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.)?
Deep & Surface Reading
People often distinguish between surface reading and deep reading. Like shallow and deep processing, which was explained in the video series by Dr. Stephen Chew, surface reading focuses on superficial details, while deep reading tries to fully understand what you read. People often advise students to focus on deep reading, but there are times when surface reading is the better option. For example, you might use surface reading if [expand for examples]:
You’re just looking at something to see if it would be useful for a research paper
You only need to get a general sense of the material before discussing it in more detail in class
The text is covering something you’ve already learned, and you’re just reviewing
On the other hand, deep reading is necessary if:
You are using the reading for your research paper, and need to fully understand it
You are going to be tested on the material
The text covers something new or complex
Shallow reading and deep reading don’t require radically different methods. Basically, deep reading builds on the things you can do to read shallowly. The steps outlined below start shallow and go deeper. You can stop at any step depending on how deeply you need to understand the material. Even if you know you need to read something deeply, starting with the shallower methods is helpful because they give you some foundational awareness of the text that makes understanding its details easier.
Article - Harvard Library
Reading Assignments
Video - Crash Course Study SkillsHighlighting
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a student in possession of an assigned reading, must be in want of a highlighter (pardon the literary reference). Highlighters are incredibly useful tools because they can help you quickly identify key points in a big wall of text, but they are also easily overused.
There are three relatively simple ways to make sure that you’re not substituting highlighting for actually understanding a text:
don't highlight until you've read an entire section or chapter
develop a highlighting system
pair highlighting with another reading strategy
[expand for more details]
- Don’t highlight anything until you’ve read and understand the entire section/chapter
You need to understand a section overall in order to identify its key points, so focus on comprehension first, then go back and highlight the essential parts
If you’re worried about going into passive reading mode, don’t hold anything in your hands while you read; only pick your highlighter up when you've finished the section and understand it
- Have a system that you use throughout the text
Rather than just highlighting things that seem like they could be important, develop some rules ahead of time based on why you’re reading the text: if your instructor is going to be testing you on terminology, for example, you might plan to highlight key terms and their definitions in your text; if you’re reading an article for a research paper, you might highlight material that relates to your topic
If you need to know several types of information in the text, like theories and terminology, use different colours for each
Having a plan in place ahead of time forces you to think through why you want to highlight something (meaning you need to understand it) and connect it to your purpose for reading
- Combine highlighting with another reading strategy, like taking notes or annotating
Taking notes, either in the text itself (annotating) or another document, requires a greater level of understanding than highlighting, so it can ensure you’re reading deeply
Having a system for the combination can help too: for example, you might use your notes to summarize major theories, and then highlight examples of each theory in the text
How to Highlight - Efficient Highlighting
Video - Ana MascaraTextbooks
Textbooks are, well, books, which can give people the impression that they need to be read from start to finish. They’re more like a choose your own adventure in that it's perfectly fine to read them out of order. In fact, doing so can make them easier to understand.
Article - Monterey Peninsula College
Journal Articles
Journal articles can feel intimidating because they were written by scholars for other scholars. Because the authors and audience are presumably experts in their field, journal articles tend to focus on specific details or issues rather than providing a general overview of a topic. They also use terminology without defining it because the authors assume their audience knows it already. You can still understand what’s going on in an article, though, even if you don’t understand every single detail (and it’s ok if you don't: you’re not an expert yet!)
How to Read a Paper Efficiently (By Prof. Pete Carr) [Sciences]
Video - Surviving and Thriving in Higher Education
Interactive Image - North Carolina State University
Literary Texts
Skipping around to different parts of a literary text is a lot more difficult, and a lot less productive, than it is with textbooks and articles. Just like when we're reading a book in our spare time, we're most likely going to go through a literary text assigned in class from beginning to end.
When you analyze a piece of literature for class, you’ll likely be doing a close reading of it.
How you do a close reading will depend on the type of literature you’re reading, your course, and why you’re reading it (e.g, for an exam, a class discussion, an analytical essay, etc.). There are some general tips for making the most of whatever type of close reading you do, however:
Annotate your text
Try to identify patterns
Ask questions
[expand for more details]
- Annotate your text
Doing a close reading is not the same as reading a novel or poem for pleasure. The point of close reading is to examine how all of its parts fit together rather than just to appreciate the storyline. As you read, make note of things like figurative language and changes in tone, and also record your reactions.
- Try to identify patterns
Look for patterns or repetition in word choice, figurative language, themes, and so on. Try to mark them consistently so that you can group them together later.
- Ask questions
Write down any questions that come up as you read. These questions can be about things you don’t understand, but also try to focus on “how” and “why” questions about the text. Developing a habit of questioning the texts you read will help you avoid simply summarizing the story in a discussion or analysis paper.
Article - Purdue OWL
Article - University of Wisconsin-Madison
Article - Nicoletta Asciuto / University of York
Reading on Paper vs a Screen
A lot of people prefer reading things from paper, especially when they’re reading large amounts of text. There are several studies that suggest that we tend to remember more of what we read on paper compared to digital readings. There are some major differences between the two formats that can partially explain this [expand for more]:
- Physiology
Our eyes tend to get tired faster when we’re reading on a screen compared to paper. The light emitted from a screen can be tiring, and when reading on a screen we’re often focusing on a monitor that is further away than we’d place a book, or we're trying to read off of our relatively tiny phone screens.
- Distractions
When we read digital material we’re typically doing it on a computer or our phones, both of which present multiple distractions, like notifications, that break our focus. Because these notifications often have a visual component, they draw our eyes away from where we were in the document.
- Habits
Most of the reading we do on screens is surface-level: we check emails and chats, read the occasional news article, skim the first three sentences of the conspiracy theory our weird uncle shared on Facebook, and so on. Because we are so used to doing surface reading on a screen, we often unconsciously slip into that mode when reading things we want to read deeply, too. We are also more likely to overestimate how well we understand what we’ve read because our typical standard for comprehending digital material is lower.
- Perspective
When we read something on paper, we’re able to see the entire page even if we’re focusing on a few words at a time. Many people associate information they read with where it is located on the page, which can help them recall it later. Because we tend to scroll through digital text, that sense of place isn’t there and navigating a text can feel more difficult.
If you already read most of your course material on a screen, you may not retain as much information as you think you do. Doing everything on paper is not a reasonable solution, though.
Digital documents aren’t going anywhere, and they’re cheaper and more portable than paper versions. Online classes are more likely to have online readings, too. There will also be situations where you’ll have no choice but to read off of a screen (like during an online exam). Being comfortable switching between formats is therefore very helpful, and there are some strategies you can use to improve your screen reading skills [expand each point below for more details]:
Print or Screen Reading?
Video - GSBvid1. Adjust your monitor & display
adjust the display to make it a little more yellow, which tends to be easier on the eyes
increase the font size if you find yourself squinting a lot
try using a desk lamp instead of the overhead light, which can also be easier on your eyes
2. Take frequent visual breaks
try to look away from the screen regularly, even if you can't take an actual break from reading
a good way to do this is to take notes by hand, since you're automatically switching between the screen and paper
4. Test your comprehension regularly
To make sure that you’re not slipping into surface reading, challenge yourself to summarize each section, or even each paragraph, you read without looking at the text
this is another good opportunity to take your eyes away from the screen
5. Add visual markers to help you navigate the text
Make sure you know how to use the reading platforms you have (for e-books, pdfs, etc.)
In particular, make sure you know how to:
highlight
add notes
move around in the document
save your work
export your notes and highlighting (if possible)
If your platform lets you bookmark sections, you can use them to create your own table of contents for key sections
Alternatively, you can add brief notes to the margins to make it easier to spot key ideas (try to use a feature that doesn't require you to open each note to see what it says)
Even if you don’t use multiple coloured highlighters (or highlighters at all) when reading on paper, consider developing a system for your digital readings
marking different types of information (like definitions, names, theories, etc.) in different colours helps you find what you’re looking for faster (and, as discussed above, having a system for your highlighting helps you avoid surface reading)
If your platform allows you to export your notes and highlighted sections, you can essentially create a summary of the reading