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Reading Effectively - Part 1
Contents

Part 1

DIFFERENT READING SKILLS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES

SKIMMING
SCANNING
READING FOR UNDERSTANDING

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES TO USE NOW - SQ3R

Part 2

READING FASTER: WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED

Reading effectively is an important skill for students.

Here are some suggestions and strategies to increase your reading skills. 

We’ve also included some links to other sites that you might find useful.

 
DIFFERENT READING SKILLS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES

There are lots of different reasons for reading something. As a student you might be reading:

To get a general impression of what something is about

To find the answer to a particular question

To read for detailed understanding


SKIMMING

If you are reading to get a general impression, you should use a skill called skimming.  When looking at a book, this will involve looking at the cover, title and contents page, chapter headings, sub-headings, the first and last sentence or paragraph within the chapters.


SCANNING

To search for the answer to a particular question, try scanning. This is the skill you use when finding names in the phone book – let your eyes scan down the page till you see the information you want.

Skimming and scanning are speedy and efficient techniques for getting what you need out of books and articles. Many students think it is cheating not to read every word in a book. Not so. You are cheating yourself when you waste time reading material not essential to your purpose.


READING FOR A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING - USE SQ3R

For a detailed understanding you might like to try the SQ3R method. Here’s how it works:

Step 1. SURVEY Look over the whole text.  Check out the headings and the way it has been set out.

Step 2. QUESTION Ask yourself some questions about the text. Why am I reading this text? What do I need to find out from this text? Does it look useful for my assignment?

Step 3. READ the text. Take some notes while reading. Sometimes this helps to keep you mind on the content. 

Step 4. RECITE Stop every now and then and try to put into your own words what you have just read. 

Step 5. REVIEW After you have finished look back over your notes and see if you can recall the main the points.

Activity

For more information on SQ3R, visit the How-To-Study.com pages.

 

Other Reading Resources

Reading To Comprehend and Learn
(University of Victoria Counselling Service)

Personal Reading Improvement program
 (California Polytechnic State University)

10 Tips to Improve Your Reading Skills
 from selfgrowth.com

How To Read University Texts or Journal Articles
 (University of Victoria Counselling Service)

[ON TO PART 2]