Study Skills

Textbook Reading for University Students

Textbooks are academic texts full of technical language. Reading it the same way as a novel will impede your learning. This article explains ways to efficiently read your academic texts.

By Arjuna Rupasinha

Introduction

Textbooks are academic texts full of technical language. Reading it the same way as a novel will impede your learning. This article explains ways to efficiently read your academic texts.

The five steps

Think before you read to answer essential questions. Consider why you are reading before you read. Putting yourself in this mindset will clarify your aims for the reading session. Ask yourself questions like, ‘Why am I reading this?’, What do I hope to gain from this?’, and ‘How does this reading fit into my course?’ These types of questions will ensure you are reading with the intent of answer them.

Scanning to build a framework. Before reading anything in full, read the contents, every heading and subheading, the summary, and the introduction. If there are end-of-chapter questions, read those too. You are building a framework of how the information is laid out.

Optional third step. Link the first two steps together by asking yourself what you expect the author to argue, and how he may make those arguments. Engaging thoughtfully with the author before reading the text will improve your understanding as you read.

Read, in full. Read the chapter in full. Fill in the framework you built for yourself from the second step. Understand the details. You should find this faster than if you didn’t scan the chapter to begin with.

Make notes or recall. Make notes in the margins or try to recall what you read at the end of the chapter. Try to answer the questions you had from step 1. You should find that you can answer all those questions. If you cannot, you need to read the chapter again or evaluate if the chapter does not contain those answers and you need to read a different text. Recalling the text or making notes will improve your ability to remember what you have read for exams.

The highlighting trap

Highlighting feels productive because it is easy, and it is easy because it doesn’t build the neural pathways essential for learning. The research on study techniques is clear. Highlighting and rereading sit near the bottom of the effectiveness table, while self-testing sits at the top.

The result

Reading more than once but with intent in each pass is more efficient for both learning and timesaving than reading everything in one slow pass. Scan, read, and making notes are three essential steps to reading quickly, and with higher rates of understanding.