Success Tips

Textbook Reading Strategies

When reading your textbooks, begin with the end in mind. Here are six steps.

 

Step 1:

Answer the following questions:
1. Why are you reading this information?
2. What grade do you intend to make in this course?
3. What guidelines regarding this information were provided by your syllabus and instructor?
4. What do you hope to achieve?
5. Do you know any information about the subject matter?
6. How much time did you schedule to read the information and take notes?

Step 2:

Take a few minutes to scan the assigned chapter(s). Be sure to:

a. View chapter titles, paragraph titles, and chapter summaries to obtain an overview of the information you will cover in your reading;


b. Turn your titles/headings into questions and record these questions;


c. Seek to find the answers to your questions;


d. Examine charts, tables or other tools which simplify the information being presented; and


    1. Identify words which are bold, italicized, or underlined.
Step 3:
Read to answer the questions you wrote and to obtain a better understanding of the information.

Step 4:
Next, try to answer the questions you wrote while scanning and reading the chapter to identify how much information you remember.

Step 5:
Spend time reviewing your notes and creating simple ways to remember the important information identified.
Step 6:
Test your knowledge on the information read.

Request specific success tips! Contact TAN at 256-372-5487 or tan@aamu.edu to request information on a specific success strategy. I look forward to hearing from you.~Linda Skeete McClellan
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Reading Before Class
When you read your textbook and notes before class, you are able to solidify concepts which are presented during the lecture and identify information you want the instructor to review or cover during the class period. This makes it easier for you to:
  • be a part of the lecture/discussion,
  • be more focused during the class period,
  • develop more effective study plans before and after the lecture,
  • be able to answer quiz/exam items, and
  • be more informed when you meet with your instructor.
This has been your Reading Before Class tip. Join me next time when we focus on Textbook Reading Strategies.
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