read a magazine in the doctor’s waiting room compared with the time it takes to trawl through scientific text.
Reading quickly might sound appealing, but it can often result in you having to re-read sections to properly grasp the information, and that is not good time management.
Once you’ve decided that a text is useful (whether in part or the whole), take time to read it carefully to ensure that you understand it.
This is when you take notes of key words and ideas and look up any unfamiliar terminology or phrases. You can then use these notes in your assignment, with the appropriate referencing.
This one you can do however you want. After all, you’re reading for enjoyment.