Welcome to a short video about using reading strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of your weekly reading for university. We will cover three concepts today -- the
importance of task analysis, different reading approaches for different tasks and lastly,
reading for content, structure and language. Do you think that this statement is true or
false? Yes, it's false so let's now work out
why. When faced with a reading task it
is important to identify why you are reading the material.
Use the information about your topic on Moodle and the learning outcomes in your Unit outline
to help work out "why am I reading this?" Understanding your task dictates the reading
strategy required. We are going to look at three reading approaches
that you can use as part of your university reading habits.
Sometimes your purpose in reading maybe just for background understanding of a concept
for an assignment or a pre-lecture reading. In this case, you may just skim the source
to gain an overview of the main idea of the article. Read the abstract, the introduction
and the conclusion to find the articles main points.
You skim read material to get the general picture. You scan when looking for specific
information. You may need to find specific details on a
topic for an assignment or a task that your lecturer has set. There is little point in
skimming a whole book for this purpose. You should scan the text for words related to
your topic. Run your eyes down the page looking for these expressions - in chapter
headings or sub-headings, or in the text itself. Sometimes you might need a very detailed understanding
of a concept. This kind of reading is always more time consuming, but it can be combined
with skimming and scanning for greater efficiency. By reading the introduction first and then
the conclusion, you gain an overview of the authors main points, then read the results
and discussion sections, or the middle text for the details based on your identified purpose and keywords.
If the text you are reading is a photocopy, on a screen or your own copy -- highlight
and transfer the concepts to your notebook and add your own comments or questions. Paraphrase
the information for your assignments rather than just copying and pasting.
What do you think about this statement? Do you think that reading each book or article
or website once is enough? Yes, reading each book or article or website
once is enough ... sometimes Let's look at why ...
When trying to understand a concept sometimes it is easier to skim a number of documents
to gain an overview of the main ideas being discussed.
You may find that one of the readings is not as relevant to your topic as you first thought.
In this case you do only need to reading it once. Once you find a source that is relevant to
your purpose and topic then you may need to read it a couple of times by scanning for
key words and then a detailed close reading of the main concept.
What do you think? Do you need read journal articles and text books and web sites the
same way? Well, both answers are right -- why? Because
it depends on your purpose which will help identify your approach.
You have always read for content. Try now to also read looking at the structure.
How has the author constructed their work? Look at the subheadings, diagrams, tables.
Then read looking at the language used. Try making a glossary of new or discipline specific words.
What sentence starters or verbs are commonly used?
The structure and language that you note down can also be used in your assignments
Finally, what are the main things to remember when starting your reading?
Be clear about your purpose and what your are trying to achieve.
Choose the best strategy of skimming, scanning or close reading and then you will be more
efficient with your reading and find more relevant information.
Happy reading.