Reading skills

Before you start

Get a clear idea about the purpose of your reading and what you want to get out of it. Ask yourself:

Why am I reading this?

• Preparation for an assigment?
• Pre-reading for a lecture?
• Researching for a presentation?
• Finding ideas for a project?

What do I want to get out of it?

• General idea of the content?
• Specific facts?
• The author's viewpoint?

What do I know already?

How will I know when I have read enough?

Reading for an assignment

This is one of the most common purposes of academic reading, so make sure you start with a clear focus.

• Skills@Library Interpreting the task page
  Detailed advice and activities to help you interpret assignment titles and understand what you are being asked to do.

Finding the information you need

• Finding the information you need
  Comprehensive help from the Skills@Library finding and evaluating information page.

Reading at university level is all about making choices: choosing which texts to read, and which sections of those texts. The choices you make will depend on your purpose for reading.

• Managing your reading (video)
  This two-minute video gives advice on how to select relevant texts to read for your assignments
• Choosing what to read (activity)
• Skills@Library finding and evaluating information
  Comprehensive help to ensure that the information you use is reliable and of a high quality.

Reading strategies

There are a number of reading strategies, appropriate for a different purposes:

• Predicting: guessing what a text is about from the title
• Scanning: looking through a text for a specific piece of information
• Skimming: reading very quickly to pick up on the main ideas of a text
• Reading intensively: reading in detail to fully understand the argument of a text.

Choosing the most appropriate strategy for your purpose is the first step to making your reading more efficient.

• Selecting your reading strategy (activity).

Speed reading

• Speed reading test
  Aim to read at least 300 words per minute without losing comprehension.

The two main strategies which can help you to train yourself to read more quickly are "chunking" and using a guide.

"Chunking" refers to reading several words at a time instead of reading words individually. These sites can help you to start using this technique; both allow you to try different speed settings and use your own text.

• Spreeder
  A simple interface, allowing you control over the text and background colour
  
• Eyercize
  "Chunks" your text by highlighting groups of words.

Using a guide for your eyes to follow across a page is an effective way of training your eyes to read faster.

• Using a guide (video)
  

• Reading with understanding e-workshop
  Adapted from our face-to-face workshop, this 30-minute resource contains strategies for tackling complex texts.

Finding the argument

• Can you find the main idea in a paragraph? (video)
  Three short demonstration videos of how to find the argument in an academic text
  
• How to read an academic article.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is an essential skill which should be applied to all aspects of university education.

• Skills@Library critical thinking page
  Detailed information, advice and activities to develop your critical thinking skills.

Barriers to understanding

• Identifying obstacles to effective reading (activity)
  Find out if there is anything blocking you from understanding what you are reading, and what you can do about it
• Getting round obstacles
  Once you've identified the factors which block your understanding, learn strategies for overcoming them
• Academic vocabulary
  Practice in predicting the meaning of new words, suggestions for learning new words and ideas on how to select which words to focus on.

Copying out large sections from a book or journal whilst reading is bad practice: it does not help you to understand what you are reading, and can easily lead to plagiarism.

• Skills@Library note taking page
  Detailed advice and activities on note taking strategies.
  
• Paraphrasing and summarising
  Detailed advice and activities on how to effectively paraphrase and summarise your reading.
  
  

Books

• ALLEN, K. L. 2005. Study Skills: A Student Survival Guide. Wiley: Chichester
• REYNOLDS, M.C. 2002. Reading for Understanding. Wadsworth: California
• COTTRELL, S. 2008 The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave: Hampshire
• ROBERTS, J. M. 2004. Effective Study Skills, Pearson: USA
• FAIRBAIRN, G. 2001. Reading at University: A Guide for Students. Open University Press: Maidenhead.

Websites

• The Open University: Reading and note taking
• Using English for Academic Purposes: Reading skills for academic study.