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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 12 hours
    Level: Introductory

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • This unit is about the very basic study skills of reading and taking notes. You will be asked to think about how you currently read and then be introduced to a some techniques that may help you to alter...
 

1 Reading and note taking

  • 1.1 Preparation for study Resource
  • One of the main purposes of this unit is to help you develop two kinds of skills:
  • 1.2 How do you read? Resource
  • A good way of getting started on developing your reading and note-taking skills is to think about how you read now.
  • 1.3 Active reading Resource
  • Whatever the specific objective of reading, as a student you will always need to read in an active way. Active reading involves reading with a purpose; that is reading in order to grasp definitions and...
 

2 Purposeful reading

  • 2.1 Reading techniques: scanning Resource
  • There are three main techniques that you can use in order to read in such a way as to achieve your purpose: scanning, skimming, and focused reading. Let's take each in turn.
  • 2.2 Reading techniques: skimming Resource
  • You might want to find information about the effectiveness of the child curfew scheme in Hamilton but be less interested in some of the other issues that are raised in The Scotsman piece. One way of extracting...
  • 2.3 Reading techniques: focused reading Resource
  • Have a go at reading The Scotsman article again, this time in a more focused way. Think about each section of the text, breaking off at regular intervals in order to identify and extract the main points...
 

3 Strange words, long sentences and lost meanings

 

4 Taking the point: identifying key ideas

  • 4 Taking the point: identifying key ideas Resource
  • As earlier activities have demonstrated, active reading and note taking often come hand-in-hand. In order to read effectively we often have to jot down the main ideas and key words introduced in the text....
 

5 Keeping it short: jottings, abbreviations and symbols

 

6 Extracting a summary

  • 6 Extracting a summary Resource
  • In developing short notes you are already beginning to extract key ideas from the text. To assist you further in this you might also find it helpful to bring the points you have highlighted and/or made...
 

7 Reading and thinking

  • 7.1 Processing meanings Resource
  • Reading and thinking requires you to begin to process the material you read in preparation for re-presenting it in assessments. Initially, processing happens in your head. Selecting what to identify and...
  • 7.2 Reorganizing notes Resource
  • The technique of re-reading completed notes and supplementing them with comments and queries is a useful way of processing ideas. Another way of processing ideas is to reorganize notes around a set of...
  • 7.3 Internalizing and interrogating key ideas Resource
  • In addition to revisiting your notes at different times throughout the year, you might also look for opportunities to discuss key ideas with someone else - either a fellow student or someone outside of...
 

8. Making the ideas your own

  • 8.1 Re-presenting material Resource
  • Wherever possible, you are encouraged to write in your own words, even when note taking. This is for a number of reasons: firstly, it gets you actively working with and processing key ideas; secondly,...
  • 8.2 Writing in your own words Resource
  • Active reading, or reading and thinking, are bound up with writing in your own words. If you read materials in a passive way, you are much more likely to copy out chunks word for word when you are note...
  • 8.3 Acknowledging the sources of ideas Resource
  • Even when you have used your own words it is essential that you acknowledge the source of the ideas you re-present. This entails making a note of the author and date of publication of the material from...
  • 8.4 Referencing quotes Resource
  • Quoted material can add to a discussion significantly. It can offer a summary of points that you have explored, or provide an example or even enable you to contrast two different definitions. However,...
  • 8.5 Constructing bibliographies Resource
  • At the end of your assignments you need to include a bibliography or list of references. This is an alphabetical list of all the sources that you have used – each chapter, book and article that you refer...
 

References and Acknowledgements

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