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Reading Effectively

In graduate school you are not expected to memorize all reading materials or even study all of them in depth. You are expected to familiarize yourself with the main points from each reading and be able to relate what one writer has said to what another writer has said. In order to draw the main points from a large number of readings, try using the techniques listed:

Skim — "Skimming" means looking over a reading quickly, paying attention to the table of contents, the titles of the chapters, the headings of the various sections of the chapter, the "topic sentences," and the summary paragraphs or sections.

Read — Go over the material again, this time more carefully, looking for the main points, the conclusions, and the contentions. Write notes about the main points.

Question — Rather than passively accepting what the writer has written, ask yourself questions about it. "Why is the writer saying this?" "What is the evidence for that?" "Does that agree with what this same writer said earlier or with what another writer on the same subject said?"

Review — Skim it again. Look at your notes again. Try to rehearse in your mind the main points of the readings.