Chapter 5: Academic Strategies
39 The Purpose of Readings
Regardless of the program you choose to pursue, the consistent completion of assigned reading material is a central element of college academic life. Whether you’re regularly instructed to read through academic journal articles, sections from an academic textbook, technical manuals, or even simply news articles or blogs, regular course readings are integral to your learning and success in college. It’s therefore important to understand the different purposes of reading materials in your courses.
Understanding Academic Perspectives
In many of the courses you take, your instructors might encourage you to think about and reflect on the various academic debates, insights, and understandings of the different topics being taught in class. Academic reading materials, such as journal articles and textbook chapters, do a great job of exposing students to different viewpoints on certain subjects and issues. By reading about what different authors and academics have to say about a given issue, students work on building their critical reading and active learning skills.
Critical reading means taking what you read and running it through a critique in your head:
Does this make sense?
Do I trust this source?
Is there any information I’m missing?
How can I apply this knowledge?
As you’re completing your readings, you should be thinking about anything that doesn’t make sense or information that has been left out.
What is the motive of the author?
Why is my professor asking me to read this?
What assumptions are being made in this reading?
Are there gaps or overgeneralizations in the author’s argument that I’d like to know more about?
Is there anything problematic or missing from the text?
Check out this handout from the Center for Writing at the University of Minnesota on Critical Reading Strategies.
Resources for Assignments
In many of your classes, instructors will intentionally assign reading materials that will help you complete assignments and study for tests. You’ll sometimes be asked to write an essay or complete an assignment that directly engages with a specific author’s research. You’ll be expected to comprehend and critically discuss the related reading material assigned to you. Additionally, professors may expect you to draw on specific ideas presented in the readings assigned throughout the course in your tests, quizzes, and exam responses. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to take effective notes of your readings, as they will serve as useful study notes in helping you remember what you hear and see.
Readings for Class
Typically, the reading material you are expected to complete on your own time will complement the information presented in your lectures, and labs on a deeper and more elaborate level. In many courses, you will find that your professor will give brief summaries of the assigned weekly readings while adding their commentary on the content. However, it’s typically expected that you complete a given week’s reading material before attending class to fully understand your professor’s ideas and contribute to class discussions.
