How to read at a university research level

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Reading at a university level

Work was far too tiring

today…

I’ve got so much to do at home…

I never finish the

readings…

I’m so tired, hope I don’t nod-off…

Good evening class! I’m glad to see everyone is here, I think we have

some very exciting things to cover this evening and quite a bit of material as well. But first how many of you were able to get through the reading this

week?

I was only able to read half of it…

Don’t call on me, don’t

call on me…

Ya right, five books and

three journals in a week!

Don’t all raise your

hands at the same time…

All right, so no one got through all the

reading?...

Can someone explain to me what

went wrong?

Well Sir, this weeks reading list has five

books listed and three journals. There is no way we could read

through all this.

I’m sorry class, I should have explained this at the start of

term, but I don’t expect you to actually read every word in

every book or journal I put on the reading list.

So how do we know what to read and what not to read?

Now that is a great question, and I’ll

answer it for all of you right now.

How to use your reading listOR deciphering the reading list code

Ask yourself:

“What am I going to read based upon my research interests”

• Continually revisit your

reading list each week• Keep an ongoing list of

everything you have

read! • Look for new research!

Class Text Books

Weekly Reading Schedule

It is easy to just read the words on the page without knowing what those words are actually trying to say, this is known as dead reading

The reading mistake we all make…

Five Types of Reading:

“Why am I reading this?”Are you reading this because you are… Background reading for an essay? Checking details mentioned in a lecture Setting out questions and

comments for a seminar Criticising the logic of

an argument Organising the basic

principles of your subject

Do NOT just open to the

first page and begin

to read!

Overview ReadingChecklist:

Table of ContentsSite MapChapter Headings Section HeadingsFirst Sentences of

each paragraph in the introduction

•Tip: Make a Keyword List during this overviewreading.

S Q 3 RSurvey

Question

Read

Recite

Review

by turning the statement into a question

the passage

the passage actively

what you have found (in your own words)

to ensure you wrote the meaning down

Summary• Read for a degree! - don’t just click, copy

paste and print!

• Vary the kinds of reading you do on a daily basis to keep it fresh.

• Always do an over-

view reading first.

• Keep repeating to

yourself S-Q-3-R

Remember there are real people to help as well!

Reading List Example: Law