Many of your high school or college classes—especially those GEs—have required reading. This means to be successful in school you must know
how to read well to read attentively.
Reading attentively looks like taking your time, grasping each passage as you go, asking questions to answer, and jotting down notes (in your textbook). This article also has a bonus section: notetaking for lectures!
How to Read Attentively
Take Your Time
Read at a pace that allows you to understand the material. This means reading slowly and/or more than once. Slow reading does not mean pointlessly taking an hour to read a 20-minute-long passage. It means taking the time to understand each sentence or section before moving on to the next. Do not fly through the passage and miss its main point!
You can also read the chapter/section more than once. In your first read, get a general idea of the content. No need to master every concept. Not yet. If you are short on time, skim on your first read-through. On your second read, more actively work to understand the material.
But you may be wondering, what happens when I get stuck on a passage and cannot understand it?
Conquer Confusion: Understand the Passage Before Moving to the Next
Understanding the textbook as a whole begins with understanding each individual word, then sentence, then paragraph. The four steps below embrace the idea that sections/passages build on each other. These steps can help you conquer confusion.
If you are not sure what a passage is saying, first, check if there are any words you misunderstand or do not know. Look those words up. You can do this via your textbook’s glossary or an internet search. Also, many textbooks build on prior concepts as they move forward, so check if that word was explained earlier in the page, chapter, or book.
Second, ask questions about the confusing passage, and then read the passage slowly to find the answers. These questions should revolve around the 5 W’s and an H: for instance, what is the author saying in this sentence and why?
Third, try alternative sources. For instance, if your textbook is teaching how mitochondria operate, find another source that explains the mitochondria’s processes in a different way. Here, the library or Google is your best friend. Or
ask a classmate or your teacher/professor to explain the concept to you. Look for diagrams and pictures that help you visualize the concept.
You can also watch videos from well-known resources like
Khan Academy. As a disclaimer, outside resources are not necessarily more reliable than your textbook or teacher, but they provide engaging ways of presenting the same material.
The fourth step is to take a break. Grab a snack, take a shower, or switch to another subject. Do something to get your mind off the concept and allow your brain to wrestle subconsciously with it. When you come back to the textbook, the concept may finally make sense to you.
Ask Questions, and Answer Them
This builds on the second tip from the “Conquer Confusion” section. The difference, however, is that this section focuses on questions that are larger in scope and more planned: it focuses on forming general questions as you prepare to fully read a chapter or large section.
If you decide to read a passage twice (see above), rip out a sheet of notebook paper and jot down questions that pop into your mind on the first read/skim. You can also turn the headlines and subheadings into questions.
A piece by
Cornell University on “Textbook Reading Systems” says that turning the “first heading into a question” may “give you a specific purpose for reading the material and thereby increase comprehension. It will bring to mind information already known, thus helping you to understand that section more quickly.”
Take Notes in Your Book (Annotate!)
Take notes when you read your textbook. They can be on sticky notes or in the paper margins (if it is not a rental), with pen or with pencil. Digital textbooks often have note-taking functions.
Dr. Paul Penn in his book
The Psychology of Effective Studying: How to Succeed in Your Degree discourages copying a textbook word-for-word. Instead, take notes in your own words.
Jot down phrases that summarize the paragraphs or sections you read (especially the ones you know you will have trouble remembering). This also applies to the following section on
in-class notetaking.
Notetaking for Lectures
On top of reading assignments, in-class components like lecture and discussion are integral to a course’s content. So, taking advantage of them is often
key to academic success. In short, learn how to take good notes.
Pick Your Medium
More and more students use laptops to take notes. It is much faster that way. But some research (see these articles by
NBC and
NPR) show that taking notes by hand “
might improve learning and memory.” Whatever you decide, choose a method that works best for your situation.
Pick Your Method
Once you pick a medium, pick a method. There are many systems students use to take notes. Three, taken from
Harvard University’s academic resource center site, are listed here:
• Cornell Method: For this note-taking method,
write down your notes on the page’s right side. Leave a box on the left side to summarize the notes with “key concepts.” Meanwhile, leave a section at the bottom of your page to write out a summary. See a visual of this method
here.
• Outlining Method: With the outlining method, take notes using bullet points—on top of bullets, think Roman numerals, alphabet letters, numbers, etc.
• Mapping Method: For the mapping method, you write down various concepts within oval shapes and connect them to each other. Think of a concept map! The design website
Canva provides clean, artistic examples of this method that may inspire you. Your own maps do not need to be this pretty, though!
Final Thoughts: Take Advantage of These Tips!
Whether you use all of them or cherry-pick a few, take advantage of these tips to enhance your reading and notetaking. By enhancing these skills, you may find yourself understanding the material and
getting better grades in your classes.
