In reality, people read because they want to write. Anyway, reading is a sort of rewriting Jean-Paul Sartre 1905 - 80 French author

Reading series

Reading texts

Marking & Underlining

Read a section of your text (that you own!)
that you consider "manageable" but make no entries

Review the section:

Number important or sequential ideas in the margins

Underline or highlight:

• main subjects
• examples of these main ideas
  that help you understand them
• unfamiliar vocabulary and/or definitions

Jot down paraphrases, questions, and summaries
in available space within the text

Develop a system to coordinate various sources
of information: workbooks, CDs, Web sites, classroom notes, etc.

Taking notes

First: read a section of your textbook chapter

Read just enough to keep an understanding of the material.
Do not take notes, but rather focus on understanding the material.

It is tempting to take notes as you are reading the first time, but this is not an efficient technique: you are likely to take down too much information and simply copy without understanding

Second: Review the material

Locate the main ideas, as well as important sub-points

• Set the book aside
• Paraphrase this information:
  Putting the textbook information in your own words forces you to become actively involved with the material

Third: write the paraphrased ideas as your notes

• Do not copy information directly from the textbook
• Add only enough detail to understand

Review, and compare your notes with the text,
and ask yourself if you truly understand

Reading and research series

Reading critically | Prereading strategies | SQ3R reading method |
KWL reading method | Marking & underlining | Reading difficult material | Interpretive reading | Reading essays | Reading fiction | Narrator/character types |
Speed and comprehension | Researching on the Internet | Evaluating websites |
Organizing research: computers | Organizing research: note cards