Introduction

Reading is essential in college courses. You may not associate reading with writing a college essay or taking an exam. After all, reading seems like a passive activity, something you might do at a café or sitting in an easy chair. But while you can read solely for entertainment, soaking in the plot of a good novel, reading also drives the act of writing itself, from the earliest stages onward. Reading can—and will—make you a better writer, and actively reading can have positive effects on your testing-taking skills.

First, you have to learn how to read in a whole new way, because college-level work requires you to read actively, a skill much different from the kind of reading you have practiced since elementary school. Active reading implies not only attention paid to the text, but also consideration and response. Active readers explore what they read; they approach the text as though they have entered an unknown territory with the intention of drawing a map. Indeed, the difference between passive reading and active reading is like the difference between watching a nature documentary and hiking through the wilderness. The film, although entertaining, doesn’t require much exertion from viewers. By contrast, hikers have to navigate the trail: they must look out for hazards, read trail signs, and make informed decisions if they hope to make it back home.

The following strategies will assist you in becoming an active reader. These strategies are recommended in all college courses, especially those that require reading of textbook chapters or scholarly articles as well as courses that may ask you to refer to texts in your writing assignments. Select the title of each section below to learn more about these strategies.

1.1 Create a Reading Schedule

Having a schedule you follow for reading is critical to success in college. Reading when you ‘feel’  like it is a recipe for disaster. While people may read novels and stories for personal enjoyment, very few people ever ‘feel’ like reading for college–there’s always something preferable to do. So having a reading schedule and keeping to it is one of the best ways to keep on course. A reading schedule needs to include several times a week you plan to read the textbook chapters, articles, and other sources that your instructor(s) assigns.

If you choose this study strategy for your Study Skills project, you will need to create a personal reading schedule that reflects the times and days you have available for reading. You should develop a reading schedule that includes the courses you are taking. Your reading schedule might look like this:

If you choose this strategy for your Study Skills project, keep in mind that you may need to adjust your reading schedule throughout the term. Save your reading schedule so that you can submit it as evidence with your project.

Be sure to use your study logs to reflect on what you do during your reading times and how well you are able to keep to your schedule. There will be times when you stick to your schedule and times when you don’t. Be honest about your efforts to keep to a reading schedule. It will take a lot of self-discipline and sacrifice to stick to your schedule, but the results will be worth it.

1.2 Create a List of Questions and Answers

Simply reading your textbook or ebook prior to your class meeting rarely provides the depth of processing necessary for the later recall of the information.  One technique that helps in the reading process to retain the information and content is to approach your reading with a positive attitude and engage in strategic reading.

Prior to beginning to read your material, carefully review the table of contents for that chapter and then look through the chapter noting the section headings.  As you come across each heading write down a couple of questions you have about that section.  For example, Chapter 2 of our class textbook is titled: “Accepting Personal Responsibility.”  One question you might write down is, “What does it mean to accept personal responsibility?” The next section of the chapter is “Adopting a Creator Mindset.” Here your question might be, “What is a Creator Mindset,” and “Why is a Creator Mindset important when accepting personal responsibility?” The creating of questions helps you become a more active learner/reader by getting you to think about what you are reading rather than just reading the words.

While many textbooks often begin each section with a set of focus questions, it is much better for your learning if you write down questions you have in addition to the focus questions provided.

Once you have created your list of questions, the next step is to read and find the answer to the questions. As you read the chapter, look for and underline the information that will help you answer the questions. Then, at the end of each section stop reading and write down under each question the answer based upon the information you identified. If you finish your reading assignment and still have unanswered questions on your list, go back and reread the section the question is from, carefully reading to find the answer.  If you still cannot find the answer make sure to ask your instructor for an answer during the next class session.

If you choose this strategy for your Study Skills project, you will need to create a set of questions based on the readings you are doing each week for each of your classes. Then write down the answers to the questions you created. The questions you wrote down along with the answers to the questions will be submitted at the end of this project along with your study logs.

1.3 Annotate Your Text

Many students read without pausing to consider ideas, concepts, or connections. Slowing down the reading process and annotating will allow you to:

• Consider what is read.
• Remember key information.
• React to the text.
• Identify the author’s use of techniques.
• Recognize misunderstandings.
• Make connections to other ideas or concepts.
• Judge the importance of the content.

Annotation is an essential skill in many college courses. Annotating text allows you to become more actively involved in your reading and consequently impacts your understanding of the material. Through the annotation process, you can deepen your understanding, move beyond literal comprehension to analysis and evaluation, and unlock the deeper meaning of the text. Purposeful annotations encourage you to move beyond a basic understanding of the text, allowing you to process what you are reading as you are reading, which improves comprehension. The use of annotations strengthens ownership of the information as the text shifts from a lecture to a conversation between you and the author (Fisher & Frey, 2014).

However, annotations should not be random or based on what you find interesting. You should have a purpose for annotating and a reason to return to your annotations. Your annotations should help you to summarize a text, locate important pieces of information, and ultimately prepare for discussions, quizzes, or writing assignments. Annotating while reading allows you to reference previous work and have a clear jumping-off point for future work.

You can develop a strong annotation process by using the following skills:

Marking the Text

Marking the text helps you make meaning of surface-level information. These annotating marks may include symbols such as circling key or unknown words, placing a box around a definition or key examples, or underlining a key phrase or sentence. There is no one particular coding system; instead, you should focus on vocabulary, and the who, what, when, where, and why of the text.

Marginal Notes

Marginal notes may begin with a symbol such as an asterisk but should be followed with a comment in the margin (Porter-O’Donnell, 2004). These notes provide you with documentation of your thinking after the reading process is complete. Without these written notes, you may forget why you made the asterisk, and consequently, it is of little value to you during discussions or when writing.

An additional consideration is moving beyond the use of a highlighter. Often students highlight so much of the page that there is more text in color than not. In addition, once the highlighting has been done, it cannot be removed even if the student no longer determines the text to be useful for their purpose. Annotating with a pencil allows you to erase when needed and to fluidly move from simply making a mark to writing a comment.

Review the following annotations in which a student uses highlighting and marginal notes.

Alternative Methods of Annotation

While it is ideal to annotate directly onto a text, it is not always feasible to do so, such as when using a rented textbook. Several strategies can be employed for overcoming these obstacles:

Sticky Arrows and Post-it Notes

If you cannot write directly on the text, you can place sticky arrows on the page where you would write a symbol and then record your comment on a post-it note. The post-it note can either be placed directly on the text below the arrow or can be placed in a journal.

Interactive Journal

When using an interactive journal, you should use a sheet of paper and create two columns: Information and Interpretation. The information column includes the surface level information such as a quote, phrase, or word with a page number. The interpretation column is used for the comments, including reactions, questions, or interpretations of the section of the text.

If you choose this study strategy for your Study Skills project, you will need to annotate the textbook chapters, articles, and other texts that your instructor(s) assigns. Save your annotations so that you can submit them (or pictures of them) as evidence with your project.

Watch the following video to learn more about annotation:

1.4 Develop an Outline While Reading

Many students find that creating a formal outline helps them to identify the most important topics when reading a text. You can create a formal outline by using Roman numerals for each new topic. Then, move down a line, indent a few spaces to the right, and use a capital letter for concepts related to the previous topic. Next, move to the following line, indent a few more spaces over, and use an Arabic numeral to add details to support the concept. You can continue to add to a formal outline by following these rules.

The following sample formal outline shows this basic pattern:

You don’t absolutely have to use formal numerals and letters, but you have to then be careful to indent so you can tell when you move from a higher level topic to the related concepts and then to the supporting information. Select Nathan Perez’s Outline to view an example of an outline using bullet points. If you select this strategy for your Study Skills project, develop an outline each time you read a chapter, article, or text for your course(s). Save your outlines so that you can submit them as evidence with your project.

1.5 Look Up Definitions of Key Vocabulary

As you read, you will no doubt come across words you do not know.  Do not simply continue reading. Two strong skills are looking up words in a dictionary (online or hard copy) to ensure you have the exact meaning for your discipline and keeping a dedicated list of words you see often in your readings. You can list the words with a short definition so you have a quick reference guide to help you learn the vocabulary. Consider starting a vocabulary list in your journal.  Or create a deck of index cards with new words on one side and definitions on the other.  Developing an extensive vocabulary is a great success strategy.

If you select this strategy for your Study Skills project, as you come across new words you do not know the meaning of in your reading, stop and write down the word either on a sheet of paper or an index card. Then look up and write the definition of the word.  It is also a success strategy to write the word in a sentence you create so you better understand the meaning of the word and how to use it properly in a sentence. You will submit lists of vocabulary words or decks of index cards along with the study logs at the end of this project.

1.6 Write Summaries

Proficient students understand that summarizing, identifying what is most important and restating the text (or other media) in your own words, is an important tool for college success.

After all, if you really know a subject, you will be able to summarize it. If you cannot summarize a subject, even if you have memorized all the facts about it, you cannot be absolutely sure that you have learned it. And, if you truly learn the subject, you will still be able to summarize it months or years from now.

To summarize you must read a passage closely, looking for the main ideas and supporting ideas. Then you must briefly write down those ideas in a few sentences or a paragraph in your own words.

Steps to Write a Summary

Complete the following steps to develop an effective summary:

1. Read and reread the text until you fully understand it. Take notes as you read and use your own words.
2. Identify the author’s most important points, using keywords and phrases.
3. Review the original text multiple times, ensuring you don’t miss any critical points.
4. Write the summary from your notes and keep the summary much shorter than the original text.
5. Check your summary against the original to make sure that you have not changed the meaning of the original text.
6. Review, revise, and edit your summary.
7. Include the original source in the references for a written document.

Summary Writing Format

Then, ensure that you format your summary as follows:

• When writing a summary, remember that it should be in the form of a paragraph.
• A summary begins with an introductory sentence that states the text’s title, the author(s), and the main point of the text as you see it.
• A summary is written in your own words.
• A summary contains only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, or comments into a summary.
• Identify in order the significant sub-claims the author uses to defend the main point.
• If it is necessary, copy word-for-word a passage from the text that you think must be stated in the author’s original words. Cite this passage by first signaling the work and the author. Then put “quotation marks” around the passage you chose, and put the page number or the number of the paragraph where the passage can be found immediately after the passage. However, when possible avoid citing the author’s direct words because it is best to write the ideas in your own way.
• Write a last sentence that “wraps” up your summary; often a simple rephrasing of the main point.

One advantage to writing effective summaries is that you don’t have to go back and reread the entire chapter when you’re preparing for a quiz, writing a paper, or reviewing with a study partner.  Instead, you can review your notes and the summary.

For more descriptive and in-depth discussions on how to summarize, view these short videos.

If you select this strategy for your Study Skills project, develop summaries each time you read a chapter, article, or website for your course(s). Save your summaries so that you can submit them as evidence with your project.

Licenses and Attribution

The introduction was adapted from Brogan Sullivan, Writing Commons, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, available at https://writingcommons.org/article/active-reading/.

Section 1.1 was adapted from OpenStax College Success, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/1-introduction.

Section 1.3 was adapted from “Purposeful Annotations for Text Dependent Analysis (TDA)” by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Section 1.4 was adapted from “Why Take Notes” by the University of Minnesota and OpenStax College Success accessed for free at https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/1-introduction, both sources licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Section 1.6 was adapted from “How to Write a Summary” from English Composition I: Rhetorical-methods Based by Lumen licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, available at https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1v2xmaster/chapter/how-to-write-a-summary/.