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Reading

Introduction

Readingiseasy,isn'tit?

Onanyordinarydaywithoutevennoticing,youreadshopsigns,newspaper
headlines,TVlistings,amagazine,orachapterofapaperback.Sowhywoulda
messagelikethisoneappearinanonlinestudentchatroomintheearlyweeksof
acourse?

Clearly,readingforhigherlevelstudyisquitedifferentfromeverydayreading.
Themostobviousdifferencesare:

QuantityAsastudentyoucanfindyourselfreadingformanymorehours
aweekthanusual.
DifficultyInsteadofthemessageslippingeasilyintoyourmind,aswhen
youreadanewspaperorapaperback,youfindyourselfhavingto
concentratetograspit.

Buttherearealsomoresubtledifferences:

PurposeInsteadofreadingtopickupinformation,ortobeentertained,
withstudyingyouraimistointroduceyourselftonewideasandwaysof
thinking,whichwillenableyoutounderstandtheworlddifferently.
ActiveengagementStudyinginvolvesactivelyworkingwithnewideas,
notjustracingthroughthewords.Youhavetolookforthemeaningas
youread,askingyourselfwhatistheauthortryingtosay?

Researchintohowstudentsread(see,forexample,Entwistle1997,p.19)has
shownthattobesuccessfulyouneedtounderstandthesemorehiddenaspectsof
thereadingprocess.
LearningOutcomes

Afterstudyingthisunityoushouldbeableto:

askquestionstomakeyourselfthinkaboutwhatyouread;

thinkaboutwhatthekeyconceptsandissuesare;

detachyourselffromdisagreementswiththeauthor'sviews.

1Theexperienceofreading

Thebestwaytodevelopyourunderstandingofthereadingprocessistofollow
theprinciplesoftheKolblearningcycle,bydoingsomereadingandthen
reflectingonyourexperience.Tothisend,Activity1asksyoutoreadanextract
fromanarticlebyRichardLayard(2003)titledThesecretsofhappinesswhich
appearedintheNewStatesman.TokeepthetaskmanageableIhavereducedthe
articletohalfitsoriginallengthand,foreaseofreference,paragraphnumbers
havebeenadded.

Itisimportantthatyoureadthearticleasalotofdiscussioninunitassumesyou
havedoneso.

ClickonViewdocumentbelowtoreadThesecretsofhappinessbyRichard
Layard(PDF,0.2MB,3pages).Itmaybeworthwhiletoprintoutmorethanone
copyofthearticleasyou'llbeaskedseveraltomakenotesonit.

Viewdocument

Activity1

Firstnotedownthetimeyoustart,thenprintoutandreadthearticleThesecrets
ofhappinessbyRichardLayard,attachedabove.Asyouread,jotdownafew
thoughtsonthefirstfivequestionsbelow.Don'tskipthisnotetaking,itwillhelp
youtoreflectonyourreadingafterwards.

1.Whatareyourfeelingsaboutreadingthearticle?

2.Areyouexperiencinganydifficultiesasyouread?

3.Aretherepartsofthearticleyoufindunclear?
 4.Doesthearticleseeminteresting?Doesitseemworththetimeyouare
spendingonit?

5.Whereandatwhattimeofdayareyoudoingthereading?

Whenyouhavefinishedreadingthearticle,jotdownyouranswerstothesefinal
questions:

6.Howlongdidyoutaketoreadit?

7.Didyoumakeanymarkingsonthearticleasyoureadit(usinga
highlighterpen,ballpoint,orpencil),orwritenotes?

8.Inasentence,whatisthearticleabout?(Don'tlookback,workfrom
memory.)

9.Whatcanyourememberfromthearticle?Writedowntwoorthree
pointsthatstoodoutforyou.

10.Doyouthinkyouwillbeabletorememberwhatwasinthearticlethis
timenextweek?

Nowreadthediscussion

Keypoints

Readingforstudypurposesisademandingactivity.Youwilllearnbestifyou:

takeaninterestinwhatthetextisabout;
makeadeterminedefforttounderstandthemainarguments;
workactivelyonthetextasyouread.

2Gettingroundobstacles

2.1Unfamiliarwords

Salim,Erin,LewisandKateallmentionedvariousdifficultiesencounteredas
theyreadtheLayardarticle.Perhapsyourexperiencewassimilar.Ifso,howdid
yourespond?Wasyourprogressheldup,ordidyoumanagetokeepgoing?With
lotsofreadingtodo,itisimportanttohavewaysoffindingyourwayroundthe
obstaclesyouencounter.
KatewasputoffbythewordparadoxandErindidnotknowwhatmarginal
taxmeant.I,too,noteddownrealincome,norm,habituationandnon
monetarybenefits,astermsnotcommonineverydayspeech.Weretherewords
youwerenotfamiliarwith?Ifso,whatdidyoudoaboutthem?

2.1.1Shouldyoustopreadingtolookwordsup?

Itdepends.Lookingupwordsslowsyoudown,andyoumaybeabletomake
reasonablesenseoftheircontextwithouthavingto.Forexample,Ifounditfairly
easytoguessthemeaningofhabituationinparagraph8,fromthewayitwas
discussed.However,Ilookeditupontheinternetanyway,asIhappenedtohave
mycomputeron.Ialsolookeduprealincomeandmarginaltaxandfound
usefulclarificationoftheirmeanings.

Youhavetodecidehowimportantawordseemstobe.Doyoufeelyouare
missingsomethingbynotknowingit?Doesitkeepappearing?Ifyoujustcarry
onreading,thewordmaybecomeclearerasyouexperienceitbeingused(after
all,that'showwegettoknowthemeaningofmostwords).

Sometimesit'snotoneparticularwordthat'sdifficult,butastringofthem.For
example,whenIreadclinicaldepression,assessedprofessionallythrough
populationsurveys,Ihadtoslowdown.Havingtakeninthemeaning,itseemed
tomethatdepressionwasthemainwordIneededtopayattentionto,soI
underlinedit.(SeeSection4,Readingactively.)

Box1Frustrationwithspecialistterms

It'seasytofeelputoffbyunfamiliarterms,orbywordsusedinunfamiliarways.
Youfeelexcludedfromtheincrowdandit'sannoyinghavingtostruggleto
squeezemeaningoutofeverysentence.Butspecialistlanguageisnotused
deliberatelytoannoy.Developingnewideasandfittingnewtermstothemispart
oftheprocessofcreatingknowledge.Intheend,youhavetoacceptthat
grapplingwithspecialisttermsispartofthelearningprocess.

2.1.2Dictionaries

Onewaytotacklethechallengeofunfamiliarwordsistouseadictionary.You
coulduseatraditionalprinteddictionary,oranonlinedictionary,orboth.A
printeddictionaryiseasytokeepbesideyouwhereveryouhappentobereading.
Butanonlinedictionaryholdstheadvantagewhenitcomeslookingupwords
quicklyasyoucanlookupawordinthreeorfouronlinedictionaries
simultaneously,tocomparethedefinitionstheyoffer.
Youalsohaveachoicebetweenusingageneraldictionary,oraspecialist
dictionaryforthesubjectthatyouarestudying.Howhelpfulyoufindeitherwill
dependonyoursubject,soitisworthdoingalittleexploringtofindout.Note
downafewdifficultwordsfromoneofyourmaintextbooks.Thenvisita
bookshop,orgoonlineandfindafewdictionaries.Lookyourwordsuptoseeif
theyareincludedandwhetherthedefinitionsmakesensetoyou.

Dictionariesareaninvaluableresourcebutdon'texpectthemtobeinfallible.A
generaldictionarywilloftennotincludekeywordsfromyoursubjectarea,or
willgiveadefinitionwhichismisleadingbecausethenuancesofmeaningare
notrightforyoursubject.Ontheotherhand,specialistdictionarydefinitionscan
bedifficulttounderstand.

2.1.3Conceptcards

Anotherwaytotackleunfamiliarwordsistostartaconceptcardsystem,using
indexcards.Whenyoumeetawordwhichseemsimportant,takeanewcardand
writethewordatthetop,followedbyanyusefulinformationyouhavefound.
Filethecardsalphabeticallyandadddetailsasyoucomeacrossnewinformation.
(Itisworthgettinganindexcardboxanyway,thenyoucantryoutvariousways
ofusingittoorganiseyourstudies.)

Figure1:Sampleofaconceptcard

If,ontheotherhand,youprefertouseyourcomputer,youcouldsearchonline
forindexcardsoftware.Trywww.download.com,whichreviewsfreesoftware
andprovidesdownloadlinks.JusttypeindexcardintotheSearchbox.The
exampleinFigure2isfromPSCardFilePegasus.
 (Source:PinderSoft,2004)

Figure2:Sampleofanelectronicconceptcard

Ofcourse,makingconceptcardsistimeconsuming.Youneedtoweighup,as
yougoalong,howmuchbenefityouaregettingandhowmuchtimeisworth
investing.

2.2Theacademicstyle

Youmightalsobeputoffbytheacademicstyleofwriting.Ineverydaylife,
whatyoureadisusuallywrittentograbyourattentionandgetamessageacross
quicklybeforeyouswitchchannels.Bycontrast,academictextsoftenraise
broad,abstractquestionsandareunconcernedaboutarrivingatquickanswers.
Forexample,whereanewspaperheadlinemightsay:
Layardactuallysays:

Theheadlinemakesitspointquickly,butitsaysfarless.Itpresentslittlebasis
foranalysisanddebate.Youcanagreeordisagree,butyoucan'teasilydiscuss
theproposition.Layardcarefullyteasesoutavarietyofissues,buttheheadline
simplifieseverythingdowntoawellestablishedformula:freemarketsorpublic
spendingwhichsideareyouon?Unlikegeneralpublicdebate,academic
debateadvancesthroughfinelytunedlanguageanddisciplinedmethodsof
argument.TheLayardparagraphmaybealotlongerthantheheadline,butitis
notwordyforthesakeofit.Itisverypreciselyargued;itwouldbequite
difficulttocutoutwordswithoutalteringthemeaning.

Box2Academicwriting

Academicwritersusecautious,consideredlanguageinanefforttobeasexactas
theycanintheiranalysis.Theytrytosayonlywhattheymeanandwhatthey
thinkcanbejustified.Indailylifewecheerfullyuselanguageasablunt
instrument,tocudgelourwaythroughthediscussionsthatspringuparoundus.
Bycontrast,academicwritinguseslanguageasascalpel,tocutprecisely
betweencloselyrelatedarguments,sothattheycanbeprisedapartandanalysed
indetail.Learninghowtoread,thinkandwriteinthiswayisacentralpartof
learningatdegreelevel.

2.3Copingwithdifficultparts

SalimandLewismentionedthattheyfoundsomesectionsofLayard'sarticle
difficult.SodidI;forexample,anyonewithoutabackgroundineconomics
wouldhavedifficultygraspingtheargumentsinparagraphs13and14.

Sowhatshouldyoudowhenyoucan'tmakesenseofwhatyouread?Shouldyou
searchonlinetofindoutabouttaxationtheory?FormyownsatisfactionI
searchedforadefinitionofmarginalrateoftaxationjusttogetthegistofit.I
alsotriedtowritedownthemainstepsoftheargumentinparagraphs13and14
inmyownwords;however,IsoonfeltIwasn'tdoingmuchmorethancopying
outtheoriginalwords,withoutgettinganyclosertothenubofit.So,Idecidedto
moveon;butfirstImadeastabatsummarisingwhatIhadread.ThisiswhatI
wrote:

Toplevelsoftaxshouldbehigher,todiscouragepeoplefrompollutingthe
happinessofothers?thenmorecangointopublicexpenditure.Europeansseem
toaccept60%astoptaxrate(includingindirecttax).

Asthearticleisabouthappinessnottax,itdidnotseemworthinvestingany
moretimeinthesetwoparagraphs.IfeltIunderstoodenoughtofollowthe
generalgistofLayard'sargument.Youdon'thavetounderstandfullytobenefit
fromreadingwhenyoustudybutyoudohavetoconstantlykeepweighingup:

whyyouarereadingthatparticulartext,
whatyouneedtogetoutofit,and
whetheryouaremakingenoughprogresstojustifythetimeitistaking.

Howlongdidyouspendonparagraphs13and14?Didyoufeelyouwereableto
understandenoughforthepurposesofgettingthroughthisarticle?Ordidyou
justskipaheadtothelastparagraph?Ifyouweren'tgettingit,thatwasagood
decision.It'simportantnottoletthetoughbitsbeatyou.Theyoftenmakemore
sensewhenyoucomebackanothertime.

Box3Glimpsesofunderstanding

Whenyouarenewtoasubject,yourideaskeepbeingshakenupandreshaped.A
thoughtcomesbrieflyintofocusthendissolvesintoconfusionagain.Itisrareto
feelyouunderstandsomethingfully.Insteadyoulearntogetbyonglimpsesof
insight.

2.4Disagreeingwiththeauthor

ItisclearfromKate'sresponsesthatfromtheoutsetshefelthostiletoLayard's
articleandtoLayardhimself.Asshelaterexplainedinaseminar,shefeltthathe
lookeddownonpeoplewithlowincomes,suchasherself.Shefeltshewasbeing
toldthatshewasn'thappywithherlifeandthatsheenviedpeoplewithlotsof
possessions.Inherphilosophy,shesaid,happinesshadnothingtodowith
wealth.Shewasjustascapableofbeinghappyastherichestpeopleinthe
country.Becauseofherhostilefeelingsshereadquickly,writingsarcastic
ripostesontothetext.

Reactingtowhatyoureadisgood;itgetsyouthinking.Itcanbeveryhelpfulto
writedeadright,orrubbish,orwhatabouttheeffectof?inthemargins
ofatext.However,Katedidnot,inreality,reacttoLayard'sarguments,she
reactedtowhatsheexpectedhimtosay.KatewassoconvincedthatLayard
knewnothingofwhathewaswritingabout,andthathisevidencewasbiased,
thatshetookinverylittleofwhatheactuallydidsay.

Yet,onthefaceofit,herpositionwasnotsodifferentfromLayard's.Theyboth
agreethatwealthdoesnotbringhappinessandbothfavourredistributiontothe
lesswelloff.AlthoughKatereferredtohimasaprivilegedfatcat,withnothing
usefultosayaboutherworld,hisexpertiseisinpoliciestoimprovetheprospects
ofunemployedpeoplesuchasherself.Katehadimportantpointstomakeabout
thewayresearchcanbelittlethelivesofordinarypeople,byreducingthe
richnessoftheirexperiencetotablesofnumbers.Butthestrengthofher
commitmenttothispointofviewseemedtoexcludeherfromparticipatingin
anydiscussionabouttheissuesLayardraises.

Weare,ofcourse,allentitledtoourownviews.However,ifyouwanttoaccess
abodyofknowledge,youhavetobereadytoenterintothewaysofthinkingin
thatdiscipline.Tobenefitfromreadingatextyouhavetobepreparedtoget
alongsidethewriterandthinktheirthoughtswiththem.Youhavetobereadyto
tryoutthewriter'spointofviewinordertounderstandwhattheyaresaying.
Thenyoucanpausetoreflectandreact.

Manyideasseemunappealingwhenyoufirstmeetthem,butifyouonlyread
whatyoualreadyagreewith,youwon'tlearnmuch.Partoftheskillofstudying
islearningtocopewithnotfeelinghappywithwhatanauthorissaying,
distancingyourselffromyourhostilefeelings,sothatyoucanreadon.Itisn't
easy,becausereadingislikeaconversationwithaverytalkativeperson,who
leavesnobreaksforyoutospeak.Ifyoudisagreewiththewriter,thiscanfeel
veryoppressive.However,toparticipateinacademicdebateyouhavetobeable
tothinkonallsidesofanargument.

Box4Adetachedstance

Logicissupposedtoworkbestwhenitisnotdistortedbyemotions.Whenyou
readacademictextsyouaresupposedtobeabletodetachyourthoughtsfrom
yourfeelings.Youareexpectedtoputyourpersonalbiastoonesideandjudge
argumentsontheirsoundness.However,youcannotbecompletelydetached,or
youwouldn'thaveapositionfromwhichtothinkaboutwhatyouread.Sofirst
youhavetogetinsidetheauthor'spointofview,thenstandbackandcompare
itwithotherpointsofview.Youcanlearnalotbythinkingandarguingfrom
pointsofviewthatyoudon'tactuallyhold.

2.5Poorenvironment
Wereyouheldbackatallinyourreadingbytheenvironmentyouwerereading
in?Wereyoureadinginbed,inthebath,sittingatadesk,onthebus,orinthe
park?Anyofthesecouldbeagoodtimeandplace,butdiditactuallyworkfor
you?

Wereyouabletomaintainyourconcentrationforagoodlongspell?Didyou
haveallthematerialsyouneededtohand,suchaspen,paperanddictionary?Did
youneedasurfacetowriteonasyouread?Doyoureadbestinaregularspot,or
doyouneedtokeepmovingtodifferentplaces?Don'tjusttakeyourreading
environmentforgranted.Thinkaboutwhetheryouaregivingyourselfa
reasonablechanceofsuccess.Youmaynotbeabletoarrangeaperfectreading
environment,butthereareoftensignificantthingsyoucandotoimprovetheone
youhave.

Keypoints

Togetthroughlargeamountsofreadingyouhavetobereadytocopewith
obstacles.Youneed:

strategiesforcopingwithdifficultwordsandwithpassagesyoucan't
understand;
patiencewiththeacademicstyleofwriting;
anabilitytodetachyourselffromdisagreementswiththeauthor'sviews;
awellsetupreadingenvironment.

3Howquicklyshouldyouread?

3.1Skimming

DidyoureadtheLayardarticlequicklyenough,orperhapstooquickly?Reading
speedisapersistentworrywhenyoustudy.Therealwaysseemstobemuch
moretoreadthanyouhavetimefor,soyoufeelatremendouspressuretoread
faster.Butthen,ifyougotoofast,youdon'tlearnmuch.Sowhatistheright
speed?Theanswerisitdependsonwhatyouaretryingtoachieve.

It'ssurprisinghowmuchyoucanpickupifyoupushonquicklythroughafew
pages.
Box5Skimmingfirstsentences

Youcangetaroughideaofwhatapieceisaboutbyskimmingquicklythrough
thefirstsentenceorsoofeveryparagraph,lookingforkeywords.Doingthisfor
thefirstnineparagraphsoftheLayardarticle,Icameupwith:

societyricherpeoplenothappier

happinessenjoyinglife

richpeoplehappier

depressionrisen

evidencefromdifferentcountries

whyincomenormrising

twothingsdriveupnorm

habituationadjusttogoodandbad

keepingupwithJoneses.

Thisgivesmeasenseofwhatthissectionoftextisabout,butitdoesn'tconvey
whatLayard'sargumentsare.Itcertainlydoesn'tsavemethejobofreadingthe
article,howeverskimminginthiswayisusefulin:

helpingmetodecidewhethertoreadthearticleproperly;
puttingmeinaframeofmindabletounderstandthearticle;
remindingmeafterwardsofwhatthearticlewasabout.

Therewillbemanytimesinyourstudieswhenyouneedtolookthroughtexts
quickly,scanningthroughlotsofpagestogetthegistoftheissues,ortofind
specificinformation.Itisveryusefulwhenyoupickabookoffashelf,for
example,tobeabletoreviewitquicklysothatyoucandecidewhetherornotto
readit.Youjustskimthroughthecontentslist,glanceatdetailsabouttheauthor,
lookforfamiliarnamesinthereferencelist,scantheprefaceanddipintoa
chapterortwo.

Similarly,whenyouareabouttostartreadinganarticleorabook,youcan
prepareyourmindbyskimmingthroughchapterheadings,contentslists,
introductions,summariesandconclusions.Thishelpsyouconstructaframework
withinwhichtomakesenseofwhatyouread.Italsohelpsyouthinkstrategically
abouthowtotacklethereading:whethertoreadthewholethingorjustsections,
howlongtoallowyourself,andwhethertotakenotes.Ratherthansimply
wadinginyouprepareyourselfsothatyoucanworkintelligentlyonthetext.

Itisimportanttobeclearhoweverthatthisrapidscanningoftextsisnotreading.
Skimmingcantellyouaboutatext,butyouwillnotlearnwhatisinit.

3.2Readingtolearn

Inordertolearnyouneedtofollowtheargumentasyouread.Withanimportant
text,youshouldslowrightdownandtakeitbitbybit.Hereisastudent
describinghowhetackledaparticularlychallengingchapter:

Thisintensivekindofreadingisattheoppositeendofthescaletoskimreading.
Itplaysanimportantpartingettingyoutotheheartofthesubject.

Box6Thepurposeofreading

Whenyouarestudyingtheunderlyingpurposeofreadingistodevelopyour
thoughtstoweavenewideasandinformationintotheunderstandingyou
alreadyhaveandtodevelopnewpointsofview.Ifyoutrytobypassthisthinking,
youarenotreallylearningasyouread.

3.3Choosingareadingspeed

Asastudentyoucannotaffordtoreadatjustwhateverspeedcomesnaturally.If
youaretryingtokeepabreastofacourse,youhavetopushyourself.However,
readingspeedsrangefromalightningskimthroughawholebooktointense
concentrationonadifficultparagraph.Youneedtobecomeskilledatworkingat
speedsrightacrosstherange.Howquicklyyouneedtoreadwilldependon:

whatyoualreadyknowaboutthesubject,
howdifficultthetextis,and
howthoroughlyyouneedtounderstandit.

KatesaidshespenttenminutesontheLayardarticle,whileSalimsaidhespent
threetimesaslong.Lewis,thoughslowedbydyslexia,spenttwentyminutes.
Howlongdidyouspend?

If,likeErin,youspentfifteenminutesonthearticle,youmayhavepickedupas
muchasyouwanted.Ontheotherhandifyoustoppedtothinkyoucouldeasily
havespentmorethanSalim'shalfhour.Ifyouwerealsotakingnotesperhaps
youtookanhour.Andifyoureadthearticlemorethanonce,youcouldhave
spentanhourandahalf.

Becauseofmyspecialinterestinthearticleforthepurposesofthisunit,Ihave
spentseveralhoursonit.ThelongerIworkedonitthemoreinterestingIfound
it,andthemoreclearlyIgraspeditsarguments.Thisshowsthatthereisno
correctamountoftimetospend.Itdependswhatyouaretryingtoachieve.You
mightfindthetargetreadingspeedsinTable1helpfulasaroughruleofthumb.

Table 1: Reading speeds

Wordsper Pagesper
Texttype
minute hour

Easy,familiarsubjectmatter 100ormore 12ormore

Moderate,fairlyfamiliarsubjectwhichyouwantto
70 8
followreasonablyclosely

Difficult,unfamiliarsubjectmatterwhichyouwantto
40orfewer 5orfewer
understandindepth

FortheLayardarticlethesethreespeedstranslateintoreadingtimesof15
minutes,20minutes,and35minutes(roughlythetimestakenbyErin,Lewisand
Salim;Katebeingfaster).Asallfourwerenewtothesubjectandtheideasquite
challenging,thiswasadifficulttext.IwouldsuggestthatSalimcameclosestto
thespeedrequiredforpickingupthemainarguments,andhesaidhewouldre
readthearticleifhewantedtorememberit.
Box7Timeinvestment

Inchoosingtostudy,youhavedecidedtoinvesttimeindevelopingyour
intellectualpowers.Sometimesyouwillgetagoodreturnbyinvestinginavery
detailedreadingofasmallsectionofimportanttext.Atothertimesyouwillgeta
goodreturnbydippingintoseveraltextsandskimreadinginordertobroaden
yourideas.Youhavetoweighupthetasksaheadofyou,thendistributeyour
timeinawaythatgivesyouagoodoverallreturn.Akeytestistoaskyourself,
Isthismakingmethink?IftheanswerisNo,thenyourinvestmentisbeing
wasted.Youneedtoswitchtoanewactivity.

3.4Timechunks

Apartfromsheerspeed,thereisthequestionofhowtoparceloutyourstudy
time.Withatwopagearticleyouwouldassumeasinglestudysession,buta
chapterofabookmightbespreadoverseveralsessions,dependingonthe
contentandonyourowntimeconstraints.

Thisisamessagefromastudenttoheronlinetutorialgroupinthesecondweek
ofacourse.Threehoursisasubstantialchunkofseriousreadinganditseems
thatshehastakeninasmuchasshecanforthetimebeing.Shemightaswell
stopworryingandswitchtosomethingelse,suchasplanningherassignment,or
sortinghernotes.Orshecouldtakeacompletebreakandcomebacktothe
chapterlaterintheday.Iwouldguessthatthisstudent'sstudieswentwell
firstly,becausesheisactivelyengagingwiththestudymaterials,andsecondly,
becausesheisthinkingaboutherstudystrategyandheruseoftime.

Itisimportanttorecognisethatyourspanofconcentrationislimited.Youcan't
learnintensivelyhourafterhour,soitisbettertodivideyourreadingtimeinto
severalshortersessionsthanafewlongerones.Howeverifyourreadingsessions
aretooshort,youdon'tgetproperlyintotheframeofthinkingbeforebreaking
offagain.Youmightfindtwohoursareasonablespanforastudysessionaftera
dayofwork.Oryoumightfindthatafteranhourofintensiveconcentrationyou
needtotakeashortbreak,orswitchtoanothertask.
Readinghabitsareverypersonal,taketimetoreflectonyourown.Practise
settingtargetsofvariousnumbersofpagestoseewhatworksbestforyouithin
thecontoursofyourlife.

Keypoints

Thereisnoidealreadingspeed.Skillinreadingslowlyisjustasimportantas
skillinreadingquickly.Tomanageyourreadingeffectivelyyouneedto:

pitchyourreadingspeedaccordingtoyourpurposeandthedegreeof
challengepresentedbythetext;
setyourselftargets(numberofpagespersession);
monitoryourprogressandkeepadjustingyourstrategy.

4Readingactively

4.1Underliningandhighlighting

Tobeabletomakesenseofwhatyouarereading,youneedtoreadactively.One
methodthatcanhelpistouseapen.

Activity2

DidyouunderlineorhighlightanywordsasyoureadtheLayardarticle?Ifnot,
gobackoverthefirstthreeparagraphsanduseabiroorahighlighterpentomark
importantwords.Trynottomarktoomanywords;pickoutjustenough,sothat
youstillgetthemainpointsifyoureadonlythosewords.

Nowreadthediscussion

4.1.1Toomuchunderliningandhighlighting

Thechallenge,especiallywhenyouarenewtoasubject,istoavoidunderlining
orhighlightingeverything.Everythingseemsimportant,sohowdoyouknow
whattoleaveout?

Ifyoumaketoomanymarkings,youdefeatyourpurpose;nothingstandsout.
Thetrickistohighlightorunderlinesparingly.Seehowfewwordsyoucanmark
andstillbeabletofindthemarkingshelpful.Aimtopickoutkeywords,not
wholesentences;don'tworryaboutcapturingeverything.Youcanalwaysgo
backtotheoriginalwordsifyouneedto.

Somepassagesoftextneedmoremarkingthanothers.Youmighthaveacouple
ofheavilymarkedpagesfollowedbyseveralwithverylittleatall.Sometimes
underliningslowsyoudown,ormakesreadingboring;itdependsonthetypeof
textandwhyyouarereadingit.Youhavetoworkallthisoutbytrialanderror.
Experimentwithdifferentamountsofmarking,thengobacklaterandweighup
whatseemstohaveworkedbestforyou.Reflectonyourexperience.

4.2Notesinthemargins

Itiseasy,withunderliningorhighlighting,tofindthatyouhaveswitchedto
autopilotwithoutnoticing.Theprocessbecomestoopassiveandyoufollowthe
flowofthetextwithoutaskingenoughquestions.Writingcommentsorquestions
inthemarginsisawaytokeepyourselfmoreactivelyengaged.

4.3Doeswritingonabookseemwrong?
Obviouslyyouhavetotakeintoaccountwhetheryouownthetextyouare
studyingand,ifso,whetheryouintendtokeepit.Doesitseemextravagantto
writeonabookandmakeitunfitforsellingon?Howimportanttoyouisselling
it?Isitreallyasaving?Ifabookisimportant,whynotassumeyouwillkeepit
anyway?Thenyoucanthinkofwritinginitasaninvestment;youinvest
significantamountsofyourtimeandmentalenergyinstudyingthebook,inany
case.Ifwritinginitmeansyoucanquicklyreconnectwiththeideasand
informationyouhavestudied,thatinvestmentisgreatlyenhanced.Themarked
upbookbecomesaniteminyourpersonalsystemofknowledge.Partofthis
systemisinyourheadandpartonyourbookshelf.Withintheoverallcostof
studying,creatingyourownpersonalisedversionsofsignificantbookscan
representexcellentvalue.

Keypoints

Underliningorhighlightingwordsasyoureadisapowerfulstudytechnique:

itfocusesyourattentiononthetext;
itforcesyoutothinkaboutwhatthekeyconceptsandissuesare;
itleavesarecordonthepageofthemeaningyoufoundinthewordsas
youreadthem.

Whenyoureturntoamarkedtextyoucanquicklytunebackintothoseearlier
thoughtsespeciallyifyouhavewrittenoccasionalcommentsinthemargin.

4.4Questioningwhatyouread

Anotherwaytokeepyourmindactivewhileyoureadistoaskyourselfquestions
aboutwhatyouarereading.

4.4.1Engagingwiththecontent

Forexample,whenIreadinparagraph3ofLayard'sarticlethat41percentof
peopleinthetopquarterofincomesareveryhappyIaskedmyself:

Whyisveryhappyinquotationmarks?
Is41percentaboutwhatI'dexpect?
Whatisthistellingme?
AssoonasIthoughtaboutit,Irealisedthatveryhappycouldbearesponsethat
peoplehadtickedonaquestionnaire.Perhapstheyhadbeenaskedaquestion
suchas:Thinkingaboutyourlifeingeneral,howhappyareyou?(1)very
unhappy,(2)unhappy,(3)middling,(4)happy,(5)veryhappy.Iwondered
whichoftheseanswersIwouldtick,ifasked,andwhichmightbetickedbyother
peoplewhoIknow.Itthenstruckmethat41percentisquiteahighfigurefor
veryhappythat'sfourpeopleineveryten,rightupatthetopofthescale.This
mademewonderhowlargetheproportionswereforhappyormiddling,and
whethermanypeoplewouldanswerveryunhappy.(InthenextparagraphIgot
moreinformationonthiswhenIreadthatalmostthreeintenyoungwomenwere
reportedtobedepressed.)

ThenInoticedthe26percentfigureforpeopleinthelowestquarterofincomes.
Ithoughttomyself,That'saquarteroftheleastwelloffsayingtheyarevery
happy.Thatdoesseemsurprising.Obviously,happinessdoesn'tdirectlydepend
onwealth.ItriedtothinkoftheleastandmostwealthypeopleIknowandhow
happytheymightsaytheywere;thisremindedmeofalltheotherthingsinlife
thatcontributetohappinessandsadness.Ialsothoughtabouthowpeoplewantto
feelthattheyarehappy,andconcludedthatperhapsthehighproportionssaying
theywereveryhappyweren'tsosurprisingafterall.

Thesethoughtshelpedmetogetageneralsenseofscaleofthefiguresin
paragraph3.It'snotimportanttoremembertheactualfigures41percentand26
percent,IcanalwayslookthemupagainifIneedthem.Theimportantthingis
togetthegeneralpicture.Iwouldn'tpausetoponderovereverynumber,ifIfeltI
wasslowingdowntoomuch,buttheseseemedtobesignificanttotheargument.

WhenIcametothethirdsentenceofparagraph3,Ifoundmyselfchallenged.
Theproportionsineachgroupwhoareveryhappyisquiteanabstractideato
holdonto;butthenIalsohadtothinkabouttheseproportionsnotchangingand
aboutrealincomesineachgrouprising.Itwastoomuchforme.WhenIasked
myselfWhatisthisreallysaying?,Icouldn'tanswer.Asthiswasclearlyan
importantpartoftheargument,Idecidedtotrytowriteitdowninmyown
words:

Hugeriseinrealincomesforallgroups
Butnochangein%veryhappyineachgroup
Sosocietygettingmuchricherbutnothappier

ThishelpedmefeelthatIhadgraspedthepoint.ButIstillfounditdifficultto
holdthisideainmindatthesametimeasthepointaboutricherpeoplebeingon
averagehappierthanpoorerpeople,soIwrotedown:

Onaveragericherarehappieryetgettingricherhasn'tmadeushappier.
IfeltIneededtothinkmoreaboutthistotakeitinproperly.Later,asIread
abouthabituationandkeepingupwiththeJoneses,itallbegantomakemore
sense.Infact,Ifoundmyselfgettingveryinterestedinthislaterdiscussionabout
rivalryoverincomesinfamiliesandorganisations.Ifoundmyselfthinkingabout
rivalrywithinmyownfamilyandinorganisationsforwhichIhaveworked.The
moreyoucanmakewhatyouarereadingreal,bylinkingittowhatyouknow
andcareabout,themoreyourmindentersintoworkingwiththenewideasyou
areencountering.

Ihavetriedtoillustrateherehowreadingcantriggerquestioningandthinking.
Readingforstudypurposesisanargumentativedialogueinyourhead.Nodoubt
youwouldaskquitedifferentquestions.Thespecificquestionsarenotimportant
it'stheprocessofquestioningthatis.

Keypoints

Questionsarewhatmakereadinginterestingandchallenging.Theygiveasense
ofaquesttofindanswers.Theyhelpyoutoengagewithwhatyouarereading
about.

Youneedtoaskquestionsofthekind:

Whatisthistellingme?
WhatdoIthinkofthis?(AmIsurprised;Howdoesthisrelatetomeand
mylife;DoesthishelptomakesenseoftheworldasIknowit?)
HowdoesthisfitinwithwhatIalreadyknow?

4.5Whenyougetstuck

Sometimesasyoureadyouwillgetstuck.Whenthishappens,don'tsitstaringat
thepage;findawaytotackletheproblem.

Readingrequiresyoutoprojectmeaningontothewordsonthepage.

Whenyouarestuckitmeansthatyouhavelosttrackoftheargumentandcanno
longerseewhatmeaningtoproject.So,youhavetofindwaystoreconstructthe
argumentinyourmind.Onewayistocastaroundforcluesbylooking
elsewhereinthetext.

Youmightlookbacktotheearlierparts:

Checkthetitle,thecontentslistandtheintroductiontoremindyourself
whatthewritersetouttodiscuss.
 Rereadsomeofwhatyouhavealreadycoveredtofirmupthearguments.

Oryoumightlookahead:

Skimafewpagestoseewhatiscomingup.
Turntotheconclusiontoseewheretheargumenteventuallyleads.

Anothertacticistouseyourpen:

Writedownthemainissuesyouthinkthetextisaddressing.
Trytosummarisewhatyouhavereadsofar,particularlythepartjust
beforeyougotstuck.
Underlinewordsthatseemimportantinthesectionyoudon'tunderstand.
Trytosummarisetheunderlinedwords.

Ifyouarestillstuck:

Searchforcluesontheinternet.
Lookinotherbooksonthesubject.
Scanthroughyourlecturenotes.
Contactotherstudentsbyphone,emailorinternetchatroom.

Whetherornotwhatyouwriteiscorrect,theprocessofwritingnoteshelpsyou
getintothetext.Itmakesyoutakeholdofideasandputtheminyourownterms.
Ithelpsyouforcemeaningsontothesubjectmatterandconstructabasefrom
whichyoucanlaunchanotherassaultonthetext.

Andifallthisdoesn'thelp,justskipaheadandtrytopickupthethread
somewhereelseinthetext;orleaveitaltogetherandstartonanotherpieceof
work.Itmayallseemcleareranotherday.Inanycase,thereisnopointinsitting
achievingnothing.

Keypoints

Whenyouarestuck:

Makeanactiveattackontheproblem.
Lookforcluesinearlierorlaterpartsofthetext.
Makedetailednotesonthebityouarestuckonandonthepreceding
section.
Castaroundforideasfromothersources.

5Readingcritically
5.1Criticalquestions

Aswellasmakingsenseofwhatyouread,youhavetothinkaboutwhetheror
notyouareconvincedbytheargumentsbeingpresented.Atdegreelevel,you
don'tsimplyacceptwhatyoureadyoureadcritically,weighingupthe
strengthsandweaknessesofthecasetheauthormakes.Thismeansasking
anothersetofquestions,suchastheonesdiscussedhere.

5.1.1HowmuchtrustcanIputinthistext?

Youwouldgenerallyassumethatanysettextsforaaretrustworthy.Butwhen
youfindatextthroughyourownresearchyouneedtorunafewcheckstoassess
thesoundnessofitscontent.

Whoisthepublisher?

Ifanarticleisfromanacademicjournal,youcanassumethatitsqualityhasbeen
vettedbythejournal'seditors.Alsoifabookispublishedbyamajoracademic
publishinghouse,youwouldexpectittoberespectable.Andifit'sabookfrom
anacademicseries,youwouldexpecttheserieseditortohavevettedthequality.
However,inothercasesyouneedtorunafewchecks.RichardLayard'sarticleis
publishedinaweeklymagazine.Thisdoesnotguaranteeacademicsoundness,so
Ineedtoconsiderotherinformation.

Whoistheauthor?

AttheendofLayard'sarticle,anotesaysthatheisCoDirectoroftheCentrefor
EconomicPerformanceattheLondonSchoolofEconomics.Thisgaveme
confidenceinthequalityofhisscholarship.Ididalittlefurtherresearchonthe
internetandfoundoutthatheisanadvisortothegovernment,particularlywith
respecttoitsNewDealfortheunemployed,andthathehasbeenmadeaLord.

5.1.2Inwhatcontextwasthetextpublished?

Thisamountstoasking,whenwasitwrittenandforwhataudience.Academic
textsarewrittentomakeacontributiontothedebatesgoingonwithinthefield.
Tounderstandwhereanauthoriscomingfromandwhyargumentsarebeing
presentedinaparticularway,youneedtobeabletoplacethetextincontext.
Layard'sarticlewaspublishedin2003intheUK,andwasdrawnfroma
prestigiousseriesofpubliclectures.Sothecontextisamajorstatementbya
prominentacademictocolleaguesandpolicyleaders,duringthesixthyearofa
NewLabourgovernment,afternearly25yearsofgrowingincomesinequality.
5.1.3Doestheargumentfollowlogically?

AsIwasmakingsenseofparagraph3,Ididpausetoconsiderwhetheritwas
logicallypossibletosaythatonaveragericherpeoplearehappier,yetgetting
richerhasnotmadeushappier.Later,whenIreadthatwomenintheUSwere
lesshappysincetheirincomeshadcomeclosertomen's,itoccurredtomethat
theywouldbeunlikelytovolunteertoreverttopreviouslevelsofinequality.
Thismademequestionwhathappinessreallymeans,ifitisnotnecessarilya
statethatapersonwouldoptfor.Ithenwonderedwhetherthemeasuresof
happinessthatLayardwasquotingwereasstraightforwardastheymightseem.
Thatdidnotstopmefromtakingastronginterestinhisarguments,itjustmade
meabitmorecautiousaboutacceptingthem.Generally,though,IfoundLayard's
logicstoodupverywelltothequestionsIposed.

5.1.4Whatevidenceisoffered?

Layardfrequentlyoffersevidenceforhismainpoints.Ihadtheimpressionthat
thiswasjustasamplefromawiderangeofrelevantevidencethathehad
reviewed.Becauseoftheprestigiouscontext,Itendedtoassumethatthe
evidencewouldbereliableandthatLayard'sinterpretationswouldbepretty
watertight.Nothingintheevidenceseemedtoconflictwithmyexisting
knowledge.However,ifIwerestudyingthesubjectmorethoroughly,Iwouldgo
backtothelecturesfromwhichhisarticlewastaken,aspublishedonthe
internet,sothatIcouldlookmorecloselyatthekindofevidencebeingquoted
andhowitwasgathered.

5.1.5Isthereanalternativeschoolofthought?

IguessedthatplentyofeconomistswoulddisagreewithLayard'spointofview,
ifheisrightthattheyhavenotusedmeasuresofhappinessandhavetreatedrises
inrealincomesasanunquestionedgoodthing.IfIwerestudyingthistopic
seriously,IwouldsearchforanarticlewhichtackledLayard'sargumentsfrom
anotherperspective.Whenyouencounternewideas,itisusefultogetmorethat
oneperspectiveonthem,sothatyoucanweighoneagainsttheother.

5.1.6Aretheconclusionsjustified?

ThoughIwasinterestedintheideaoftreatinghighincomesaspollution,Idid
wonderwhethertaxingpeopletopayforthepollutioncausedbytheirrising
incomeswouldwork.IngeneralthoughIwasreasonablyconvincedbythe
conclusionsLayarddrew.Ontheotherhand,ifIwasstudyingthesubjectmore
seriously,Imightfindthatwiderreadingandfurtherthoughtwouldmakesome
oftheconclusionsseemlessconvincing.
5.2Thinkingforyourself

Thesearethekindsofquestionsyouneedtoaskinordertoreadcritically.Asa
higherlevelstudent,youdon'treadsimplytofindoutfacts.Itisassumedthat
youwillthinkforyourselfandquestionwhatyoureadandhear.Thetruthis
takentobeuncertain,soyouweighupideasandargumentsasyoureadabout
them.AccordingtoMartonandSaljo(1997,p.49)researchshowsthat
successfulstudentsreadasiftheyareconstantlyaskingthemselvesquestionsof
thekind:Howdothevariouspartsofthetextrelatetoeachother?[]Isthe
argumentconsistentorarethereanylogicalgaps?[]Howdoesthisrelateto
whatIalreadyknow?.

Criticalreadingliesattheheartofgoodlearning.

Keypoints

Atdegreelevelyouareexpectedtoreadcritically;youdon'tsimplyacceptwhat
youread.Askyourself:

CanItrustwhatI'mbeingtoldhere?
Inwhatcontextwasthispublished?
Dotheargumentsfollowlogically?
Whatevidenceisoffered?
Whatdothoseontheothersideargue?
Aretheconclusionsjustified?

Thisquestioningapproachwillhelpyoubecomeamoreeffectiveand
enthusiasticstudent.

6Areyouagoodreader?

6.1Whatisagoodreader?

Ifyoueverworryabout:

yourrateofprogressasyouread
howmuchyouunderstand
howmuchyouwillrememberlater

thenjointheclub.Hereisonestudentofferingsupporttoanotherwhoexpressed
selfdoubtinanonlinechatroom:
Someapproachestoreadingarebetterthanothers,ofcourse.Researchhasfound
thatlesssuccessfulstudentstakeasurfaceapproachtoreading,whilemore
successfulstudentstakeadeepapproach.

Surfaceapproach

Studentswhodidnotgetthepointfailedtodososimplybecausetheywere
notlookingforit.

Insteadtheyconcentratedontryingtolearndiscretebitsofinformation.

Deepapproach

Successfulstudentsweremoreconcerned[]tomakesenseofthearticleasa
whole.[They]focused[]onwhatthetextwasabout:theauthor'sintention,the
mainpoint,theconclusiontobedrawn.Entwistle(1997,p.18)

Insteadofworryingaboutwhetheryouarenaturallyagoodreader,itisfarmore
usefultoworkatmakingyourselfthebestreaderyoucanbe.Thesecretisto
searchformeaningasyouread,takingtheactive,questioningapproach
describedinthisunit.

6.2Specificdifficulties

Somestudentscontendwithphysicaldifficultiesinreading.Hereisone:

Andhereisanotherbeingofferedadvicebyafriend:
Otherstudents,likeLewisinSection1,experiencedyslexia.Somefacethe
challengeofstudyinginasecondlanguage,orinadifferentdialectfromtheone
theyspeakineverydaylife.Manystudentswhoexperiencedifficultieswith
readingareabletogetsupport.Youcouldlookforsupportontheinternet;for
example,ifyousearchfordyslexiayouwillfindseveralwebsitesofferinga
widerangeofadviceandsupport.

7Conclusion

Readingisacoreactivityinmostcoursesofstudy.Thepurposeofitistoenable
youtolearn.Butlearningisnotapassiveprocess,youdon'tjustletideaswash
overyou.Youhavetomakesenseofthemasyoureadandthenusethemto
thinkwith.

Keypoints

Readingforstudypurposesisnotmerelyamatterofpassingyoureyesover
hundredsofwords.Itisasetofpracticeswhichenableyoutoengagewiththe
ideasinatext,including:

settingtargets
underliningorhighlightingasyouread
askingquestionstomakeyourselfthinkaboutwhatyouread
stoppingtolookaheadorlookbackwhenyoulosethethread
readingcritically
monitoringyourprogressfromtimetotime,and
changingtackwhenthingsarenotgoingwell.

Youneedtoexperimentwithdifferentwaysofdoingthings,inordertodevelopa
robust,flexible,allroundstyle.

Dothis

Nowyouhavecompletedthisunit,youmightliketo:

Postamessagetotheunitforum.
RevieworaddtoyourLearningJournal.
 Ratethisunit.

Trythis

Youmightalsoliketo:

FindoutmoreabouttherelatedOpenUniversitycourse
BookaFlashMeetingtotalklivewithotherlearners
CreateaKnowledgeMaptosummarisethistopic.

References

Entwistle,N.(1997)ContrastingperspectivesonlearninginMarton,F.,
Hounsell,D.andEntwistle,N.(eds)TheExperienceofLearning:Implications
forteachingandstudyinginHigherEducation,Edinburgh,ScottishAcademic
PressLimited.

Marton,F.andR.Saljo(1997)ApproachestolearninginMarton,F.,Hounsell,
D.andEntwistle,N.(eds)TheExperienceofLearning:Implicationsforteaching
andstudyinginHigherEducation,Edinburgh,ScottishAcademicPressLimited.

Layard,R.(2003)Thesecretsofhappiness,NewStatesman,3March2003,p.
25.

PinderSoft(2004)Software,www.pindersoft.com/Software.htm(accessed26
June2007).

Usefullinks

www.download.com

Acknowledgements

Gratefulacknowledgementismadetothefollowingsourcesforpermissionto
reproducematerial:

ThefollowingmaterialisProprietary,usedunderlicence(seetermsand
conditions)andnotsubjecttoCreativeCommonsLicense:
UnitImage

schani:www.flickr.com/photos/schani/14508908/

Text

Appendix1:TheSecretsofHappiness,extractfromanarticlewhichfirst
appearedintheNewStatesman,3rdMarch2003.PermissionfromProfessor
LordLayard.CopyrightProfessorLordLayard.