How to read effectively and critically

YOU ARE READING: How to read effectively and critically AT PhebinhvanhocEN

choose what to read

If you’re reading to understand a topic, start with the core and recommended readings on the topic. these are often comprehensive works in the field that explain key concepts or issues. You can also search for current research on the topic using the library’s website to stay up to date on the latest developments. try using the library guides to get a custom list of fonts for a theme. Another idea is to ask your teacher for text recommendations on a topic. If you’re having trouble understanding the key concepts of a subject, you may need to go back to a more basic textbook that explains them at a more fundamental level.

If you’re reading for an assessment assignment, use the keywords in the assignment to search for relevant sources. most assignments would ask for some connection to the key concepts discussed in the topic, so it is important to use core or recommended reading in conjunction with your own research. while theoretical readings may be a bit older, empirical articles, those reporting research results, are considered recent if their publication dates are within the last ten years.

You are reading: How to read books effectively

text preview

With any text, you’ll benefit from previewing its key information first to quickly understand what it’s all about. try to spend about five minutes reading the title, abstract (if any), introduction and conclusion, and any headings or tables of contents. For a general understanding of a topic, ask yourself:

what question(s) do I want to answer by reading this text?
does this text contain new and useful information about my topic of interest?

When reading for an assignment, think about how the text relates to the assignment:

can this text help me answer the homework question in any way?
if so, what part of my answer plan seems to fit?

Previewing a text helps you assess not only the relevance of a text for your purpose, but also its credibility. a text may seem highly relevant to a task, but may have obvious language problems, biases, and inconsistencies. in this case, you may want to avoid engaging with the text if you can, as reading time is precious and you may have many texts vying for your attention.

ask critical questions of the text

Asking critical questions helps you actively read and avoid getting bogged down in the details of a text because these questions often require the synthesis and interpretation of the entire text. for example, you can ask:

what is the key argument or message of this text?
what evidence is presented to support this?
what makes this evidence convincing or no?
how does this text relate to my own ideas/task plan on the topic?

take notes of your reading

It is crucial to take notes while you read, as it gives you a record of ideas that you can use in your homework and other study activities. if you’ve taken effective notes while reading a text, you usually don’t need to read it again, except for quick checks of details. effective notes go beyond highlighting and text annotation.

connect multiple readings

A typical challenge of reading in college is that you typically need to read not only long, highly specialized texts, but also many such texts in a limited amount of time. You may be reading multiple sources to understand different points of view on a topic or to gather information for an assignment.

In addition to the reading and note-taking strategies above, you should also make connections between texts and compare them to get general ideas, such as similar and different findings on the same topic. this allows you to make moderate and informed generalizations about what you read.

as you read a text, think beyond the text itself to relate it to other readings. make notes of any links you have identified in different texts on your assignment plan or study map. you can use these links to learn how to put together individual reading notes. For example, you may want to summarize a common finding from three different sources to support your argument, or juxtapose two conflicting findings to highlight a problem. here are some questions to help you navigate multiple readings on the same topic:

What key messages emerge from these readings?
What aspects of the topic do they relate to?
What are the similarities and differences between these messages?
Which messages have the strongest supporting evidence?
Based on these observations, what is my view on the matter?

Try to write down your answers to these questions as you read different sources and check back frequently as you continue reading. this will help you keep an overview of your theme.

improve your language skills

For readers of English as an additional language and people unfamiliar with academic texts, try looking at how the language is used to develop ideas throughout the text. while complex vocabulary and grammar can be challenging, they can be more easily observed and learned than the way ideas are expressed and the cultural meaning that often accompanies it.

last tip

To read effectively and critically, you must actively engage with texts by establishing a clear purpose, evaluating sources, using different ways of reading, asking general questions, synthesizing information, and taking good notes. focus on what you’re learning through reading and how you can apply it to study assignments and your personal and professional life.

Other content