Reading, Note-taking, Reporting Sources: Effective Reading

Ever finished reading a text and realized you didn't absorb anything? Do you get distracted easily during your reading? Try to read actively! Successful readers use active reading habits to boost comprehension, speed, and enjoyment. Active reading means engaging with the text before, during, and after reading. This includes previewing, connecting to personal experience, asking questions, and taking notes. Look at the following table for some inspiration on active reading. 

Active reading	Passive reading
Consider the purpose of your reading, for example, to write an assignment.	Don’t consider the purpose of your reading.
Preview a text before reading by skimming headings, topic sentences, and keywords.	Don’t preview; just jump right into reading.
Read with questions in mind.	Read without questions in mind.
Adjust how you read (see also Kinds of Reading) depending on the type of text and context within which you’re reading.	Read each text the same way.
Alter your reading speed as you read based on the significance and difficulty of each passage.	Read everything at the same speed.
Stop to monitor your understanding of the text as you read.	Don’t stop to think about whether you are understanding what you are reading.
Annotate while you read (see also Note-Taking): read with a pencil or highlighter in hand to mark important passages jot down notes, e.g. as bullet points or flashcards draw diagrams or mind maps about what you are reading	Don’t annotate. Don’t have anything in hand. Just read.
Make time to reflect upon and evaluate what you have read.	Don’t make time to reflect upon and evaluate what you have read.
If reading comes hard to you, try alternative formats, e.g. audio using text-to-speech software (see also Reading by Listening).	Assume that reading is the only way to absorb the content of a text.
Time your reading and give yourself SMART objectives for your reading, e.g., in the next hour I need to read ten pages. This will help give yourself a little “pressure” to complete your reading and fight off distractions (see also Time and Attention Management).	Allow yourself to read any time to read, or just conclude your reading activity at a certain time, whatever you have achieved.

 

Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-esc-introtocollegereadingandwriting/chapter/active-vs-passive-reading/ 

Avoid wasting time, going through a sea of information without getting much out of it: always read with a purpose and actively. 

Weekly course reading

Try to keep up with your additional weekly course reading and note-making. Always check the module learning outcomes and reading lists (see box Reading Lists) for each week, as this will help guide your additional reading choices.

Top tip!

Block out weekly reading time in the week as part of your independent study time!

Reading for seminars and additional weekly course reading

Seminars can vary depending on your course, but generally they are opportunities for you to take part in exploring a topic more deeply and to analyse and evaluate different viewpoints on a given topic. As such good reading preparation before seminars is vitally important.

When you read, it is very easy to fall into the trap of being a passive reader, and to read without understanding or questioning ideas, in order to get through it quickly. But will you be able to use and recall your reading at the seminar if you do this? 

Instead, try to read actively by questioning the text that you read! 

You can do this in a separate notebook or on the text itself

1. As you read, highlight, or even better write down (always referencing the page number) anything you think looks interesting. Sometimes it is better to write it down, as we can often end up highlighting lots of things. When you write it down, we tend to be more selective.
2. When you have done this, think about and reflect on the quotes you have highlighted/written down. You can now be free to respond to these. This can be done in many different ways and here are just a few:

• Comment on the quote – What are your initial feelings/thoughts?
• What questions arise for you?
• Do you have any new thoughts/ ideas that have developed from your reflection?

All the above can be brought to the seminar discussion. In addition, engaging with the text will also help the information to become stored in your long-term memory.

Reading for an assignment 

If you are reading for an assignment, think: what topics do I need to cover? What information am I looking for? You are not just reading everything related to the topic of your assignment; you are actively and purposefully researching information. 

Set reading goals when reading for an assignment. If you have created an assignment plan already this will help greatly when knowing what information to look for when reading as you can focus on and read for small sections of your assignment.

Firstly make sure the text is relevant to your needs and focus the reading around your assignment question or even specific parts of your assignment.

Quick reading strategy for assignments

1. Jot down the assignment question
2. Make a note of any questions you have about it. What do you want to find out?
3. Keep your argument in mind (if you have one already)
4. Don't get side-tracked and waste time on non-relevant information and sections, just try to find the answers to the questions you wrote down.

Top tip!

Making an assignment plan can help greatly with focusing your reading, as you can just focus the reading around one smaller section of your assignment and not the whole piece of writing.   

Reading for exams  

When it comes to reading for revision, if you have kept up with your weekly reading and note making during the term, extra reading should not be a mammoth task come revision time.  However, you may still want to bring in the most current literature to your exams, so you may need to read a couple more current texts, possibly journals, to add to your module notes.

Firstly, plan out the topics you are going to revise and have a look at past papers if possible, to identify topics that have come up regularly over the last couple of years. You can always predict exam questions too and use coursework and seminar questions to practise focussing your reading on each topic, much like reading for your assignments.

Exam markers are looking for

• Well-supported arguments that draw on evidence (e.g. examples and academic sources) from outside your lecture notes!
• A thorough understanding of different perspectives and arguments
• A solid understanding of theoretical concepts and models and their application
• Critical analysis and evaluation of ideas, arguments and theories
• understanding of the module and how the modules overlap

As such how you read and take notes for your exam is important, as reading and writing are intrinsically linked!

Read critically for your exams - Think about how your topics link together as you may get questions with multiple topics. Here are some questions that may help to direct your reading.

• What are the core theories, concepts and models within this topic?
• What are the major debates/issues?
• Do you agree or disagree with these and why?
• What’s your perspective? Can you find any evidence to support this?
• What other perspectives are there? Could they be valid? Why, why not?

For more help and support with this, see our guide on critical reading.

Are there any gaps in your knowledge?  What do you need more information on? Are you missing any information on specific theories, concepts, issues, case studies, methodologies etc. You can then look out for these areas when you’re reading.

For more tips on exam and revision techniques see our guide on Exams. 

What's a reading list?

To help you get the most out of your learning, your lecturers will provide you with a reading list for each module. Your list may contain different types of sources, such as books, articles, podcasts, videos and websites. You will use your reading list to prepare for each week of your modules and to find sources for your exams and assignments.

Where will I find my reading list?

The best place to find your reading list is on Blackboard. Each of your modules will have a Blackboard site. Look for the "Reading List" link in the left hand menu to link to your online reading list. You can also find your online reading list at http://readinglist.westminster.ac.uk. If your module does not have an online reading list, ask your lecturer.

What should I do if I cannot access items on my reading list?

• Ask a member of Library staff at your home library information desk.
• Contact your Academic Engagement Librarian.
• Let your Lecturer know that you are having difficulty accessing items on the list.

Facing endless reading lists? Good news: you do not have to read all materials in such lists. Instead, select what is most relevant to you considering your learning needs, module learning outcomes and the purposes of your reading (see box above Read with a Purpose)

On the other hand, you may sometimes need to research and use sources beyond the reading lists (see tab Researching). 

A key to active and effective reading is to use different kinds of reading:

• Skim it, if you are just considering whether a piece of writing is relevant for your study.
• Scan it if you are looking for specific information.
• Read in depth if you need to comprehend and analyse something.

Skimming is reading to form a general impression of the text to see if it will be useful to your needs.

You don’t need to read every word or in too much depth or detail. To quickly obtain information about the text, you can:

• Read the title, the introduction, any headings and subheadings, and the conclusion
• Read the first sentence of each paragraph (the topic sentence)
• Read the concluding sentence of each paragraph
• Read the words highlighted in bold
• Look at illustrations (pictures, diagrams, tables

Example of skimming (yellow highlighter): 

Skimming gives you the gist of it: this paragraph is about flexiterianism, that is, a mainly vegeterian (or vegan) diet with exceptions to the rule. Fexiterianism is becoming more popular for a series of reasons. 

Scanning is looking for a particular piece of information. Unlike skimming, when scanning we only look for specific information without reading everything else and we usually know what we are looking for. Scanning gives you the opportunity to find the specific information you need and determine whether or not this text will be useful to you.

To scan: find a word/phrase or number and let your eyes move quickly through the text until you find the word/words you are looking for. When you know how the text is organised, this can be done even quicker!

Before you scan, establish your purpose. What are the key words of your assignment question or key purpose and argument? By knowing the purpose of the reading and what the key words/phrases are that you require, this will help you to locate the appropriate material. 

Techniques that can assist in scanning:

• Learning how to use your hands in the process can be an effective way of guiding your scanning. Do you ever scan a page by using your finger to physically locate the information? Using your hand or fingers on the page can help to focus your attention, along with assisting you in keeping track of your place on the page whilst scanning the material. 
• Learning how to use your periphery vision can help, as when your hand moves down the page, you not only see the information your finger is pointing to but also the information above and below. Letting your eyes work for you and trusting their ability to search for information even when you are not 100% focused on the peripheral content will help in being able to locate information quicker. 
• Continuously keep the key words/phrases in your mind whilst you scan. It will help to maintain your focus.
• Give yourself permission to scan. Remember why you are scanning and that it is an initial stage of reading. It can be uncomfortable to scan at first without feeling concerned that you may be missing valuable information, but remember that this is an initial stage: you are scanning to check that the key words are present in the text and that the text will be valuable and relevant to your purpose. Once you have done this, you will then know whether it is worth going back and reading the text properly or not. Therefore, scanning is a technique used as an initial stage in critical reading, so give yourself permission to engage with this initial stage and reassure yourself that if the text is relevant, you will read it properly afterwards.

Scanning example (green highlighter): why is flexiterianism more environmental? 

Scanning through the text, you only look for the information required. You will therefore find that flexitarians eat less meat, and therefore contribute less to carbon emissions and depletion of environmental resources associated with the meat industry. 

When your text is important, and you need to gain a thorough understanding of all or part of it, you need to read for meaning. Keep in mind your purpose and read actively: 

 

In the following video Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster School of Media and Communication, provides six tips for effective reading:

1. Previewing
2. Annotating
3. Outlining
4. Identifying patterns
5. Contextualising
6. Comparing and contrasting

This workshop on effective reading for your assignments will provide you with strategies and top tips to help you read more efficiently and effectively for your assignments. It will help you to locate relevant texts and the relevant parts of texts in order to save you time and help you to focus your reading.