Getting the Most From Your Textbooks Presenter: Tim Bradley Learning Assistance Center: (503)

Don’t have much use for your textbooks?

 Try to read them but can’t stay focused?

Don’t have much use for your textbooks?  Try to read them but can’t stay focused  Can’t remember what you read?

Don’t have much use for your textbooks?  Try to read them but can’t stay focused  Can’t remember what you read  Don’t know if the reading content will be on the class tests?

Don’t have much use for your textbooks?  Try to read them but can’t stay focused  Can’t remember what you read  Don’t know if the reading content will be on the class tests  Not sure how deep you need to read?

Don’t have much use for your textbooks?  Try to read them but can’t stay focused  Can’t remember what you read  Don’t know if the reading content will be on the class tests  Not sure how deep you need to read  Tired of spending so much time to learn so little?

Causes of ineffective textbook use:  Treating the book like nothing more than a dictionary  Trying to read at the wrong time  Lacking the needed vocabulary  Lacking good textbook practices (which are what this seminar is all about)

Benefits of good textbook practices:  Better comprehension and retention  Reduced worry about test content from the book  Properly underlined and annotated, your book becomes pre-made test-review material!

Good textbook practices:  Previewing the whole book  Reading one chapter or section at a time  Using a three-part reading process  Underlining  Annotating

To preview a whole textbook:  Look at the features and identify what tools will be most useful  Look at the table of contents and compare the topics with those covered in lecture  Based on the subject and the setup of the book, make a plan for your study sessions  Pause the presentation and do a quick preview

Why one chapter at a time?  To aid your comprehension in a course, and for the sake of long-term recall try the following:  Shorten your sessions to about an hour or less in length and spread them out across the week  Read only the section or chapter that corresponds with the current lecture content  Read fewer pages at once if the material is very dense – take 15 minutes off after 45 minutes of reading

A three-part reading process: 1. Preview the chapter before starting to read it thru 2. Actively read the whole chapter 3. Review the chapter after reading it

1. Previewing a chapter:  Read the title, headings, chapter objectives, introductory text, and summary at the chapter’s end  Look at all the pictures and identify the important terms (often listed for you or shown in bold)  The preview should arouse your interest and given you some idea of what ideas and information to look for when reading  If you still have your textbook handy, hit pause and preview your next assigned chapter reading

2. Actively reading a chapter:  Read the chapter through, looking for the answers to the key questions and specific elements (these vary by subject) as you go  For really long chapters, read one section at a time  Check your comprehension and retain what you read by stopping to put the ideas into your own words after every page or paragraph  Underline and annotate each section after reading it through

Key elements in different subjects’ texts:  Literature  Mathematics  Foreign Languages  Business  Social Sciences  Pure Sciences  Persuasive Writing

Underlining  Underlining is a way to point out the important parts for later review and test prep  Only underline the main ideas and other important ideas (no more than about 15 to 20% of each page should be underlined)  Some subject areas and content are not suitable for underlining

Annotating  Annotating is making notes in the book’s margin to call attention to specific material  Annotate after you underline the main ideas – for example: point out the important definitions with a “Def” in the margin use numbers for items in important lists draw arrows from causes to effects state associations with other material

Example of underlining & annotating in an autobiography:

How would you underline or annotate this page in a biology textbook?  What and where are the main ideas?  What concepts should you look for in a science textbook?  What notes would you make in the margin?

Example of underlining & annotating in a biology textbook:  Notice the underlining of main ideas and individual key words  Notice the annotating of key processes by a title and number sequence in the margin and then again in the diagram  What other ways do the marks on this page call attention to and organize the important information?

3. Reviewing a chapter:  Summarize what you have read by making an outline or concept map  Make connections between what you have read and what you have learned in class  When test time comes, re-read the underlined text and use your annotations to quiz yourself

Reviewing using your own marks:  If you have annotated well, your marks will show you where the important information is located on the page, making test review much quicker and easier: 1. Cover up the text itself and use the margin to quiz yourself 2. Having identified the concepts you don’t know well enough, remove the covering and review.

Sources  Roberts, Judy M. (2004). Effective Study Skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Contact the presenter, Tim Bradley, at or call the Learning Assistance Center: (503) For further free help with learning skills: