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Advice and resources to help you develop effective approaches to reading.

Using reading lists effectively

At the IoA, module reading lists are made available in the Module Handbooks and as an online reading list which give you quick and easy access to course resources, including e-books and e-journals. Lists indicate which readings are essential to understanding the course themesÌýand should be read each week before class, those which are recommendedÌýfor students interested inÌýexploring the topic in more detail, andÌýand those which are supplementary and may be a useful starting point for writing assessments.ÌýPrioritise the essential and recommended readings so you are able to participate in class or online discussions.Ìý

Further resources:

Reading and making notes

You will not be able to read everything, soÌýfocus strategically on what you really need to read to be able to participate in classÌýand to complete your assessments.ÌýHave in mind a set of questions you want answers to.Ìý Write these down as a short list and keep it with you when reading and writing your notes.Ìý

SQ3R is a well-known method for reading and making notes.Ìý SQ3R stands for ‘Survey’, ‘Question’ and three Rs: ‘Read’, ‘Recall’ and ‘Review’.Ìý It involves surveying a text and asking questions before you start reading.ÌýThe reading process focuses on selected parts of the text which you read and recallÌýkeeping in mind your initial questions.ÌýFinally you review yourÌýnotes.

Further resources:

• (Royal Literary Fund)
• Ìý(Royal Literary Fund)

Reading Critically

ÌýAs you progress through you degree,Ìýdeeper and more critical reading will be required for class discussion and assessments.ÌýÌýIn an academic context, reading critically means asking questions of the text, its arguments,Ìýunderlying assumptions, methodologiesÌýand the historiographic background in which it was written. The IoE has useful critical reading questionsÌýto interrogate sources.