UWMC Freshman Seminar

READING A TEXTBOOK

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These notes have been prepared by © Keith Montgomery, Department of Geography and Geology.
Before you begin you will benefit from a review of the comments to be found in the following files:
ATTENDING CLASS
 
LEARNING
 
STUDYING
 
NOTE-TAKING
 
The material in this page is organized as follows:
  1. What reading a textbook involves.
  2. How to read a textbook.
  3. Other issues.

What reading a textbook involves.

Reading a textbook is not the same as reading a leisure novel. This is not because one is more enjoyable than the other, but because in reading a textbook you have to work hard at understanding and learning the material. Therefore the manner of reading is entirely different: a "once through" will not suffice.

Just as active listening is required in note-taking during lectures, so too active reading is required when reading a textbook.

Reading in this manner requires that you be at your mental best. To accomplish this be sure to schedule reading sessions regularly during your personal "prime time" each day.
 
 
 
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How to read a textbook.

The objectives in reading a textbook are: You can see that there are some similarities to our objectives in note-taking in a lecture.
There are three general methods of accomplishing these objectives:
  1. SQ3R Highlighting.
  2. SQ3R Marginal notes.
  3. SQ4R Note-taking.
In all cases the idea is to get you to focus on the meaning of the material and start the learning process.
 
 
 

The SQ3R highlighting method

 
  1. You are going to mark up your text.

    2. No, this is not going to affect its re-sale value to any significant degree, and the value of marking far exceeds any small loss of value.
  2. "SQ" = "Survey and question."

    3. Spend five minutes skimming through the chapter to see what's coming up: quickly figure out the general subject matter and its organization (maybe even draw up a flow chart of this); glance at the diagrams and figures; ask yourself how it appears to relate to lecture material; survey the questions at the end to see what information you might want to be looking for; etc.
    In other words, work up an interest in the material and get to know something of the road ahead. Also, now that you know what lies ahead, you might want to set some realistic goals as to what you will be able to accomplish in the next 50 minutes of work.
  3. Read (That's the first "R").

    4. Read a section at a time thoroughly and thoughtfully, aiming for full comprehension -- use a dictionary to find the meaning of unfamiliar words.
    Once you are sure you fully understand the material re-read and highlight the words and phrases that state the main ideas and significant supporting detail. Use the highlighter sparingly.
  4. Recite/recall (That's the second "R").

    5. This is just what you did with your lecture notes -- use the highlighted phrases and words to test yourself on what you can remember of the material. This helps to consolidate the learning and to make the knowledge your own. As before, "talk it out" because putting it in your own words makes it far harder to forget and helps with writing out answers in written exams.
    Drawing up a flow-chart or concept map is also a powerful tool to aid learning the ideas.
  5. Review (That's the third "R").

    6. Along with your lecture notes from the same subject, review your notes frequently, on a set schedule. Often this only requires an odd fifteen minutes here and there during the day (or at the end of the day). Frequent review helps retain your understanding and knowledge. This continuous review also helps prepare you for new material and helps you to keep up a high interest level in your classes.
     
     
     
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    The SQ3R marginal notes method

    This method is essentially the same as the highlighting method (above), except that you make marginal notes down each page margin in the same manner as the you made notes in the "cue column" of your lecture notes. You can also combine it with the highlight method by itemizing the main points down the margin ("1,2,3 ..."), noting definitions ("def") and supporting details ("e.g."), and so forth.

    As with highlighting, be sparing in your use of cues.

    After this, the recite and review are the same.
     
     
     
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    The SQ4R note-taking method

    This method is essentially the same as the "Cornell Method" taking lecture notes, except the notes you take are based on your reading of the text. The four stages are therefore:
    1. Survey and Question (as above)
    2. Read (as above)
    3. wRite (as with note-taking)
    4. Recall/recite (as above and as with note-taking)
    5. Review (as above and as with note taking)

     
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    Other issues

    When do you find the time to do all this?
    This is going to require careful time management! What about other readings, such as articles?

    For articles you will want to practice as similar style of reading, except that you might want to record the following information on a sheet of paper:

    1. The main idea of the article.
    2. The evidence the author uses to support the main idea.
    3. Examples of reasoning or evidence that you think might be questionable or faulty.
    Also, remember that sometimes you are reading an article in search of specific information, so there are times when you can be very selective in your reading.
     
     
     
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