1. Choose what to read

 

If you’re reading to understand a topic, start with core and recommended readings in the subject. These are often comprehensive works in the field that explain the key concepts or issues. You can also search for current research on the topic using the Library website to keep yourself updated on the latest developments. If you are reading to address an assessment task, use the key words from the task to search for relevant sources. Most tasks would ask for some connection to key concepts discussed in the subject, and so it’s important to use core or recommended readings alongside your own research. 

 

2. Preview a text

 

Can this text help me answer the assignment question in any way?

If yes, what part of my answer plan does it seem to fit?

Previewing a text helps you to evaluate not only the relevance of a text to your purpose but also its credibility. A text may appear highly relevant to an assignment but may present obvious language problems, biases and inconsistencies. In this case, you may want to forgo engaging with the text if you can, since reading time is precious, and you may have many texts competing for your attention.

 

3. Use different ways of reading

 

How you read should depend on what you want to get out of that reading. You can:

- Skim a text for the main idea

- Scan a text for detail

- Read a text closely

- Compare different parts of a text

- Reflect on the text personally and professionally

 

4. Ask critical questions of the text

 

Asking critical questions helps you to read actively and avoid getting carried away by the details of a text because these questions often require synthesis and interpretation of the whole text. 

 

5. Take notes of your reading

 

It’s crucial to take notes while you read, as it gives you a record of ideas that you can use in your assignments and other study activities. If you’ve taken effective notes while reading a text, you usually do not need to re-read it except for quick checks of details. Effective notes go beyond text highlighting and annotation.

 

6. Connect multiple readings

As you read a text, think beyond the text itself to relate it to other readings. Take notes of any links you’ve identified across different texts in your assignment plan or study map. You can use these links to know how to put together notes from individual readings. For example, you might want to summarise a common finding from three different sources to support your argument or juxtapose two contradictory findings to highlight a problem. Here are some questions to help you navigate multiple readings on the same topic:

 

- What key messages are emerging from these readings?

- What aspects of the topic do they relate to?

- What are the similarities and differences between these messages?

- Which messages have the strongest supporting evidence?

- Based on these observations, what is my view on the topic?

 

7. Improve your language skills

 

For readers of English as an additional language and people who are not familiar with academic texts, try to notice how language is being used to develop ideas throughout the text. While complex vocabulary and grammar may be a challenge, these can be observed and learned more easily than the way in which ideas are expressed and the cultural meaning that often accompanies it.

 

Try the following language tips to improve your reading comprehension:

 

- Pay attention to signposting language in a text – expressions such as The aim of this paper is…, - The main limitation of this theory is…, Based on these findings, we propose… can help you to follow the flow of meaning.

- Actively predict what a paragraph or section is about based on the topic sentence and/or heading. After you’ve read it, assess if your prediction was right.

- Learn terms for key concepts and write down your own understanding of these based on the reading.

- Participate in discussions of readings in class and on the LMS.

- Take careful note of the vocabulary central to each subject. Use this vocabulary in your writing and class discussions.

- Practise your language skills regularly and persistently.