Reading Tips for Comprehension and Efficiency,

or, how to survive the information glut

Mr. Schwartz

 

You will find it very helpful to use skimming and scanning techniques in any course, and certainly in this course where you should aim at identifying the main points and most important details of the readings and documents as quickly as possible.  This kind of reading is the kind of skill you want to develop to survive information overload and to prepare for graduate school, employment, and so forth.

 

·         THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING TO GRASP FROM A SECONDARY READING OR PRIMARY SOURCE IS THE MAIN POINT. In a secondary work this is the author’s main interpretation, argument, or major point.  This may be true of a primary source as well, depending on what kind of source it is.

·         A second aim is to understand how the evidence and reasoning support the interpretation. 

·         A third is to evaluate the persuasiveness of the interpretation: to what extent is the interpretation or argument compelling?  Sound?  Puzzling?  Overblown?  Shaky?  Why?

 

How to do this more efficiently:

 

1.  Read carefully the introduction and the conclusion of a chapter, article, or book.  Take a few minutes to note down on a piece of paper the main points or themes stated in the introduction and conclusion. 

 

2.  Keep your notes of the main points in front of you, so you can glance up from time to time as you read and ask yourself how the section and details you're reading connect with the main points.

 

3.  Leaf through the chapter (article, book) and study topic and subtopic headings whenever they are used:  note how these are signposts to guide you through the topics treated in the chapter--they're like the major landmarks to guide you on a journey through unfamiliar territory.  If you know what you're going to see before you see it, you'll be able to absorb more of what you encounter as you journey forward. 

 

4.  Go back to the beginning of the chapter (or article) and quickly read the first sentence of each paragraph.  Topic sentences should identify the main point of each paragraph.  Skimming like this can help you grasp much in a chapter in a small amount of time.

 

5.  Now read the chapter or article in the usual way.  Concentrate on associating the main points with the details or evidence and example.

 

6.  Use the table of contents and especially the index to find relevant parts of a book.  Studying the index can tell you a great deal about the topics and themes treated in the book and where to find them.  This is critical in doing research.

 

It will take some practice to get comfortable with this method, but the time will be very well spent.

Novels and literary evidence can be skimmed and scanned also, and is sometimes fundamental when you are doing an analysis as opposed to reading solely for entertainment.

 

 

Form for Reading Notes

 

Items	Pre-Reading	Complete Reading
Main theme or subject
Main argument or conclusion
Evidence (ex. 1, p._______)
Evidence (ex. 2, p._____)
Most interesting point p. __________
Evidence (ex.) p. __________