Getting The Most Out Of Your Textbooks

College reading can be challenging.

Students often feel overwhelmed when they open their college textbooks for the first time. They wonder how they will be able to master the difficult information that confronts them.

College reading is difficult in several ways:

-It is "idea dense." There are many facts and concepts on each page.

-The ideas are often abstract, and the material is written in sophisticated language, using technical terms and specialized vocabulary.

-The quantity of reading to be covered in a term is often large--even daunting.

- Frequently, students are expected to comprehend reading assignments independently--they are responsible for readings assigned, but not reviewed in class.

But mastering the challenge is worth the time and interest you invest in it.

Even the most challenging reading assignments can be mastered. by:

-becoming familiar with features in your texts that can help you to learn more and also learn faster,

-timing and pacing your reading purposefully, acknowledging your attention span

-working through your reading assignments in ways that are systematic and also appropriate to your personal study style, and

-remembering to be an active learner by doing something with the information you are reading (question, relate, write, paraphrase etc.)

It's important to remember that...

Just running your eyes over the lines of print in your textbooks isn't really reading.

The point of doing reading assignments is to learn from them--the point is to give yourself a fuller understanding of the information presented.

If you'll invest time, and a little effort and interest in your readings, you can:

- gain broader insights into the topics discussed in your day-to-day-classes, and also

- acquire a sense of mastery of the information that will be helpful to you in the future,

(especially at test time).

Click on Strategies for Success in Mastering College Reading for lots of ideas that can help you to get the most out of your college textbooks.