4.2: Reading to Learn

PREPARING TO READ

Start by thinking about why your instructors have chosen the given text(s) for each course. Has each instructor said anything about the book or the author? Look at the table of contents; how does it compare with the course syllabus? What can you learn about the author from the front matter of the book? Understanding this background will give you the context of the book and help define what is most important in the text. Doing this exercise once per textbook will give you a great deal of insight throughout the course.

Your first step in any reading assignment is to understand the context of the reading material. Think of your reading assignment in relation to the large themes or goals the instructor has spelled out for the class. Consider what parts of the reading assignment you should pay special attention to, and what parts you can browse through.

Open your text to the assigned pages. What is the chapter title? Is the chapter divided into sections? What are the section titles? Which sections are longer? Are there any illustrations? What are they about? Illustrations in books cost money, so the author and publisher likely considered illustrated topics as particularly important, otherwise they would not have been included. What about tables? What types of information do they show? Are there bold or italicized words? Are you familiar with the terms, or are they new to you? Are you getting a sense of what is important in the chapter? Use critical thinking skills as you think about your observations. Why did the author choose to cover certain ideas and to highlight specific ideas with graphics or boldface fonts? What do these formatting choices signal about what will be most important in the course? What do you think your instructor wants you to get out of the reading assignment? Why?

ANATOMY OF A TEXTBOOK

Good textbooks are designed to help you learn, not just to present information. Textbooks have many features worth exploring because they can help you understand your reading assignments better and learn more effectively.

Now, before starting to read, try to give your reading more direction. Are you ever bored when reading a textbook? Students sometimes feel this way. By finding direction, you create a purpose or quest for your reading which will help you become more actively engaged and less bored.

APPROACHES FOR PREPARING TO READ

To use the Cornell method of note-taking as you read, you will divide your notepaper into three sections: a left-hand column, a right-hand column, and a space at the bottom of the page for a summary. You can turn the title of each major section of the reading into a question and write it down in the left column of your notes. For example, if the section title is “The End of the Industrial Revolution,” you might write, “What caused the Industrial Revolution to end?” If the section title is “The Chemistry of Photosynthesis,” you might write, “What chemical reactions take place to cause photosynthesis, and what are the outcomes?” Finally, also in the left column, jot down any keywords that appear in boldface. You will want to discover their definitions and the significance of each as you read. You will put all of your other notes about the reading in the right column. At the end of the section or chapter, write a short summary paragraph. There are templates and examples available online.

With the outline method of taking notes, start with the chapter title as your primary heading, then create subheadings for each section, rephrasing each section title in terms of a question.

If you are more comfortable using the concept map method, start with the chapter title as your center and create branches for each section within the chapter. Make sure you phrase each item as a question.

NOW, READ

Now you are ready to start actively reading. Start by looking at your notes; they are your road map. What is the question you would like to answer in the first section? Before you start reading, reflect on what you already know about the subject. Even if you don’t know anything, this step helps put you in the right mindset to accept new material. Now, read through the entire section with the objective of understanding it. Follow these tips while reading, but do not start taking notes or highlighting text at this point:

• Look for answers to the questions you wrote.
• Pay particular attention to the first and last lines of each paragraph.
• Think about the relationships among section titles, boldface words, and graphics.
• Skim quickly over parts of the section that are not related to the key questions.

After reading the section, can you answer the section question you earlier wrote in your notes? Did you discover additional questions that you should have asked or that were not evident from the title of the section? Write them down now on your notes page. Can you define the keywords used in the text? If you cannot do either of these things, go back and reread the section.

CAPTURE THE KEY IDEAS

Once you can answer your questions effectively and define the new and key words, it is time to commit these concepts to your notes and to your memory. Start by writing the answers to your questions in your notes. Also, define the keywords you found in the reading.

Now is also the time to go back and reread the section with your highlighter or pencil to call out key ideas and words and make notes in your margins. The purpose of marking your textbook is to make it your personal studying assistant with the key ideas called out in the text. Most readers tend to highlight too much, however, hiding key ideas in a sea of yellow lines. When it comes to highlighting, less is more. Think critically before you highlight. Your choices will have a big impact on what you study and learn for the course. Make it your objective to highlight no more than 10 percent of the text.

Use your pencil also to make annotations in the margin. Use a symbol like an exclamation mark (!) or an asterisk (*) to mark an idea that is particularly important. Use a question mark (?) to indicate something you don’t understand or are unclear about. Draw a box around new words, then write a short definition in the margin. Use “TQ” (for “test question”) or some other shorthand or symbol to signal key things that may appear in test or quiz questions. Write personal notes on items about which you disagree with the author. Do not feel you have to use the symbols listed here; create your own if you want but be consistent. Your notes will not help you if the first question you later have is, “I wonder what I meant by that?”

If you are reading an essay from a magazine or an academic journal, remember that such articles are typically written in response to other articles. You will need to be alert to signals like “according to” or “Jones argues,” which make it clear that the ideas do not belong to the author of the piece you are reading. Be sure to note when an author is quoting someone else or summarizing another person’s position. Other words like “yet” or “however” indicate a turn from one idea to another. Words like “critical,” “significant,” and “important” signal ideas you should examine closely.

After annotating, you are ready to read the next section.

REVIEWING WHAT YOU READ

When you have completed each of the sections for your assignment, you should review what you have read. Start by answering these questions: “What did I learn?” and “What does it mean?” Next, write a summary of your assigned reading, in your own words, in the box at the base of your notepaper. Working from your notes, cover up the answers to your questions and answer each of your questions aloud. Think about how each idea relates to material the instructor covers in class. Think about how this new knowledge may be applied in your next class.

STRATEGIES FOR TEXTBOOK READING

The four steps to active reading provide a proven approach to effective learning from texts. Following are some strategies you can use to enhance your reading even further:

• Pace yourself. Figure out how much time you have to complete the assignment. Divide the assignment into smaller blocks rather than trying to read the entire assignment in one sitting.
• Schedule your reading. Set aside blocks of time, preferably at the time of the day when you are most alert, to do your reading assignments.
• Get yourself in the right space. Choose to read in a quiet, well-lit space. Your chair should be comfortable but provide good support.
• Avoid distractions. Active reading takes place in your short-term memory. Every time you move from task to task, you have to “reboot” your short-term memory and you lose the continuity of active reading. Multitasking—listening to music or texting on your cell while you read—will cause you to lose your place and force you to start over again.
• Avoid reading fatigue. Work for about fifty minutes and then give yourself a break for five to ten minutes. Put down the book, walk around, get a snack, stretch, or do some deep knee bends. Short physical activity will do wonders to help you feel refreshed.
• Read your most difficult assignments early in your reading time, when you are freshest.
• Make your reading interesting. Try connecting the material you are reading with your class lectures or with other chapters. Ask yourself where you disagree with the author. Approach finding answers to your questions like an investigative reporter. Carry on a mental conversation with the author.