Effectively Reading Difficult Texts 

In an academic context, you’re often required to read texts that are not easy to read. This guide will give you a few tips on approaching “Hard Readings” and getting the best out of them.

To be able to read difficult texts and get the best out of them there are things you should do before you read, while you read and after you read.

1. First: Pre-Reading – Identify the Type and Context of the Text
2. Second: Reading – Engage with the Text
3. Third: Post-Reading – Review, Recall and Make Connections

First: Pre-reading- Identify the Type and Context of the Text

Type of Text

Reading a fictional text is different from reading a textbook, and also different form reading a journal article. Identifying the type of the text you are about to read will give you an idea on how to approach it.

In case of fiction: you might want to start by reading the introduction, getting information about the author, the target audience, and when this work was published.

In case of a textbook: you’ll benefit more by going through the table of contents, the chapter organization, and sample questions.

With journal articles, you might benefit from reading the abstract to know the main question(s) of the article and main conclusions or findings.

Context of the Text

In most cases, when the text is difficult, it’s because it’s unfamiliar to you, that’s why the first thing to do is to familiarize yourself with the topic by understanding its context.

• Familiarize yourself with the topic (do a pre-reading to give yourself context)

Who wrote the text? when was it written?  What was the purpose? How was it understood when it was first published? and how is it understood now?

A few resources that can help you get this ‘contextual information’ include:

• Wikipedia
• CliffsNotes version of the text
• The text itself (forward, introduction, conclusion)
• Encyclopedia
• Understand key terminology by consulting a dictionary

NOTE: “We don’t recommend Wikipedia and CliffsNotes for real research, we just recommend them for getting background information about the topic or “priming”.”

Context within the Course

It is important to know why you have been assigned this reading, and what expectations does your professor have from you. Figuring out what you’re looking for in a text will help you identify which parts to focus on, which parts to skim through and thus will help you save time and effort.

Ask yourself:

• Why have I been assigned this text? What am I supposed to get out of this text?
• How will I use this reading in this course?

A good place to get this contextual information is from the course syllabus, or by simply asking your professor or TA.

Second: Reading: Engage with the Text “Effectively”

Actively engaging with the text goes beyond simply reading, highlighting and underlining parts of the book or article you’re reading. It is taking your reading one step up to get the best out of the difficult text you’re reading.

Do:

• Stop and ask questions about what you’re reading
  • identify the author’s line(s) of reasoning and evaluate this critically
  • evaluate the evidence for the author’s argument
  • question their apparent ideas and check for any hidden assumptions
  • check whether the evidence cited in the paper supports the author’s conclusions
• Closely pay attention as you read to find answers for your questions, and note these down.
• Re-read bits if you feel you need to
• Make your own notes about the text

Did you know, easier isn’t necessarily better when it comes to learning?

 The more effortful learning feels the better you’re able to recall it in the future.

Third: Post-Reading Review, Recall and Make Connections

The post reading step is super important if you want to make best use of the information you just read. This step has to do with reviewing what you have learned, and connecting the knowledge acquired from this reading to prior knowledge and to the bigger picture “the course”.

To review and recall the text:

• Go back to the questions you wrote down in your notes and try to answer them in your own words
• Discuss the article with a fellow-student or a TA
• Reflect on the text you read and note to yourself
  • how it relates to what you already know?
  • how it relates to the course?
  • how can you use the information in this reading in this course or beyond?

This is a very effective learning strategy that helps you learn more deeply, and retain the new information in your long-term memory. To learn more about consolidation watch this video

To learn more about Effective Reading – check out our self-paced online module (Effective Reading and Note Taking), for more information about Academic Success Skills please enroll in our self-paced course Academic Success on the E-learning: Engineering, ICS, Energy Engineering, Arts & Design – Enroll here  BAEPS, MMC, law, Arts & Humanities –  Enroll here Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing- Enroll here, or visit our Academic Success Skills Page.

Related topics: (Effective_Note_Taking)-  Checklist for Activating Note Taking– Checklist for Activating Reading

Additional Resources Effective Reading BUE Guide

You can download this Study Guide Effective Reading Difficult

Effective Note Taking

One reason many students find it hard to keep up with new learned material (lectures, readings etc.), is that they try to write down everything in their notes.

 However effective note taking should:

1. Be purposeful: the note-taker is constantly making a conscious decision on what to note down, why and how to organize it.
2. Be used: you shouldn’t just take notes and put them away until the exam night, but actually do something with them.

In this guide, we will share with you how notes can be a useful learning and studying tool, what good notes look like, activating your note-taking and effective note-taking strategies.

Why Take Notes?

Note-taking can be useful as a learning tool and as a studying tool.

For using notes to learn: actively engage with new information by deciding what information to note-down, why, and how to organize it effectively for later use. This way you’re not just noting everything you hear or read, but actively making choices and decisions about your notes.

For using notes to study: use them to practice retrieval (remembering) of your lecture or reading’s content by writing summaries under test conditions, ensure you have a section for reflection on your notes, make connections between what you’re learning and prior knowledge, pose questions, and find gaps in understanding.

What Good Notes Look Like?

1. They are summaries of the content of the material at hand (lecture, reading, video)
2. They are written in your own words
3. They are organized hierarchically (main ideas, sub-ideas, and important details)
4. They include a section for reflection, and connecting the new learned material to previous knowledge and experience.

Note Taking Strategies

There are several popular note-taking strategies, and since different people learn differently, there’s no one size fits all when it comes to note-taking, use the method that works best for you.

The 3-step approach

This method helps you focus and understand what you’re reading, paragraph by paragraph (or slide by slide, if you are completing an online module) before writing down anything, go one step at a time:

Step 1: read the paragraph or slide, focusing on understanding the material—don’t write anything down yet.

Step 2: take notes (paraphrase the main idea, jot down any questions)

Step 3: highlight or colour-code the most important information (e.g., key terms or concepts). Highlight no more than 20% of the text.

Mind maps

Mind mapping can be an effective note-taking tool, and is an especially effective way to connect topics within a chapter or even from the whole course. It is an active note-taking and organizing technique as it involves making a decision about what concepts to include, how to show relationships and connections between concepts and how to present the information in the most meaningful way.

Use mind maps to learn: by adding the newly learned concepts in your lecture or reading to previously learned experience.

Use mind maps to study: by constantly modifying, updating and adding to your mind map to create a coherent visual representation of your course.

The below mind map is a summary of how to activate your note-taking by doing simple steps (before, while and after you take notes).

Dowload MindMap-Effective Note-taking here

The Cornell Method

The Cornell Method is a system for taking, organizing and reviewing notes.

The strength of this method is the page layout, that allows you to not only take notes, but also create questions and cues related to these notes as well as an end of class summary section. (see the image below).

To make your own Cornell Notes, Cornell Template, start by dividing your page into a two column table. The first column to the left should be smaller, around (7 cm wide) and this will be dedicated for cue words and questions.  While the second column should be wider as it will include the notes you take down. On the top of the table leave space for writing information about the content you are summarizing (Course, Date, Lecture title/Reading title) and at the bottom leave a space for writing your summary.

How to use the Cornell Method?

First Record: During the lecture use the note-taking column to take notes using short sentences (use meaningful abbreviations when possible).

Second Questions: Right after the session, formulate questions based on the notes you have taken, write these questions in the left column. Writing questions helps you clarify meanings, reveal relationships, and strengthen memory.

Third Recite: Cover the note-taking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own words, the facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words. This step is a bonus step, which makes your note-taking process also a studying technique.

Fourth Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example:

• Why is this topic or this information important?
• How can I apply them?
• How do they relate to what I already know (experience or information)?
• How can I use this information in the future?

Finally Review: within 1-2 days of the lecture, make sure to review the notes in the light of all the previous notes you’ve taken in this course. This step helps you a lot while trying to retrieve the information in the future.

The SQ4R Method

Use the SQ4R method to improve your ability to understand, retain, and concentrate on what you read, it’s a note taking technique that is more suitable for reading.

The SQ4R is an acronym for Survey, Question, and the 4 Rs are (Reading, Recording, Reciting, Reviewing).

Step 1: Survey

Skim to get a preview of the text you are about to read. How is it organized? What does it cover? Use elements like headings, visuals, key terms, summaries, and introductory sections (e.g., title, objectives) to help you.

Step 2: Question

Try turning headings and subheadings into questions before reading the paragraphs that follow. Reading with a question in mind makes the process more active, supporting memory and concentration. It also helps you to identify the most important, relevant information.

Step 3: Read and record

Read section by section, seeking the answer to each question; focus on the main idea and the supporting information as it pertains to the question. Take notes as you go, in point form and in your own words.

Step 4: Recite

Cover up the text and see if you can answer the heading/subheading questions to check your understanding before moving on.

Step 5: Review

Take a break, then check your understanding again (i.e., repeat the process under Recite). This will further improve your memory of what you’ve read.

Making your notes matter

Many students take good notes, but never check them until right before their exams. While having good notes at hand can be very useful while preparing for your exams, leaving the notes to pile up over the semester is not going to help you reap the fruits of your work.

The purpose of taking notes should be understanding and remembering information covered over the whole course. While taking good notes is the first step, engaging with your notes or actually using them is what makes them really effective.

When to engage with your notes?

Step 1: Right after-class summary

Before you leave the class, or as soon as possible after class, take a few minutes to answer this question in writing:

 “What is the most significant thing I learned today?” Write it out in 4-6 sentences, using your own words. This will help you consolidate what you have learned during the lecture.

Step 2: Later on the same day

Later on the same day, before going to bed, spend 5 minutes to go through class summary and review your notes.

Step 3: Weekly summary

When you’ve taken in all the week’s information (i.e., attended all classes, tutorials, and labs; completed readings and notes), summarize the information from that week’s topic or unit.

• What did you cover this week?
• How is it connected to other information in the course?
• How can you best organize it?

Take note of areas of challenge or confusion and get help as needed.

Summarizing requires you to select, organize, and integrate information; doing so will improve both your understanding and memory. Possible summary formats include a 1-page study sheet, or a mind map.

The note-taking method you choose depends on context and purpose. Overall, taking good notes involves paraphrasing, consolidating, and/or summarizing information.

Step 4: Plan multiple engagements

The more you engage with your notes the more you will be achieving its main aim (learn deeply & retain information). A simple way to plan note-review sessions is to take 15 minutes per day to review lecture notes. This will take discipline, but it’s a very powerful method to retrieve information and deepen understanding.

Let’s say you have 2 lectures per week for the same module, and during each lecture you take notes, create after-class summaries (step1), and review the notes later that day for 5 minutes (step2). To increase your engagements with the notes you can do the following

1. On lecture day 2 (revise lecture notes for Lectures 1 and 2) for 5 minutes each
2. On lecture day 3 (revise lecture notes for Lectures 1, 2, and 3) for 5 minutes each
3. On lecture day 4 (revise lecture notes 2, 3, and 4) as by this point, you would have acquired deep understanding of lecture note 1 and would no longer need to revise it.

Taking 15 minutes to revise the lecture notes and 2 previous lecture notes, will help you:

1. Move the learning from ‘familiar’ to ‘working knowledge’
2. Retain information
3. Increased your engagement with your notes from 1 to 5 times

To learn more about Effective Note-Taking – check out our self-paced online module (Effective Reading and Note Taking), for more information about Academic Success Skills please enroll in our self-paced course Academic Success on the E-learning: Engineering, ICS, Energy Engineering, Arts & Design – Enroll here  BAEPS, MMC, law, Arts & Humanities –  Enroll here Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing- Enroll here, or visit our Academic Success Skills Page.

Related topics: Effective_Reading_Difficult_Texts–  Checklist for Activating Note Taking– Checklist for Activating Reading

Additional Resources Effective Reading BUE Guide

You can download this Study Guide Effective Note Taking

Effective Time Management

Time is the most important resource for university students. Throughout your university study years, you will be required to dedicate a large portion of your time for preparing for lectures and labs, attending classes, completing assignments, working on projects in addition to independent study time. You will need effective time management skills to be able to balance the demanding nature of university life, and your personal life.

There are three steps you can take to improve your time management skills:

1. Step 1: Understand how you spend your time through a time audit strategy
2. Step 2: Craft a schedule
3. Step 3: Prioritize your time

Step 1: Understanding your time

It is easy to think that time you are not at university attending lectures is ‘free time’ that you can use for studying. However, you probably spend a lot of time doing day to day activities like: commuting, meal prepping and eating, exercising, socializing, and even using social media. We often times don’t really know how much time we consume performing these activities. Being aware of how you spend time is the first step for effective time management.

Time Audit

We all have a general sense of how we spend our days, but how much time does it really take us to do our day to day tasks?  A time audit is an activity that allows you to answer this question by closely monitoring how you spend your time. During an audit ask yourself:

• How am I actually spending my time?
• How important are the things I spend my time doing?
• Do I prioritize studying? Family commitments? Other activities?
• What activities distract me or waste my time?

Time Audit Methods:

There are several strategies that you can use to perform a time-audit:

30-minute time audit: In this strategy, you stop every 30 minutes and note down your activities, by the end of the day you would have a very detailed time audit to help you understand your time.

Daily time audit: In this strategy, you stop at the end of the day and look back at all your day’s activities, being as granular and detailed as possible.

Weekly time audit: In a weekly audit, you look at your week as a whole and start detailing how you spent it as much as you can.

Download one of the time-audit templates: Time Auditing Template – Task-Time-Tracker or create your own.

Once you complete the time audit, pause and reflect on the below:

1. Your perception of how much time you spend on a task or activity, versus actual time you spend.
2. Categorize your tasks, what kind of tasks do you spend most of your time doings?
3. Is there anything you can change to improve your management of time?

Download 5.1 Time Auditing Template

Step 2: Planning

There are two methods of planning:

• Macro Planning: Semester-long Plan
• Micro Planning: Weekly and Daily Plans (Download Weekly Planning -Reflection_Template)

Macro Planning using Calendars

You can use an electronic calendar like outlook calendar, or google calendar, or you can use a paper calendar. While developing your Macro Calendar make sure to factor in: “Non-negotiables” or commitments you cannot miss like:

1. Your assignment deadlines
2. Your examinations
3. Projects’ deadlines
4. Personal and social commitments (e.g. a wedding you will be attending, travel plans with your family)

Your macro plans can help you see the bigger picture based on which you can plan for short-term events or activities. Knowing your exams will be in February, will help you think ahead about when to revise the content you learned throughout the semester, when to schedule your travel plans etc.

Micro Planning tools:

You can use weekly and daily calendars to plan your weeks and days, but always consult your macro-calendar to plan ahead.

Download Weekly-Planner+reflection

Other tools for micro planning

1. To do lists: Make sure your to-do lists are realistic, it’s better to have 4 items on your to-do lists than 20 that will end up making you feeling overwhelmed.
2. Daily Highlights: Pick 1 thing to achieve on a given day, this is your daily highlight. The rest of activities or tasks can be started after you achieve this 1 priority.
3. Time Blocking: Block time on your calendar for each of the items on your plan and make sure to move on from it once the blocked time ends.

Set SMART Plans

Your micro plan needs to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound).

• “S”: plan specific topics, chapters or activities to complete
• “M”: ensure that you have a way to measure reaching this goal (e.g. take a quiz).
• “A”: set a goal that is achievable given your circumstances (how much can you study in the 3 hours you have left in your day?)
• “R”: set a realistic goal (if you are a morning person, studying at night might not work for you, so it would not be realistic to say I’ll study after 11 pm.)
• “T”: estimate the time that it will take you to complete your task or goal, while doing this make sure that you account for:

1. Time for rest/ breaks
2. Recreation
3. Wellbeing (nutrition, physical activity and more)

Instead of I’ll study English today- opt for a SMART plan “I’ll complete the readings for lectures 1 and 2 (specific), and use them to develop an outline (measurable) for my upcoming assignment from 5 to 7 pm tonight.  Make sure the time you pick for following your plan is good for you, and sufficient for completing your planned task.

Step 3: Prioritize your time

There are many ways to prioritize your use of your time. One of these is Covey’s Grid which is also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix. This tool helps you categorize the actions and tasks you want to do into 4 categories:

1. First: Urgent and Important tasks

These are tasks you need to prioritize, start working on them right away. An example is an assignment deadline due on the next day.

2. Second: Important but not urgent

These are things that are important to you, like your exams that will start in 2 months or relationships that are important to you. You should make a start at these next.

3. Third: Urgent and not Important. These are tasks that have to be done, like laundry or grocery shopping for example, but they are not exactly ‘important’. If you can, do these. If some of these can be delegated, done electronically or in any way that can save you time, opt for saving time.
4. Fourth: Not urgent and not important tasks

These are tasks you should avoid doing or at least ask yourself “do I really need to do these?”

Step 4: Reflect

Whether you decide to do this on daily basis, weekly basis or even every semester.

Reflection on your plans can be a helpful way to improve your time management skills.

Ask yourself:

1. What went well and why?
2. What did not go well and why?
3. What changes can I make to improve my time management?

You can use this Planning -Reflection_Template or you can make your own.

Download Covey’s Grid Template Coveys-Grid

Step 5: Make Changes

The final step in the process of effective time management is making changes based on your reflections.

Ask yourself: what ‘realistic’ changes can I make to improve my time management skills?

“Tip: Make one or two improvements and stick to them rather than setting unrealistic goals”

Reality Check

While planning for studying you need to stay realistic about:

• how much you can get done
• where, when, how and with whom you study
• distractors (isolate study time)

You also need to remember to include time for:

• dealing with distractors
• socialization activities
• wellness and meaningful activities

To learn more about Effective Time Management – check out our self-paced online module (Effective Time Management), for more information about Academic Success Skills please enroll in our self-paced course Academic Success on the E-learning: Engineering, ICS, Energy Engineering, Arts & Design – Enroll here  BAEPS, MMC, law, Arts & Humanities –  Enroll here  Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing- Enroll here, or visit our Academic Success Skills Page.

Related Resources: download these templates:  Time Auditing Template , Week Planner, Planning -Reflection_Template, Task-Time-Tracker, Weekly-Planner+reflection

You can download this Study Guide Time Management