Reading Efficiently

The reading that you do for your studies is often different from the reading that you do for leisure. If you learn the correct technique for your reading goal, then you can save yourself time and ensure that you read efficiently and effectively for your essays, reports or tutorials.

Reading goals

Setting yourself a reading goal ensures that you read an item with a purpose, enabling you to prioritise the information that you read. To help you to define a reading goal, ask yourself: "What questions do I need answering?"
This will help you to identify the information that is centrally relevant, partially relevant or simply not relevant at all.
Reading styles, techniques and strategies

Once you have established your reading goals, you can choose the style of reading most suited to your task. The following types of reading are all commonly used, and you will probably recognise them.

Skimming

Skimming involves going through a text rapidly, probably at two or three times your normal reading speed, and being selective in what you read. It is a useful technique for deciding whether or not you are going to use a text, just as you would flip through a book or magazine in a shop. It will also help you to get some idea of the way in which the text is organised, its tone and style, to get the gist of the writer’s meaning, or to review something that you have already read to refresh your memory. It is useful to skim a text before reading any item in depth, or when you only need superficial knowledge.
To skim effectively, remember to look at the index, chapter headings, introductory and concluding paragraphs. You can also skim through the main content by reading the first line of each paragraph. This should give you the flavour of the book.

Scanning

Scanning is a style of reading that is more targeted than skimming. It is used when you know exactly what you are looking for, for example when you are looking for a definition in a dictionary, or when looking through a text for key words of phrases. It is a visual matching task; you find the word or phrase for which you are looking, and then follow the text.
When you use the scanning style, you must remember to be flexible because an author might not use exactly the same keywords as you. Be prepared to think around your topic.

Receptive reading

This style is used when you need a good, general understanding of a text or to discover accurately what has been written. It may also be used to prompt you to think creatively and reflectively. When adopting this style, you will probably have already skimmed through the text to see what it contains.
When reading receptively, you need to pay close attention to the text, perhaps allowing for periods in which to reflect upon what you have read. You work through the text in sequence, at a moderate speed. This style also allows plenty of time for you to make appropriate notes.

Note taking