Reading Textbooks
It can be challenging to get through the readings for all of your classes, much less actually understand and retain what you are reading. What follows are strategies to help you become a more effective reader shared by Stephanie Bernasconi, Assistant Director of Student Learning Initiatives at USD.
Read is a verb. Be an active reader.
The single best piece of advice I can give you to be an effective reader is to be an active reader. Simply staring at thewords on a page so long they start to blur or sleeping with your book under your pillow hoping for a miracle of osmosis is just not going to get the job done. Remember, “read” is a verb, meaning it’s an action. To truly understand and retain the information you are reading, you need to think about what you are reading. What follows are some suggestions I have to help you become a more active and effective reader. Try out a few and experiment. If you find something isn’t working for you, STOP! Individual students have different preferences; find what works for you.
How to Read: When, Where, How Long, and What
Choosing the right environment where you can focus is critical. Before you start reading, spend a few minutes thinking about how you can set yourself up for success.
When: Some times are better then others. Most students have times during the day when they feel more alert and are able to concentrate better. For example, you may be a night owl and feel like you do your best work and are able to focus best late at night. Figure out what your “prime time” is, and try to schedule study time for yourself during that part of the day to tackle your most difficult reading assignments.
Where: Think about sound and distractions. Do you read better in absolute silence, or do you need some background noise to concentrate? If you aren’t sure, experiment and find out which level of sound is best for you; then think about possible study spaces. When you are choosing a place to read be sure to avoid places that you will run into friends, in person or virtually; in other words, turn off your cell phone and close your web browser. Explore campus and find a good spot for you. For a few ideas, click here.
How long: Try the “Power Hour.” Vowing to not eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom until you finish a reading is admirable, but not necessarily realistic. The best strategy I have is the “Power Hour.” Here is how it works: Set aside exactly one hour to read. It will probably take you 10 minutes to settle down and actually get into the text. That’s okay; get up, get your highlighter, then start reading again. Then get up and turn off your cell phone, and then start reading again. The key is to not to give up; after those 10 minutes, you’ll have everything you need and will be able to focus on your reading. Stay focused for the next 40 minutes. As you hit the last 10 minutes of the hour, you might start getting a little antsy. Flip forward a few pages, and find a good stopping point up ahead. Once you hit that point right around the one-hour mark, stop reading. You’ll be amazed at how much better you comprehend and retain information since you aren’t burned out and are really focused for those middle 40 minutes.
You may be able to go beyond the power hour, but stay in touch with your level of concentration-there is nothing more frustrating then getting to the bottom of the page, and realizing you have no idea what you just read. When this starts happening, stop and take at least a 15-minute break, and then start again.
What: Preview your chapter or section. Before you start reading, flip through the chapter or section you are going to read. Scan the headings, section titles, and notice what words or phrases are in bold. Most textbooks have an introduction at the beginning of the chapter or a summary at the end that will clue you into the key points or major concepts you’ll be reading about; pay special attention to these. The whole process of previewing the chapter shouldn’t take more than two or three minutes. After you preview the chapter, you should be able to generally answer the question: What am I going to read about? Being able to answer this question helps get you into “biology mode” or “history mode” and helps you to stay focused as you have a better sense of what you are going to read about.
Additionally, if part of your assignment is answering questions after you read or writing a paper, review the questions or prompt before you read and keep your eyes peeled for information that you can use later to complete those assignments.
Now for the active part.
Actively reading means engaging with your text. Depending on your preference, this can take several different forms. I would encourage you to try each of the strategies below, or use them together in whatever combination works for you.
Highlighting: Be stingy with your ink. The physical act of highlighting, moving your pen across the page, does not count as active reading. Remember, you need to think about what you are reading. The natural extension of that is you need to think about what you are highlighting. The active part of highlighting is being very thoughtful about what you are selecting to highlight. I suggest that you read a paragraph, and then go back and highlight the information you think is most important or relevant. Only after you have read the whole paragraph can you decide what is most important. If you highlight well, when you go back to review material before a test, you will be able to focus almost exclusively on what you have highlighted.
Make notes in the margin: Talk to your text. As nutty as it sounds, try having a conversation with your text by writing notes in the margin. If what you are reading reminds you of someone or something, write “just like Katie,” or “kind of like camping.” If you don’t understand a sentence write “huh?” “doesn’t make sense,” or write your reaction to what you are reading, like “surprising!” While jotting down these comments might slow you down a bit, they also increase your comprehension and retention by helping you connect the material with your own experiences and process the information more thoroughly.
Other ways to read actively: Try them all. In addition to the two strategies listed above, you may also want to try:
- Use small post-its to write notes as you read and attach them like tabs on the page. Then you can see where certain sections are when your book is closed and will have more room to write notes.
- Take notes on a full size sheet of paper as you read, almost as if you were taking lecture notes. Re-writing the information in your own words will help you process the material, and you can review your notes later even if your book isn’t with you.
- Test your comprehension as you go along. At the end of each section, verbally summarize what you just read. This is will help you to know which sections you are comfortable with, and which sections you should go back and take another look at.
What to Read if you Can’t Read Everything
Hopefully not too often, you might find yourself unable to complete all of your readings. In this situation, I would suggest that you preview the chapters that you didn’t get to more extensively that you usually would. Still focus on the titles, headings, and introduction or summaries, but also try and read the first and last sentences of each paragraph, or for a longer reading the first and last few paragraphs of each section.
If you have questions about this article or would like to set up an appointment to receive customized study strategy suggestions through the Peer Advising Program, please contact Stephanie in the Office of Student Learning Initiatives at 619-260-599, email sli@sandiego,edu, or visit UC 102.