This section provides advice on reading and note-taking
Reading and note-taking
When you read to learn something, you need to know why you are reading and how to find the information you are looking for.
Taking notes is important - if you read lots of material without making notes, you'll quickly forget what you have read!
What about using one of these techniques?
Divide your reading into chunks. Read a section, a page, a chapter.
Use a highlighter, a pen and paper, post-its, notecards. Just choose the one you are most comfortable to identify important ideas or words.
Read the section. Don’t take any notes now! Just read it through. Now read through again and highlight the important parts. A good tip is to note down enough so that you will understand the section by looking at your notes in a month’s time – without having to read the whole section again!
If something doesn’t make sense, try reading it out loud. This can sometimes help.
If you write down notes, try to write them in your own words.
If you don't understand something you read, talk to someone about it. Just talking about a word or idea can help you to understand it.