Reading Tips: How to read effectively & remember

Reading Tips
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1.  How does this information fit what I already know and don’t know?

How to Read Academic Text
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1.  Never start reading at page 1 of the text.
2.  Don’t feel that you must read everything on the reading list.
3.  Never read without specific questions you want the text to answer.
4.  Read only as much as you need to get the information you are after.
5.  Be selective.
6.  Set a realistic time frame for any reading task.
7.  Read With the Goal of Teaching Someone Else.

Point 3 In Detail

• For example, if a piece of information you need is in the abstract of an article, why read the whole article unless you have time to spare? If a point is clear from reading a summary, is there any benefit in reading through the complete text of a chapter?  If you are interested in the overall findings of a study, do you really need to read the methodology and results sections? Always keep in mind what you need, what is relevant to the question you are asking the text.

 Point 4 In Detail

• Check through the items on your reading list. Which are basic texts, and which are more detailed? (Will you need basic information or more specific information for your assignment?) Which are the most accessible to you? (Texts which are crystal clear to one person may be incomprehensible to another, and vice versa - this is not a matter of 'intelligence', but of a preference for a particular presentation and style) Which are reasonably available? (It is no good pinning your hopes on a book if there is one copy in the library and 300 students wanting it. 

Point 6 In Detail

•  If there is a summary, a conclusion, a set of sub-headings, or an abstract, read that first, because it will give you a map of what the text contains. You can then deal with the text structurally, looking for particular points, not just reading ‘blind’ and so easily getting lost.

Remembering What You Read
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1. Review What You Read…
   Immediately after you read it
   Within a few days
   Before the test

I have developed a mnemonic for remembering the reading tips by creating a story of a boy who is a hard fan of CRICKET(7 letters in the word cricket - 7 tips) .Story is about how he reads the newspaper:

1.  He never reads page 1 of the newspaper
2. He starts reading the sports news page directly
3. He starts reading the scores right away
4. After reading the scores of a game he moves to the next news
5. He reads to select only the game played by the Indian team
6. He stops reading the newspaper within a few minutes
7. After reading he explains the game to his kid brother