Reading
You’ve been reading since you were, what, 6 years old? 7? It's been at least a couple of years, anyway, so it might seem like you should know what you're doing when you read a textbook, journal article, or piece of literature.
Not all reading is the same, though. The way you approach a textbook is different from how you approach a journal article or novel. You’re not even necessarily going to approach every part of a textbook the same way. That’s because how you read something is determined by why you're reading it.
The question of why you’re reading goes beyond “because my instructor told me to.” What are they wanting you to get out of the reading? This is where your syllabus becomes really handy. Which chapters or pages are you supposed to read? What are the learning objectives for the course, and how does the reading connect? What topic are you addressing next in class? What does your instructor want you to do with the information after you’re done reading (discuss it in class, write a quiz, etc.)?