Question | Technique |
Am I going to use this text for background reading, perhaps to 'fill out' my grasp of a subject? | Light reading, do not make detailed notes, but just get the gist of the content. |
Is this text essential reading and a key element of the course, essay or presentation? | Careful and close reading, making detailed and full notes. |
Will it be enough to read a chapter(s) or part(s) of an article to get an overview of the material? | Skim read, to get the gist of it. |
Do I want to get an overview of the whole book? | Look at chapter headings and the introduction and then skim read. |
Do I want to study a text intensely, to grasp all the main ideas and/or collect all the information? | Looking, first at any chapter headings and introduction, skim through for an overview and then undertake close reading. |
Do I need to find some specific pieces of information in a text? | Scan the text to get the information you need. |
Despite undertaking Step 1 above am I still unclear how useful this text will be? | Look through the introduction, contents and index, and then decide on relevance. |
Scanning is what you do when you quickly examine part of a text for one or more specific items that you are interested in. For example you may scan a section of a book for a particular name. You should rapidly move across and down the text looking only for those words you are interested in - do not begin to read groups of words or sentences. Dates and names (beginning with a capital letter) are particularly easy to find using this method.
Skimming is a kind of 'scooting' across the 'surface' of a text, generally used to get a broad idea of what a text is all about. You therefore might want to skim read to see if a text is relevant to your interest or subject, to get an idea of how difficult the material is or to find out how much of it you may have to read closely at a later stage.
Close Reading means reading in detail with full concentration. It means reading groups of words, but not mechanically, one at a time. Rather you should aim to read in such a way that the idea or information they convey is understood. You will find, as you practise this, that it is just an extension of the way in which you already understand written material.
Another way of expressing this is to say that close reading is active reading. Concentration is required for close reading - but remember that the objective is understanding and not memorising.
Light Reading is sometimes appropriate in studying. It is somewhere between skimming and close reading. It does not require full concentration and is often used to get a working knowledge of the contents of the text
In each case, if the answer is 'yes', note the appropriate reading technique. Follow that technique when you do the reading.
3. Active reading and note-taking strategies
You are now ready to put your understanding of your reading into note-form for your own use. Do not slavishly copy down chunks of material from books. One way to avoid this is to ask yourself questions like the following when you read:
Did I understand this? Can I put it into my own words?
Have I understood the main point here? What were the illustrations/examples relevant to it?
Do I want to challenge anything I have read?
Have I stopped and considered links between the ideas presented?
Have I shown these links in my notes?
Have I noted connections with earlier chapters or sections?
Have I noted any contradictions with earlier chapters?
Have I made a note to check any other relevant text for opposing views/support?
Have I used diagrams where appropriate in my notes to make my ideas explicit?
As you read more in your discipline you will learn how to use one text to comment on another. As you read ask yourself the following questions:
Have I seen this idea discussed elsewhere?
Does the formulation I am now reading develop/agree/conflict with what I have read before?
Do other comments I have read on this idea help me to formulate my own views?
4. Record and organise notes effectively
Notes should be brief and in your own words.
Write notes in phrases not sentences and use abbreviations.
Always note where the information comes from.
Keep your notes on a particular topic together in a file, numbering the pages.
Use a highlighter pen on texts that are your own (though never on a library text, or a text belonging to someone else).
Use a highlighter pen on your notes (or an equally effective technique) to make the essential points/main ideas stand out.
Use lists and headings, numbers and letters to differentiate points.
Use diagrams - link points with arrows, with main idea(s) at the centre.
Colour code in ways you find useful, e.g., different coloured ink for different aspects/ideas.
5. Review and evaluate your notes
Try this a few weeks after making a set of notes:
Do the essential points stand out clearly?
Are any essential illustrations/examples given?
Are the notes coherent and well organised?
Are they precise, and do they avoid repetition?
Have you made links between ideas in the text?
Have you cross-referenced to other texts dealing with the same ideas?
Have you added your own opinions on the text?
After reviewing your notes, you may be able to add new ideas in the light of reading and thinking you have done since you made them
