Download About Academic reading texts

About academic reading
When you get to university, you’ll find you need to get through a lot of readings either from your
reading list, or for wider reading in preparation for an assignment. These may be journal articles,
chapters in edited books or chapters in textbooks. Many of these academic texts will seem quite
difficult, especially to begin with. Don’t despair! You may not have to read every article on your
reading list. If you learn how to preview your readings first, you can select those readings or
sections of a reading that are most relevant to your needs. There are a range of strategies that you
can use to make the task less overwhelming.
Identify your purpose for reading
Your Unit Handbook or Study Guide will have a reading list. This list will usually be divided
into required readings and recommended readings. Always begin with the required readings.
Ideally, these will be general texts that can give you an overview of the topic. Once you have a
general idea of the course content, more specific or detailed texts will be easier to understand.
You will be required to read for a number of situations. For example, you may need to read for:
(click to see hidden text)
Lectures Tutorials Assignments
To make the most of your reading, you need to be able to identify your purpose. In many cases,
this purpose will be identified in questions included in the Unit Handbook or Study Guide. These
questions will make it easier to understand what you are reading.
If there are no questions, you need to identify more specific purposes for reading because why
you are reading will determine how you read. The way you read a novel, a newspaper, a
telephone book and an academic article will be different because your purpose for reading will
be different each time. There are three main types of reading that people do:
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Reading for quick reference – when you need to find particular information
Reading for pleasure – to relax, for fun, because you like the writer’s style
Critical reading – to understand/analyse ideas or concepts
Some reasons for reading might be:
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to locate names or numbers
to find a description of an event
to find details of an experiment
to gain an overall impression
to identify the main theme
to identify the structure of an argument
to identify main points
to evaluate the style
to evaluate the author’s point of view
Exercise 1: What’s your purpose?
How you read a text will depend on why you are reading the text. Drag the descriptions of how
you will read into the correct cell to complete the table:
For pleasure
Quick reference
Critically
Quick reference
Critically
Television guide in the newspaper
To find out what time a programme is on
The news section of the newspaper
To get an overview of what’s happening in the world
A history text
To prepare for an essay
A psychology text book
To prepare for an exam
A popular magazine
To pass the time
Try again!
Some reading techniques
Because there is so much to read when you’re studying at university, you need to read selectively.
The pre-reading stage is an important step in the reading process.
Pre-reading
Before you begin to read, preview the text. What is the title? Who is the author? When was it
published? Who is the publisher?
When you need to find specific information such as a name or a date, you can scan the text.
When you scan, you do not actually read the text; instead you search for a particular item. You
can also scan a text to identify the sections that are important for you.
To gain an overall impression of a text, you can skim the text. The technique involves reading
the title, the first paragraph, the first sentence of each of the body paragraphs and the last
paragraph. Also look at any graphics in the text. By skimming a text you can decide if it’s
relevant and you can prepare yourself for a more detailed reading of the text. Since you have
already gained an overall impression, your detailed reading will be more meaningful.
Exercise 2: Which technique?
Read the description and decide which reading technique will be best to use:
1. You’ve downloaded an article from a database but you are not sure whether it is relevant or
not.
scan
skim
2. You are searching for possible answers to exam questions in your textbook.
scan
skim
3. You want to know the results of an experiment in a scientific report.
scan
skim
4. You want an overview of an experiment in a scientific report.
scan
skim
5. You have started a new unit and have just bought the textbook.
scan
skim
Exercise 3: Scanning
You are looking for the following information in the text. When you are ready, click on the icon.
You will have 20 seconds to locate the information before the text disappears. Note that to do
this exercise successfully, you cannot read the whole text, but must look only for the particular
information. You can check your answers once you have read the text:
1. How much more slowly do people read a web page than a printed text?
2. What per cent of people read a web page word for word?
3. What per cent of people scan a web page?
Scan the table of contents and then answer the questions that follow. You will have 20 seconds
before the text disappears. You can check your answers once you have read the text:
1. In which chapter(s) will you find information on reading?
2. In which section will you find information on referencing?
3. To which page should you turn to read about preparing for exams?
Effective reading
There is a range of strategies that you can use to ensure you get the most out of your reading.
Be active while you read.
You can do this is by asking questions, making notes and keeping a vocabulary list.
Asking questions
These may be about the purpose:
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Why has the author written the text?
What theoretical perspective does the author take?
Are the purposes stated explicitly, or are there underlying biases?
Or about the content:
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What is the main idea/theme in the text?
What evidence is used to support the main points?
What are the main points to support it?
Is the evidence convincing? Why / why not?
Making notes
When you read a text in detail, you should make notes. Many students indiscriminately highlight
material as they read. If you do use a highlighter, use it only on key words and phrases, and
always follow up with some sort of written note or summary. Making notes is much better than
underlining and highlighting. You are not only summarising the text, but you will also be more
likely to remember what you have read.
You don’t need to stick to writing words when you make your notes. Be creative. Draw diagrams
and pictures if these help.
What to note:
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Key elements, such as the theme/thesis/argument, central ideas, major characters or
crucial information.
The author’s purposes and assumptions (explicit and implicit).
Single phrases or sentences that encapsulate key elements or the author’s purpose and
assumptions.
Details or facts that appeal to you, such as a useful statistic or a vivid image.
Items to follow up, such as a question, an idea that offers further possibilities, a puzzling
comment, an unfamiliar word, an explanation you do not understand or an opinion you
question.
Keeping a vocabulary list
As you read, write down any new or difficult words. Look these up in a dictionary and try to use
them in a sentence or explain what they mean in your own words. This will help you to
remember the word. Compile a glossary of key terms and concepts in your discipline.
SQ3R
This means:
Survey Question Read Recite Review
Overcoming reading difficulties
As a student, there are times when the reading you need to do makes little sense, even after you
have applied various reading techniques. Here are additional ideas to help clear your head and
put you back on the road to success.
Read it againLook for essential wordsHold a mini-reviewRead it aloudContact your lecturerTalk
to other studentsConsult another textTry to explain to someone what it's aboutStand up