Distance Learning Support Kit: Welcome

	Reading

Studying at university does entail extensive reading and much of the material will be intellectually challenging. It's not surprising that many students initially feel overwhelmed by the amount of reading that's required of them.

To develop effective reading strategies for university study, first of all you need to understand why you are reading, or in other words, the reason why you are reading. To make this clearer let's look at the differences between reading for academic purposes and reading for leisure.

Example

When you're reading a novel, you will start at the beginning of the book and continue progressively up until the concluding page. Even if you take a break in your reading, you'll eventually pick up where you originally left off.

Academic reading on the other hand begins with a firm purpose in mind. This means that more often than not you won't need to read a book from cover to cover, or if you do, you may not read it in the order that it's written.

The reason why you are reading will therefore determine what you read. For example, when you are reading an academic text, you may be looking for a variety of things such as background information, specific evidence, or different opinions about a topic.

Academic reading therefore needs to be highly selective and relevant to the task at hand.

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