Reading Textbooks

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Reading Textbooks

• Tips and Techniques for Taming
• College Texts

2
Why Care About Reading?

• Professors often assign readings over
• material not covered in class. A
• student must learn to read efficiently
• and effectively to succeed in college.

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Be an Active Reader

• To be an active reader, you must
• Decide whats important throughout the text
• Compare reading to lecture
• Consider the authors perspective and possible
  biases.
• Think critically.

4
Reading Speed

• Vary Speed Based on Need
• Read rapidly to locate specific information in a
  text
• Read moderately to gain main ideas or to retain
  factual info
• Read slowly through highly difficult material

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Skimming

• Gives a general idea of information available
• Helps determine if material is going to be useful
  for research
• Tips Read the title to get the basic idea(s) of
  the text
• Pay attention to headings and bold/italicized
  words which often reflect important concepts

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The SQ4R Method

• The SQ4R method is a very organized approach to
  getting the most from reading your textbooks. The
  method derives its name from the six steps
• S Survey
• Q Question
• R1 Read
• R2 Recite
• R3 Repeat
• R4 Review

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The SQ4R Method

• S Survey
• Some reasons to survey reading material
• focuses your attention
• gives you purpose and direction for your
  reading.
• Relays what the text will be about
• an idea of the length which assists in time
  management

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The SQ4R Method

• Q Question
• Asking questions about the reading
• (ie What does the title of the chapter suggest
  about the reading?)
• Helps you focus on main ideas
• Speeds up reading process

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The SQ4R Method

• R1 Read
• The third step of the SQ4R method is simply to
  read closely.
• Read with a purpose read to answer the questions
  you created or those provided in the text.
• Review all charts, maps, tables, illustrations,
  graphs, diagrams, etc.
• Pay attention to key words

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The SQ4R Method

• R2 Recite
• Step four of the SQ4R method involves reciting,
  or going over, the material you read to increase
  retention. Reciting can include making notes on
  the reading, highlighting important terms, or
  discussing the material orally.

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The SQ4R Method

• R3 Repeat
• Step five of the SQ4R method is to repeat steps
  Q, R1 and R2 (Question, Read, Recite) for each
  main section of the reading until the assignment
  is complete. You can use each section heading to
  formulate a question.

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The SQ4R Method

• R4 Review
• The final step of the SQ4R method is review. The
  review process is ongoing both during individual
  units and through successive units.
• Immediately upon finishing an assignment, skim
  over the text again, paying special attention
  toany markings you made.

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Some General Tips...

• Look up words you do not know
• Pace yourself reading for too long can reduce
  retention
• Try not to read when you are tired
• Read in a quiet, well-lit place background noise
  from a TV or radio can also hinder retention

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Some General Tips...

• Read in 15-30 min timeframes taking stretch/snack
  breaks in between
• Keep lecture notes handy while reading an
  assignment
• Use colored tabs to keep track of pages with
  important material

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A Final Thought

• Reading, like any skill MUST be practiced to be
  improved. Take the information from this
  presentation, put it to use, and keep working to
  develop your reading ability.