Reading for your course
You will probably find that there is a lot of reading required for your course. Reading your course materials is an essential part of OU study and requires different skills from those used when you read for pleasure. When you read for academic purposes you need to be sure you know what you are doing and why you need to do it.
It’s also better if you can be comfortable and enjoy the process of reading for your course.
The following tips will help you to read your texts effectively.
- Find a comfortable and quiet place to read, where you will not be disturbed or interrupted.
- Aim to read in short chunks. Most people can only concentrate for about 15–20 minutes in one go. Any longer than this and you might lose concentration, so your brain won't be taking in as much information. Manage your time effectively so you read for short periods and complete other study tasks in between.
- Make sure you think about what you want to achieve as you read. Is this material something you have to remember, something you need to understand, or something you just find interesting?
- Before reading in any detail, skim the contents or index pages to identify which sections require careful reading and which you'll be able to read through quickly.
- Keep a dictionary or your course glossary to hand and look up any terms you don’t understand.
- Make sure you understand what you read. Consider whether you agree with the content and think about how it compares to any other reading you've done on the same topic.
- Be interested in what you're reading. If the subject matter is important to you, you will engage with it and enjoy reading it. This will make you a more effective reader.
- If you find the material boring or frustrating the reading task becomes harder. The best way to handle this is to be actively critical. Ask yourself what makes it unsatisfactory. Consider why you've been asked to read it. Speak to others about your difficulties to see if they are having the same problems with that particular text.
