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Successful Study Skills

Tips and tools to streamline the study process.

How to read more effectively at university

University study requires a lot of reading of sometimes unfamiliar and challenging material. Fortunately, there are lots of strategies you can use to maximise your reading time and get the information to "stick". Explore the tabs below to find a variety of approaches you can use for reading fiction, journal articles, and textbooks.

Types of reading strategies

The SQ3R strategy shows you how to be an effective "active reader":

  • Survey: before you read, survey the text: the title, headings, sub-headings, the introduction, conclusion, summary; captions, charts, graphs, maps.
  • Question: turn the headings, sub-headings into questions you think the section should answer.
  • Read: read the sections with your questions in mind. Look for answers. Make up new questions if necessary.
  • Recite/Recall: after each section, stop and think back to your questions. Can you answer them from memory? If not, look back at the text.
  • Review: once you have finished the whole chapter/article, go back over all the questions formed from all the headings. Can you still answer them? If not, go back and refresh your memory (Robinson, 1978).

Skimming can be an effective way to review a text or get an overview. It involves moving your eyes rapidly over a text and picking up on typographical cues such as indents, bolded text, quotes, and headings. You will not get the complete picture when using this method, however it is a good way to determine whether a text warrants further reading or not. Here are the main aspects of the skimming process:

  1. Read the table of contents or chapter overview to learn the main divisions of ideas.
  2. Glance through the main headings in each chapter just to see a word or two. Read the headings of charts and tables.
  3. Read the entire introductory paragraph and then the first and last sentence only of each following paragraph. For each paragraph, read only the first few words of each sentence or to locate the main idea.
  4. Stop and quickly read the sentences containing keywords indicated in boldface or italics.
  5. When you think you have found something significant, stop to read the entire sentence to make sure. Then go on the same way. Resist the temptation to stop to read details you don't need.
  6. Read chapter summaries when provided.

(Butte College, n.d., para. 7)

Scanning is an effective way of identifying particular points or facts within a text. Scanning should ideally be done after skimming the text for an overview, so you can understand the overall context of the document. The process involves rapid eye movement over a text, looking for cues such as keywords and headings, so you can focus on a particular point. Don't forget to look at tables of contents and indexes during this process. Some points to remember when scanning:

  1. Know what you're looking for. Decide on a few key words or phrases as search terms.
  2. Look for only one keyword at a time.
  3. Let your eyes float rapidly down the page until you find the word or phrase you want.
  4. When your eye catches one of your keywords, read the surrounding material carefully.

(Butte College, n.d., para. 12)

References

Butte College, (n.d.). Tip sheet: Skimming and scanning. Retrieved from http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/readingstrategies/skimming_scanning.html

Robinson, F. P. (1978). Effective study (6th ed.). New York, NY: Harper & Row.