It is true that, especially in some subjects, there is a lot of reading to be done and a lot that we want to read. However, speed reading is not necessarily the answer when you are talking about reading academic material. It is more important to reduce the volume to the essential things and then to read them in the way appropriate to that specific task.

Purpose governs what you read and how you read. Academic reading is not reading as you would read a novel, that is from cover to cover. But it is reading to fulfil a specific purpose and most likely you won't read the whole thing or at least not in the given order. For example, you may be searching for specific opinions, for factual information, for a way of argument, for evidence, for cases which exemplify something, or for a general overview of a new area. Depending on the purpose and type of material, you would read differently.

So, keep your purpose in mind.

• If you are reading, for example, to gain a general overview of a topic, with a view to getting a general feel for the subject, as part of your preparation for tutorial discussion, or the first step in thinking about your assignment, you start by preliminary reading. This involves skimming and scanning which is done by reading abstracts, introductions, conclusions to get a general idea. Don't get bogged down in details at this stage. You want to get a general picture, so you are asking yourself questions such as "What are the main issues?", "Are there any controversies, differences of opinion?", "Is there general agreement?", "Is the work current?" , and "So, now, what's my understanding of this topic?"
• If you are reading for an assignment, the topic gives you a general focus for your reading. But it's not enough to allow you to decide what's relevant and to discard irrelevant parts. It is still too broad. In tackling assignments, you have to analyse the topic and keep coming back to it as you research. Out of this, you will have a list of possible questions which you have to answer in your assignment and be gaining some idea of what your argument will be. These together will then determine what is relevant in reading your sources.
  
  
  • It is unlikely that any source matches your topic precisely so, by definition, only parts of what you read will be useful for your particular purpose. This means, you skim and scan to determine what is relevant by asking yourself how any particular aspects of what you're reading contribute to your answer. So, as you can see, the more specifically you focus on what your topic is, the more confident you are in selecting relevant materials.
  • Keeping in mind your topic and the questions you've generated also means that you can decide what parts you need to read in detail and in depth. You need this kind of reading to fully grasp what the author is actually saying, in the first place, and then to evaluate it. Sometimes this may involve several readings. Furthermore, depending on the discipline, subject, or the particular author, it could sometimes happen that you could be doing well with a dense or difficult text if you could read even a couple of pages in an hour.
  • If you have many sources, you read them in relation to one another. As you are reading, you are thinking and deciding whether they agree or disagree, whether the same evidence, events etc. are given a different interpretation. If you are finding that the same ideas are expressed, you need to note the fact that lots of people agree, but you don't necessarily need to read it each time in the same detail. As you can see here, reading, note taking and the eventual process of writing are interrelated.
  • Although you are reading different sources, remember that you are researching an issue. So, you are looking for ideas, information etc. related to the issue and shouldn't see your reading as reading a series of individual sources or confined to one source-unless, of course, you are doing a critique of a particular writer or text. Otherwise, you finish up with a list of different authors' views and not your integrated view based on other people's opinions.
  • When you're reading, if you feel you are losing the plot or nothing or everything seems relevant, you need to return to your initial topic and then, when you're reading, you could ask yourself: "How does what I'm reading contribute to my answer to this question?", or "In what way could this support my argument?", or "Even though this is interesting, does it really relate, directly or indirectly, to my main argument?", or "Have I drifted way off the mark?"
  
  
• If you are reading to study, you still need to have your precise purpose in mind. Reading to study is really more studying than reading. Reading is only the means by which you access information with which you do something in the process of studying. But studying still involves different types of reading.
  
  
  • Your purpose could be to gain a general overview of the subject or a topic to be ready for the next lecture or as background for a tutorial session. This kind of preliminary reading may need you to do little more than scan.
  • Your purpose could be to clarify, fill in gaps, and gain a better general understanding of points, issues or topics raised in the lecture. This often involves using your textbook or some similar source. A textbook is not something you are likely to use from cover to cover. If you do finish by having read it from cover to cover, you are not likely to have done so in the given order or have read it all at the same speed, or in the same detail or depth. You go to the parts you need, because you want to learn why x does y, or what kind of examples or diagrams the author has offered.
  • Your purpose could be because you have simply been told to read it. With such reading, you have to work out why it has been assigned:
    
    
    • Is it because it covers something not covered in lectures? To what extent is it important? Do you need to know it? If so, then read the relevant parts and integrate it with your lecture notes. If it's not clear whether you need to know it or whether it is just interesting but peripheral, then ask your tutor or lecturer.
    • Is it because it covers basically the same area as the lectures? In this case, you could skim and scan it to see if it is the same material presented in a different way, if it provides additional examples, if it has a different interpretation or emphasis. Even if it does cover the same areas as the lecture, it could do so in a way that suits you better, or provides you with a visual representation or a summary box or example that makes things click at a glance.
    • Is it because it provides detailed or three-dimensional illustrations or photographs to supplement descriptions and rough drawings presented in lectures.
    
    
  • Your purpose could be to gain an in-depth understanding of a very specific theorem, argument, process, theory and the like or to analyse a text. Once you identify the relevant part you will read it in detail keeping questions in mind and testing your understanding. For example, with a theorem, at the least you have to be able to reproduce it, but what you really want to do is understand each step, the logical progression and why it has been structured in this way. Of course, it is also helpful to know practical applications. Similarly in the case of argument, you know you understand it when you see the logic of it, when you can judge the strengths of it and can assess the evidence provided. Ultimately you want to be able to place this argument within the wider context of the subject.
  • Your purpose could be to prepare for tutorial discussion. Here we have in mind the situation where a discussion will be based on a specific reading (chapter, article, newspaper etc). First you have to work out what is the main issue presented in the text, then gain a general understanding of it, form your own opinion about it and be prepared to present and defend it. You could also think about questions to ask to clarify your understanding if there is an opportunity to do so in the tutorial.

LINKS

• From reading to writing
• Presenting your argument
• What standard is expected
• Tackling a stats course