It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of reading you’re asked to do for your course. However, there are some tricks you can use to make life a little easier.
Prioritise your reading. Texts relating to assessed pieces of work have to come first in the queue. After that the order is up to you, but be realistic about what you can manage.
Don’t read in detail all the time. Use headings and subheadings to identify the subject of what you’re reading, and then skim the text by reading random words in each line to gain a general understanding.
Read what you need to read. Use the contents and index (or abstract if it’s a journal article) to select what could be worth reading, then skim the text to check. This will also make it easier to understand when you read it in detail.
Share what you read. Exchange information with other students about the contents of sources, and what’s good and what isn’t. This isn’t collaboration (unless you start talking about what you’re going to write!)
Feel free to ask about what is/isn’t worth reading in the comments (rules for posting here).
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