1. GET AHEAD UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER PROGRAMME 2014
Reading at undergraduate level
Sara Steinke

2. Aims of the session
How to cope with the large amount of reading expected of you
How to increase your understanding of the reading for academic study - the importance of critical reading skills to enhance your critical thinking
To recognise the link between critical reading and note making skills
To consider how to understand your reading lists

3. Common problems students encounter when reading for academic purposes
What is meant by reading for academic purposes - are you a smart reader?
Reading skills for undergraduate study - SQ3R
Importance of reading skills for critical thinking
Writers are not authorities. They are participants in a public exchange of views. Be critical of their work.

4. Common difficulties with reading
These are some common difficulties mentioned
by undergraduate students. Which of them apply to
you?
I read the words on the page but am not taking them in.
I spend too much or too little time on the reading.
I have difficulty expressing what I have read in my own words.
I simply do not understand the material.
I find the language used too complicated.
I can not remember everything I read.
I find the amount of reading overwhelming.

6. Academic reading Non academic reading
Reader is:
active
selective and interacts with the reading material
has a particular question in mind
re-reads with a purpose
Reader is:
passive
reads from page one till the end
does not ask questions
expects the author to guide them through the narrative

7. Survey - before you read, survey the entire text, including the table of contents. Read titles, subtitles, introductions and conclusions and review any graphics.
Question - write questions for the key points you have identified. Turn heading and subheadings into questions. Ask who, what, where, when and why.
Read - read through the text from beginning to end, pausing at the end of each section to answer the questions you have created. Highlight key points in the text as you read, or make brief notes.
Recite - answer the questions out loud to reinforce your learning. Make a list of key facts you need to know. Try to stop after each section in the text.
Review - reviewing the concepts in the text after you are finished reading and reciting each section, and come back to it periodically over a few days. Summarise difficult passages and rewrite the major points in your own words.

8. Scanning Skimming To get a general idea of the text
See what is in the news or on a website
Browse through a book to see if you what to read it
Look through a television guide to see what is on one evening
Flick through a catalogue to see what is on offer
Look through the options on a Google search to see what sites it suggests
To get particular information from a text
Look up a word in an index or dictionary
Find a phone number or address in a directory
Check what time a television programmes is on
Look up details and prices in a catalogue
Pick out a website you want from a Google search

9. Reading - recap Can you:
select and use different reading strategies (e.g. skim, scan, in-depth)?
think about what you need to find out before you start reading (are you reading to verify facts, to understand a subject in general or to analyse a particular argument)?
critically evaluate reading?
deal with new vocabulary?

10. Useful sources (for reading)
Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd
ed., (London, Macmillan) Chapter 6 ‘Research
skills’ pp
Northedge, A. (2005) The Good Study Guide
(Milton Keynes, Open University Press) chapter 5
‘Reading’ pp

11. and effective note making go hand-in-hand
Common problems students encounter when note making for academic purposes
Importance of note making for critical thinking
Note making skills for undergraduate study -linear notes, mind mapping
Active reading (SQ3R)
and effective note making go hand-in-hand

12. Common difficulties with notes
These are some common difficulties mentioned
by students. Which of them apply to you?
I try to take down everything that is said/on the
PowerPoint presentation in lectures.
2. I am unsure what the purpose of note-taking is.
3. I am uncertain about how many notes to take.
4. I am unsure what to make notes on.
5. I do not take time to organise my notes so that I can retrieve them later on.
6. I only know one way for note-taking.

13. Note taking is when you are taking notes on material in class; on what a speaker is saying; on what is happening around you. Note making is when you make notes on your thoughts; things you think you should study for, or remember; your own individual thoughts or information that you recall, and want to write down to remember or study.
What is the difference between note taking and note making?

14. Importance of note making for critical thinking
To focus attention on what you are reading
To help you make sense of what you read/hear
To help you remember the key points
To alert you to what you have not understood
To help you when you are planning an assignment
To help you when you are revising for exams
To enable you to distinguish between facts, opinion and evidence - critical thinking skills

15. Techniques for linear, sequential notes
Make headings and subheadings
List key words
Number the points
Underline, colour, use capital letters for emphasis
Use abbreviations. Examples: = for equal, < less than, > more than, increase, decrease, re regarding, cf compared with
Only use one side of a page in case you want to add more
Note name of authors you want/need to read in margin

16. Techniques for radial, concept notes or mind maps
Turn the paper sideways, A3 landscape
Write the topic in the centre of the page
Write related ideas around this centre
Add secondary ideas to the main ideas
Link up these ideas to show relationships
Use colours, different line thickness, symbols, pictures
Add details to points as you go along

17. Condensing notes
‘Boil’ notes down to essential information. This is often easier to do a few weeks later, because your understanding of the subject has increased. You can see more clearly what is important information and what is not.
Note gaps knowledge, confusions and contradictions in the reading or your knowledge
Move from linear notes to conceptual notes (linear notes to mind maps)

18. Organising and storing your notes
By systematic from the beginning
Make sure you can (re)read them before filing them away - but do not rewrite them ‘neatly’
Condensed notes can be copied and filed in at least two different ways:
- chronological order (as you go along)
- topic order (e.g. in anticipation of an assignment)
- personal interest (for your own research later?)
Write subject clearly in top right hand corner; number pages; colour code them; index cards

19. Note making - recap Can you: make effective notes when reading?
make effective notes when listening (e.g. during lectures)?
use more than one note making technique?
do you have a way of organising your notes?

20. Useful sources (for note making)
Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd ed., (London,
Macmillan) chapter 6 ‘Research skills’ pp
Northedge, A. (2005) The Good Study Guide (Milton Keynes, Open
University Press) chapter 6 ‘Making notes’ pp
Buzan T. (rev. 2003) Use Your Head (London, BBC)
Buzan, T. & B. (rev. 2006) The Mind Map Book (London, BBC )
Buzan T. (2007) The Buzan Study Skills Handbook (London, BBC)
ahead/skills/notetaking

21. Understanding your reading list
Understanding the Library catalogue
Citing and managing references

22. Reading lists
Lecturers give out lists of recommended resources to help you gain a greater understanding of your subject
Use the reading list as your first ‘port of call’ for a topic
These lists include references to:
-books
-sections of books/chapters
-journal articles
-web sites

23. Understanding book references
Author’s name (surname first)
Date of publication
Title of book, edition if appropriate
Place of publication
Publisher

24. Understanding journal article references
Author’s name (surname first)
Date of publication
Title of the article
Name of the journal
Volume
Issue
Page numbers

25. Understanding web sources references
Author’s name or company/organization name
Date document was produced or updated
Title of the document
URL (web site address)
Date you accessed the web site
Birkbeck Library (2012) Birkbeck eLibrary.
(Accessed: 25
June 2012)

26. The Library catalogue This information includes: Use the catalogue to
Publication details
Shelf mark (location)
Number of copies
Loan length
Availability OR
Link to access ebook
Use the catalogue to
find information
about:
books
ebooks
DVDs
print journals
ejournals - access via eLibrary

27. Citing references: why?
To acknowledge the use of other people’s work
To avoid plagiarism
So those that read your essays can see how widely you have read
So those that read your work can see what influenced you to draw the conclusions you did

28. Citing references: how?
List all the resources that you have read or consulted at the end of your essay in a bibliography
List the resources in alphabetical order of surname
There are different ‘styles’ of citing references - be consistent
Check your course handbook for your department’s preferred style

29. Library and IT skills - recap
Can you:
use the library catalogue and online database efficiently and effectively?
undertake research, both primary and secondary?
produce documents (essays, dissertations, reports) using Word and Excel?

30. Useful sources (for library)
Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2013) Cite them right:
the essential referencing guide. 9th ed.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
list

31. Presentations can be found at
ntation/get-ready-to-study-at-birkbeck

32. Recap of the session
Do you understanding the importance of ‘smart’, active reading strategies for academic study?
Have you thought about how to use SQ3R to increase your reading speed and comprehension of the material?
Are you familiar with the importance of effective note making strategies for academic study?
Have you an idea of how to understand your reading lists?
Do you feel confident to start using the Library Catalogue?

33. Next session Monday 1 September, 6pm-7.30pm, room 421
Writing at undergraduate level
- what makes English academic
- style and conventions of academic writing - the writing process
- developing your academic writing skills for undergraduate study