Your Skills and Assignment Support

Reading effectively is all about knowing how to absorb, understand and remember what you read in the most effective way possible. The world is overflowing with information, so acquiring the skill to read effectively will help you navigate easily through tests - from textbooks and articles to your favourite novels.

There are several different techniques which will help you to get the most relevant information from written resources, including active reading techniques, critical thinking, and smart note-taking.

1. Previewing

Reading a text in full can be quite a time commitment, and you don't want to be wasting your time reading texts that turn out not to be very relevant or helpful for your assignments. Previewing is a technique to give you a strong sense of the content of a text by initially only reading the titles, headings and sub-headings. 

2. Active Reading

Grab some highlighters and post-it notes and start engaging with your text. By highlighting or underlining key points and jotting down notes and thoughts on post-it notes or in the margins, you're helping yourself stay focused on your reading and enabling better retention of the information. It's much easier to recall information you've read using active reading techniques. (Just make sure you're not scribbling on library books!)

3. Questioning

As you read, ask yourself questions about the material. Questioning the things you read encourages a deeper engagement and helps you identity the main ideas and supporting details, as well as any places where you're confused that needs further exploration.

4. Summarising

After you finish reading a section, or even a whole chapter or paper, you can try summarising the main points you just read in your own words. In addition to good note-taking, this process helps you recall information more easily and reinforces your understanding.

5. Visualisation

If you benefit from more visual learning, you can try creating images or diagrams to make abstract concepts more concrete and memorable. 

6. Chunking

If you're feeling overwhelmed by how much you have to read, chunking is a way to break down longer tests into small, more manageable chunks. Set yourself a goal to read a specific number of pages or sections, then give yourself short breaks and rewards in between. These help prevent fatigue and keep you focused when you're reading.

7. Reviewing 

Once you finish reading, instead of immediately moving on, take a few moments to review the main points and ideas, as well as any notes you've made about the text. It'll help solidify your understanding and reinforce the information in your memory.

Remember, effective reading is about actively engaging with text, organising information and making connections. By implementing some or all of these techniques, you'll enhance your comprehension, information retention, and hopefully make reading an easier, more productive experience.