Reading and Research

Effective Reading in the Humanities

Tertiary level reading is complex and demanding and some of your past reading strategies may not be appropriate.  You may be overwhelmed by the quantity of reading and wonder about speed reading courses.
 
However, increasing your reading speed not only takes time and practice, but it also diminishes your comprehension, so it is not very effective or efficient for someone undertaking tertiary study. 
It is more important to be an ACTIVE reader, one who constructs meaning from the text and actively engages with the material.  This means determining how what you are reading relates to other material in the field, to your own learning and especially to your purpose for reading.
 

1.  Understand your purpose for reading
 

How you read material depends largely on why and what you are reading.
Are you preparing for a lecture or a tutorial, researching an assignment or essay, expanding on lecture notes or preparing for an exam?
Do you need to gain an overview of a topic, understand the material in depth, find specific information, understand the argument or main focus, or evaluate the material?
 
These different purposes will determine how you read. Everything you read will not be read in the same way.
 

2.  Have a focus
 
     

Ask yourself ‘What do I expect to learn from this passage?’
 
You need to have specific questions in mind before you begin to read. Your tutorial and lecture guides may provide questions or will indicate the critical issues on which to focus, which you can turn into questions. In reading for an essay, a brainstorming session on your essay topic should give you some questions to answer to help you focus.
 
Having a clear focus helps you to narrow the choice of book or chapter, or the most useful section of a text. This can save time!!
 
 

3.      Pre read
 

Pre reading gives you an overview or outline of the material and provides a framework for the text. It makes comprehension easier as you can gain an understanding of the author’s argument or focus. It also helps you identify which information is relevant to your purpose and therefore what to read in detail.
 
 
How?
 
For an article:

• Look at the structure
     
• note the title and date
    
• read the abstract
   
• read the introductory paragraph
    
• look at headings — major and minor
    
• look at sections
   
• look at diagrams /graphs /charts/illustrations
    
• read the discussion/conclusion.
     
• read the first sentence in each paragraph (often the topic sentence, which contains the main point of the paragraph)
   
   
  For a book:
   
  
•     Check the table of contents or index for the relevant section or pages
  
•     note any objectives listed in the preface or beginning of each chapter
  
•     read the introductory paragraph
  
•     read the section titles in the chapter
  
•    look at any illustrations
  
•   read the first sentence of each paragraph
  
•    read any summary or study questions at the end of the chapter
   
  

Once you have previewed your material you can decide which sections you need to read in detail and you have a sense of what is being covered in the text.  This will aid comprehension.
 

4.      Understanding complex texts
 

You can’t expect to read a complex text through only once, but how much time you spend on it may again depend on your purpose.
 
A text may seem complex depending on your knowledge of the subject and your interest in it, whether it conflicts with your understanding or world view, or presents new knowledge in unfamiliar language and in a different style and format.  Given that you are probably studying in discipline areas that are new, it is often the style and format which make the text appear complex.
 
Some suggestions:
 
It is important to preview the text as described above, then read the easiest sections first.  Go back to the more difficult sections and read slowly, trying to identify the author’s argument or the main points on which the writer has focussed. Keep this argument or focus in mind as you read each section, paragraph or even sentence, depending on the length of the text. Think about how what you have read furthers the argument or relates to the main focus. Try to distinguish between the points being made to support the argument or develop the ideas and the elaboration of these/ illustrations/ supporting evidence.
 
If the theoretical perspectives or key concepts on which the material is based are unfamiliar, you may first need to read a more basic text that deals with these more directly.
 
It is important when embarking on a new course or subject that you take careful note of the vocabulary central to the discipline. When previewing, look for frequently used and unfamiliar words and concepts and look these up before you read. Use the index of the book or a specialist subject dictionary to help you. Make sure you develop a system to record these meanings and the context in which they appear. Another idea is to collect new words and look them up later, at a time when you can’t be bothered doing anything else.
 
If you are still unclear about important key terms or concepts, consult your tutor, lecturer or another student.  If the reading is for a tutorial, make sure you raise your difficulties with a text in the tute. Other students are highly likely to be having problems with it too, and discussion and the tutor’s input can help clarify the difficulty you are having.
 
As you read a complex text it is also useful to make notes or draw a diagram of the material as you read, to aid comprehension.
 
Comprehension of difficult material may still take time. 
However, being immersed in the subject matter through reading, listening in lectures and discussing in tutorials will increase your familiarity with new terms and concepts.  This means that your comprehension will improve. Don’t get too anxious if at the start of semester you only understand 60% of what you are reading.
 
Comprehending a text accurately is the first step of the reading process at tertiary level. The next step is to critically evaluate what you read.
 
 
 
Reference: Marshall, L. and Rowland, F., 1998
A Guide to Independent Learning, 3rd edition, Longman,