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| Note Making starts with READING. |
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You do not need to read a text from beginning to end to find relevant information, developing effective reading strategies helps you locate specific information in a text without having to 'read' it all. There are also strategies that allow you to read more intensively and with more focus. |
You will need to adapt how you read to suit the material and your purpose for reading. You may find some of the following strategies useful.
SKIMMING
Skimming involves reading key parts of the text. You can use it when you need to get an overview of an author's main line of argument.
Read the opening sentence of each paragraph to give you a clearer understanding of the author's reasoning.
SCANNING
Scanning helps you establish where in a book or article specific information is located. It is particularly helpful in reading web pages when surfing the internet
Look at the table of contents/menu
Read headings, usually in bold
Search the index for relevant topics or keywords
IDENTIFYING KEYWORD
Looking for key information involves looking in a given passsage of text and identifying the keywords that are relevant for your topic. It is a process that can be used in conjunction with scanning. In addition keywords can be used to find more information on your topic.
Look for nouns and verbs.
ANALYTICAL READING
Analytic reading involves reading in an active and systematic way so that you gain an understanding of what you are reading.
The SQ3R reading strategy can be used to help understand what you read.
CRITICAL READING
Critical involves evaluating the arguments or positions presented by the writer. You ask questions of the claims or statements made by the author, and then seek to provide answers for those questions.
Good questions to ask are:
What is the evidence for this argument?
Do I agree with it?
What alternative perspectives are possible here?
If so, what is my evidence?
If not, what is my evidence to counter the author's argument?
THE STRUCTURE OF A NON-FICTION BOOK
To gain an understanding of a non-fiction book’s content and structure, you should start at the Table of Contents in the front of the book.
Areas to also look at include:
THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH
Each paragraph (other than the introductory ones) is made up of 3 parts.
