COMM331
Effective Reading:
Unpacking the text for better understanding
Dr. Celeste Rossetto: Learning Development 2013
Impact Stats from the Library
Number of students by resource usage and WAM, 2010
Electronic resources
Books
Frequency of No. students %
usage
No Usage
1-5
6 - 10
11 - 20
21 - 40
41 - 80
81 - 160
161 - 320
Outliers
Total
6,902
5,363
2,713
2,751
2,325
1,217
317
25
0
21,613
32%
25%
13%
13%
11%
6%
1.5%
0.1%
WAM
Cumulative
difference
No. students %
63
65
67
68
70
72
73
74
0
2
4
5
7
9
10
11
1,707
7,316
4,058
4,556
2,923
923
122
7
1
21,613
100%
Note: excludes students with null or zero marks, and excludes UOW offshore
Used with permission
8%
34%
19%
21%
14%
4%
0.6%
0.0%
100%
WAM
Cumulative
difference
58
63
66
69
71
73
74
77
0
5
8
11
13
15
16
19
Reading broadly
 develop understanding of issues involved in a topic
 identify the important writers in a field
 overview of theories related to a topic
 seek information relating to an essay question
 work out which issues/books/journals to read in
more detail
Evaluating your sources
authority: is the source published in a reputable book or journal? Is the
writer an expert, or often quoted by other writers?
originality: are there new ideas in the text or is a repetition or summary
of what others have said before?
objectivity: is there a bias in the writer’s approach (e.g., the writer is
American commenting positively on America’s foreign policy)
Evaluating your sources
currency: is the information recent or is it outdated (when was it
written? what cases, examples and sources is it referring to?)
balance: does it cover the relevant issues evenly, or are some only
given a cursory treatment?
purpose: of the source material that you are reading. This is
closely tied to what kind of text it is (a government report, a
scholarly article, a text book) and relates to what the author is
trying to do (describe, report, argue)
Reading and Note taking
 Read texts with the question in mind.
 Read material that is relevant to the question and its
sub-topics.
 Remain focused on the question.
 Read efficiently and critically.
 Take notes as you read, being careful to record all
bibliographic details.
Note-taking should …
 assist in concentrating on and understanding the
information being read by helping to summarise the ideas
and arguments in the text

keep a focus on the points that are relevant to the
assignment project (rather than just underlining
everything)

help organise and start to evaluate the research

provide the necessary evidence to inform and develop
a critical argument in the response
Organising your reading
Keep relevant articles together (themes)
Number your journal articles / photocopies
Cross reference immediately when you see a connection
Make sure if your journal articles are in a pdf format that you
write in the access date and the database name – keep
track of bibliographic details
How to read a journal article
Journal articles are divided into discrete sections. To assist in the
reading and understanding of journal articles, students should look
at the structure of journal:
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion or recommendations
Textbooks
Check the divisions of a book
chapters
sections
subsections
Textbooks
Gaffikin’s text comes from his textbook. This genre has particular features that
help the reader identify it as such, for instance:
it highlights key terms and definitions
its structure offers a clear road map for the reader to navigate through the
information
it uses discipline-specific language
it engages the reader by using personal pronouns, e.g., ‘we’, and ‘our’
each paragraph has a topic sentence that contains the idea and the rest of
the paragraph expands that idea
it relies on evidence to support its ideas
it is more descriptive than analytical
Stating the problem
Elaboration
of the point
by
explaining
the reasons
for this
Evidence
Analysis ‘so what
does this
mean’
Concluding
sentence
and segue
to the next
paragraph
Topic Sentences
TS.1 Many students of accounting eschew theory
TS.2 Generally speaking, theories provide the reasoned basis for actions—for
practice.
TS.3 No precise definition exists for theory.
TS.4 There is no one view of a theory that would permit a single definition
acceptable to all.
TS.5 In developing theory, a theorist will undertake research.
TS.6 In fact, research will be undertaken also to improve practice.
TS.7 A prerequisite for a full understanding of accounting theory is an awareness of
the processes involved in developing a theory and the implications of these for
practice.
TS.8 If this aim is to be met, it is necessary to determine and understand the
elements of theories and theory construction.
Heading
Important terms
Subheading
Headings
Philosophical foundations
The development of Western
knowledge
Modernity
Scientific revolutions
The discipline of accounting