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Active Reading wk2 Reading

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23 views3 pages

Active Reading wk2 Reading

Uploaded by

Zaid Dean
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Active reading

By: Anita Jowitt (2006)


Adapted from LA 102 course materials
You must do hours of reading per week in order to complete your law studies.
But what is the point of reading for hours if you cannot remember anything you
have read? And what if your reading is taking hours longer than the study time
indicated for the unit?

To complete all of your readings efficiently and effectively, you need to actively
think about what you are reading as you are doing it. Active reading:
o Cuts down reading time because you only focus on what is relevant.
o Aids recall of what is relevant.
o Helps to develop your own thinking about topics.
o Results in better revision notes.
But how do you read activtely? Active reading is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3:
1. Read with a purpose
2. use the SQ3R technique
3. Remember our handy hints!

1. Read with a purpose

To read actively, first of all you need to read for a purpose.

To do this decide why you are doing the reading or what information you want to
get out of the reading. It might help to make a list of questions of information that
you are looking for before starting your reading.

2. Use the SQ3R technique

Then, use the SQ3R technique to do your reading. SQ3R stands for
 Survey
 Question
 Read
 Recall, and
 Review
SURVEY Once you have decided your purpose, survey or skim read the reading,
to find out what the reading is about, and if it is relevant to your purpose. Do not
read in detail, but go through and have a look at chapter and section headings,
and quickly skim through the body of the text to see which parts of it might fit
your purposes.

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Surveying saves you time, because if the reading is not relevant to your particular
purpose you will not waste your time reading it.
If only parts of the reading are relevant to your particular purpose, then you will
only need to go back to read the relevant parts in detail. If you have found a
useful book, but only chapter 3 has information that you need, you would not
read all of the other chapters. The same goes for articles â sometimes only
one section of an article will be relevant for your purpose. If that is the case, then
you only need to read the relevant section in detail.

QUESTION Make a list of questions that you want to be able to answer from
doing this particular reading. This helps to focus your mind, and ensures that you
are always reading with a purpose

READ Now, go back and read the relevant parts in detail. You should take notes
as you are doing this. If you are reading a photocopy, or your own book, you
might want to highlight or underline the main points, or take notes in the margin.
Never do this with a library book!

Once you have finished reading a section of the text, make notes, in your own
words, of what you have just learned. If there are things that you do not
understand, or disagree with, make a note of them as well.

RECALL Every now and then see if you can recall what you are reading. Go
back to your list of questions, and see if you can answer them from memory. Or
see if you can remember the last 3 points you noted down. If you cannot do this,
then you are wasting your time! It looks like you are working, but your mind is
too tired to take in any information. Take a short break, and come back to your
reading when your mind is refreshed.

Go back and skim through the section of text to make sure that your notes are
accurate.

REVIEW Once you have finished your reading, go back through your notes, and
make sure that they make sense. If they do not, go back to the reading and clarify
your notes.

3. Remember our handy hints!

o Do not do too many readings at once. This will only confuse your mind.
o Do not think you have to read every single thing in detail. If you try to do
this you will probably end up skimming over a lot of information. It is
better to read well and selectively. Remember, many cases simply say the
same thing and you do not have to attempt to digest everything on a
specific topic. Try to master the fundamental principles.
o Use different coloured pens and highlighters in your notes. For instance, I
take my notes in blue or black pen, then list questions I have about the
reading in red pen.
o To keep all your notes for a particular subject together, use a notebook.
o Keep a dictionary and a vocabulary book handy. Every time you come
across a word that you do not understand, look it up. Then write the word

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and its definition into you vocabulary book. This will help you to learn
new words.
o If you are doing readings for an assignment, it might be easier to use a
folder, and organize your readings by subject area.
o Always head up your notes with the full reference for what you are
reading. This way, if you want to refer to material form your notes in your
assignment you can cite your source properly. This helps you to avoid
plagiarism.
o If you want to copy down a direct quote, make sure your notes clearly
show that it is a direct quote. Also take the page number the quote comes
from. That way, if you use the quote in an assignment you will be able to
reference it properly. This helps you to avoid plagiarism.
o If you are getting behind in your readings, try working in a study group.
Each person does one reading in detail and shares their notes. You then
read the notes, and skim read the reading to add any extra information to
the notes. Make sure you always at least skim read the reading, in
case your friend's notes were not accurate!
o If you have problems with readings, ask your lecturer for help.
o If you review your notes at the end of every week, information will go
into your long term memory. A weekly review of notes is a good habit to
get into and is part of your overall course revision. Exam revision should
not all happen in the last week of semester!

For more hints on reading try going to google www.gogle.com

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