Reading and Notetaking

Reading lists are available online via Onelist and the starting point for finding useful reading suggestions for a subject or essay.  Think of your reading lists as a small library of texts that you should dip into at regular intervals throughout your course. 

Use the library discovery tool, OneSearch, to look up keywords related to your topic to find books and ebooks. For more help with searching access our Finding Information page. 

Journals are an excellent resource for finding high quality and up-to-date information. The best way to start is to use your subject resources page that recommends and links to a wide range of appropriate academic journals and databases.

For critical reading, you need a questioning mind. Try to identify and analyse the arguments in your reading. Are there any other concepts or theories which might be relevant?  Look at what the author has written – how credible is it? Is the work biased? Is there sufficient evidence?  

You may find the Critical Reading Workbook useful to get you started.  

For more on reading with an analytical eye, have a look at the tutorials on the Being Critical pages.  

You are strongly encouraged to research your topic beyond your reading list and to demonstrate independent learning by finding your own sources to support your work. However, all texts must be carefully evaluated to check that they are suitable for an academic assignment.  

This section and the following one on note taking will look at how to get the best from your reading.

You have your list of possible texts to use. How do you choose the most important ones and how do you gain that indepth knowledge of these texts?

Do not initially read cover to cover

Scan key sections of the item to get an idea of content. 

In books – check contents lists, chapter headings, chapter summaries and sub headings.  Use the index to find keywords or use the ‘search within’ option in ebooks.  

For articles – read the summary or abstract and the conclusion to decide if it is worth reading the rest.

Then once you have decided it is worth reading it in more depth

• Skim read through quickly without making notes to get a basic understanding. 
  
• Read more of the text to deepen that understanding. 
• Use a ruler or pencil to keep your eyes moving at a good pace down the page.  
• Read the first and last lines of each paragraph to get a basic framework of the text. These often signpost the main points.   
• Read a chunk of text (a paragraph or a page) before starting to take notes. 
  
• As you read think how you might use this in your writing and how it compares with other texts. See our next section for tips on notetaking to help you with this.

The texts you are expected to read at University are often complex and may contain challenging ideas, so it is likely that reading will take you longer than when you read for pleasure. Your reading speed will increase as you become more familiar with the subject.

Reading environment 

• Read in a environment that enables you focus on your reading. You might need to experiment to find the best for you.
• Take regular breaks and exercise.
  
• Revisit your previous reading after a break to check your understanding.
• Park your thoughts overnight to ‘mature’ in your mind.
  

Keep track of your reading

It's easy to get lost in the literature and so it's important to develop a system that allows you to keep tabs on what you've read and what you found within. A Literature matrix is a table that allows you to capture key information from each source and helps you gain an overview of the research on your topic. 

Our tutorial below provides a little more detail about getting the most from your reading.

Note-taking is an often ofterlooked skill but it forms an important bridge between reading and using literature in your assignments. 

Taking notes from sources allows you to:

• Remember and recall information more effectively
• Employ critical thinking as you read
• Pinpoint most important parts of a text
• Compare different perspectives
• Keep track of your references

There are many note-making techniques beyond straight-forward transcription of text. The table below details a selection of different methods. Try some of these approaches and see if they work for you. 

Ways to take notes

Our tutorial below provides more detail about some of these option. It prompts you too to reflect on how you take notes already and how you might change or adapt your approach.

When using ebooks you can choose to take notes using the tools in the section above.  

In addition the ebook readers (either when reading online or downloaded) also give opportunities for bookmarking, notetaking and highlighting on your screen. You can even export your notes too.  

Depending on the ebook supplier you may also be able to take advantage of read aloud functions if it helps you to listen rather than read the text.

More information on this functionality and other accessibility features can be found via our Ebooks page and our Eresources and Assistive Technology page.

Taking notes in class involves a variety of skills. You will need to listen, watch, process and write - all at the same time! This is one reason why students sometimes find it challenging to take effective notes in lectures, seminars and tutorials. 

There are various ways you can make this form of note-taking easier: 

• Print out or have the powerpoint open on your device before the lecture to get a sense of the content and structure. You can also use the notes or handout function to make notes along with the slides. 
• Record the lecture or tutorial on your phone so you can listen back later and fill in any gaps in your notes (remember to ask permission beforehand). 
• Make use of speech-to-text software such as Otter or Audio Notetaker. This will essentially create a transcript which you can save and use later. 
• Use abbreviations/ shorthand to save writing everything out in full. Make sure you create a key if you do this, as it’s easy to forget what you originally meant! You may find this note taking list useful for getting started. 
• Exchange notes with course mates to fill in gaps for each other.

Reading and note-taking are the building blocks of writing any assignment. Once you have a good understanding of the literature around a topic your notes can form the starting point for your writing.

But between note-making and planning your assignment, there is an often overlooked stage that involves digesting, analysing and synethesisng your notes. This stage enables you to build an overview of the literature you have read and apply critical thinking to the various perspectives you have encountered, before you consider how this is conveyed in your writing. The tutorial below unpacks this process so you can make the most of the notes you have made.

Demonstrating your understanding of literature in your writing puts you on track to gaining marks. One way to do this is to move from direct quotation of your sources and to summarising and paraphrase instead. The table below outlines the differences between those skills.

Paraphrasing is a useful ability to master. Access our tutorial  by clicking on the image below to find out more and practise this skill.

Explore our Using Your Literature tutorial to find out more about those skills.