Purpose-Driven Reading:
Active Reading for Effective Learning
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Objectives
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To highlight common reading
problems
To suggest productive methods of
reading at University level
To provide tips for improving
memory of read material
Common Reading
Problems
Which of these apply to you?
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Problems with vision
Procrastination
Fatigue
Time
Boredom
Impatience
Amount of reading
Can’t remember what I’ve read
Surroundings
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Issues:
 Speed
 Comprehension
 Motivation
 Synthesis
 Text marking
 Memory
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Purpose-Driven Reading
Academic Reading is
 Purposeful
 Selective
 Relevant
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Overview
Becoming a purposeful, active reader
 4 steps
– Preview & survey
– Question
– Read & write
– Review & assimilate
Getting started…
You & Your Physical Environment
How am I
feeling?
Am I awake and
alert,
or am I tired,
hungry,
or sleepy?
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Does my physical
environment:
(a) encourage
concentration,
(b) facilitate good
posture, and
(c) stimulate a
ready-to-work
attitude?
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Purpose-Driven Reading
Define your purpose for reading.
Are you reading for…
 main ideas?
 background knowledge?
 specific information for an
assignment?
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Goal-Setting
Set reasonable goals in terms of
 Time limits
 Task limits
Vary your reading speed to achieve
your purpose.
Getting into the text…
Previewing/Surveying
Purpose:
 To get an overview
 To gauge difficulty level
 To estimate time needed
to cover the reading
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How to Preview
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Look at the highlights
Skim through the material
quickly
Suggested reading rate:
>800 wpm
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Preview fast
Why?
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Many courses = many readings
Reading too slowly will make you
lose track of the flow of ideas.
Why do we read so
slowly?
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What prevents us from being able to
read fast?
1. Eye movements
2. FONt size
3. Concentration
4. Level of difficulty
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How do we get past these barriers?
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Your mind is quicker than you
think!
Paris
in the
the springtime
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Your mind is quicker than you
think!
Paris
in the
the springtime
Getting into the text…
Questioning
Purpose:
 To provide a sense of focus, and to
direct your reading.
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Getting into the text…
Reading & Note-Taking
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Purpose:
 To process the information, and
ensure in-depth understanding
 To help you maintain attention (i.e.,
stay awake!) and to think
 To mark the material for future study
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Be an active reader!
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Think: how is the reading answering
the questions you have raised?
Suggested reading rate:
100-300 wpm
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Finding the main point
What’s the point?
 To introduce
 To describe
 To compare
 To explain
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Highlighting to the point
Avoid the Picasso
mentality!
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Poor highlighting
Poor highlighting:
Excessive highlighting is not a good
way to emphasize important ideas in
the text. In fact, many learning
specialists believe that by highlighting
too much, you simply are putting off
learning as you “paint” the textbook
with your favorite color.
Poor highlighting Example
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Physics in the Nineteenth Century
Diane Greco, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Eastgate Systems
Marked by an ever-increasing emphasis on quantification and by a search
for mathematical laws to describe observed phenomena, the nineteenth
century encompassed a distinctive phase in physics research (or, to use
period terminology, natural philosophy) both in Britain and on the
Continent. This period witnessed the rise of the laboratory and of
sophisticated techniques and technologies for measuring and eliciting
phenomena, as well as the establishment of large institutes (such as the
Physikalische-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin) to conduct physical
research both for the state and -- often indirectly -- for private concerns.
Although the final conceptual aim was to create a unified physics -- that is,
to create a set of fundamental laws governing all physical phenomena -physics also served the commercial, military, and political needs of different
burgeoning and expanding industrial nations.
Adapted from http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/natureslaw/ history/reference.html
Poor highlighting Example
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Physics in the Nineteenth Century
Diane Greco, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Eastgate Systems
Marked by an ever-increasing emphasis on quantification and by a search
for mathematical laws to describe observed phenomena, the nineteenth
century encompassed a distinctive phase in physics research (or, to use
period terminology, natural philosophy) both in Britain and on the
Continent. This period witnessed the rise of the laboratory and of
sophisticated techniques and technologies for measuring and eliciting
phenomena, as well as the establishment of large institutes (such as the
Physikalische-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin) to conduct physical
research both for the state and -- often indirectly -- for private concerns.
Although the final conceptual aim was to create a unified physics -- that is,
to create a set of fundamental laws governing all physical phenomena -physics also served the commercial, military, and political needs of different
burgeoning and expanding industrial nations.
Adapted from http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/natureslaw/ history/reference.html
What is good
highlighting?
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Good highlighting is done on key
words or phrases only, or on the
parts of the text that don’t make
sense. That way you can come
back later and quickly identify the
section on which you need to place
additional effort.
Good highlighting Example
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Good highlighting is done on key
words or phrases only, or on the
parts of the text that don’t make
sense. That way you can come back
later and quickly identify the section
on which you need to place
additional effort.
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Good highlighting – Example 2
Physics in the Nineteenth Century
Diane Greco, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Eastgate Systems
Marked by an ever-increasing emphasis on quantification and by a search
for mathematical laws to describe observed phenomena, the nineteenth
century encompassed a distinctive phase in physics research (or, to use
period terminology, natural philosophy) both in Britain and on the
Continent. This period witnessed the rise of the laboratory and of
sophisticated techniques and technologies for measuring and eliciting
phenomena, as well as the establishment of large institutes (such as the
Physikalische-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin) to conduct physical
research both for the state and -- often indirectly -- for private concerns.
Although the final conceptual aim was to create a unified physics -- that is,
to create a set of fundamental laws governing all physical phenomena -physics also served the commercial, military, and political needs of different
burgeoning and expanding industrial nations.
Adapted from http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/natureslaw/ history/reference.html
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Making margin notes
What to write?
Section summary
??Questions??
!!Reactions!!
examples
Specialised
vocab &
definitions
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Drawing up a summary
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Draw a summary that captures the
main point and the flow of ideas
– Outlines
– Mind-maps
– Fishbone diagrams
Getting out of the text…
Reviewing
Purpose:
 To remember key points
 To monitor comprehension
 To consolidate old and new
knowledge
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Reading & Remembering
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Relate facts/issues
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Think deeper
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Review
New
New
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Read, Listen, Re-read
Read to
SURVEY
Listen to
LECTURE
Re-read to
SUPPLEMENT
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Readings & Lectures
Supplementary readings
 Prioritise
– Is material covered in
lectures?
– How important is it?
– What can you add to your
notes?
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Discussion groups
Purpose-Driven Reading
… Summary
To get an overview
Survey
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Skim through
quickly
Turn headings
into questions
To focus reading
Question
To find the flow
and main point,
and annotate for
future study
Read/
Note
Highlight,
take margin notes,
do summary/
concept map
Review
Test yourself,
read through
notes again
To assimilate new
knowledge with old,
for understanding
& retention
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In the end…
The PURPOSE-DRIVEN reader is…
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Alert and flexible
An active reader
An effective learner
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On purpose…
“What we read with inclination
makes a much stronger impression.
If we read without inclination,
half the mind is employed in fixing
the attention; so there is but one half
to be employed on what we read."
--Samuel Johnson