The Business Skills Handbook

1. The Business Skills Handbook

2. The Business Skills Handbook Effective Reading Skills Week 6

3. Reading Recommended text: The Business Skills Handbook Horn, R. London: CIPD. 1st edition, 2009 ISBN: 1843982188 Chapter 6: Effective Reading Skills (page 127)

4. Lecture Outline • types of reading • effective reading • SQ3R • types of text sources • critical reading • recording your reading

5. Learning Objectives • develop a range of methods for effective reading • systematically read a range of sources • understand how to record the reading that has been done

6. Types of Reading • Reading for detailed understanding of the content – this is vital for learning as it provides the basic understanding of the key concepts of a subject. It is likely to be the type of reading you do in textbooks and in journal sources.

7. Types of Reading [2] • Exploratory reading – this is the technique used when you are exploring a book or article to see if it contains any useful material; the most common method of exploratory reading is skimming.

8. Types of Reading [3] • Another type of exploratory reading is scanning. The focus of scanning tends to be whole chapters or whole articles. Once again, you will need to be able to effectively switch from scanning to detailedreading.

9. Types of Reading [4] • Critical reading – is a detailed and intensive reading of the text, often more than once, with the aim of uncovering and challenging the assumptions and argument.

10. Types of Reading [5] • One of the roles of reading at university is to develop a good understanding of the concepts and ideas involved in a subject. It would be normal to skim the text until the right section is found and then to switch to detailed reading. Finally, the highlighted areas will be re-read using the critical reading approach to expose and critique the underlying assumptions of the theory, concept, research or model.

11. Reading Faster and More Effectively • You can make yourself a more effective reader by changing a few things and speeding up your reading.

12. Effective Reading • You are reading this section now and you are probably vocalising each word as you read. You may be reading out loud or just reading in the mind. This is not necessary and slows down your reading.

13. Effective Reading [2] • Avoid vocalising or the silent version, sub-vocalising, by using a pointer, a finger, pen tip or knitting needle. But, don’t point to each word as this will just slow you down even more; the pointer is moved down the centre of the page.

14. Effective Reading [3] • The other area to work on in speeding up your reading is to read in larger chunks. Most people will read two or three words at one look, called a fixation. You need to train your eyes to see sentences or larger blocks of words.

15. Effective Reading [4] • Using a pointer run this down the middle of the page in a steady but reasonably fast movement so that a page takes 15–20 seconds to read. Allow your eyes to look only once to the left and once to the right of the pointer for each line. You may notice that you are not sub-vocalising.

16. Effective Reading [5] • How your eyes track the page is also important. I have suggested above that you go down the page, but this isn’t the only or the most effective way. Try letting your eyes hop about the page looking at blocks of words, or zig-zag down the page.

17. SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recall and Review • You may have experienced the problem of having read a piece of writing and then immediately afterwards you cannot remember any of it. • The SQ3R method is designed to improve the effectiveness of your reading.

18. SQ3R [2] Survey • Concentrate on: • titles • pictures • introduction and conclusion • bold or italicised print • questions • first and last sentences in paragraphs • contents page • illustrations • section headings • summary sections.

19. SQ3R [3] Question • Form three or four questions related to the reading and keep these in view as you read. Focus in on aspects of the reading that will help to answer these questions. But also form questions about the text as you read. Start making notes on a single sheet of A4 paper; have the questions on one half of the paper and the answers on the other half.

20. SQ3R [4] • Another technique is to build a mind map as you read. Place the questions that relate to the reading in the middle and then let your notes radiate outwards from the questions. Use as much colour, underlining and small images as you can.

21. SQ3R [5] • Why did they use this method? • What message is this document trying to convey? • Does the sample seem to be too small? • Is this a balanced argument? • Is this all the theory there is on the topic? • What is the unexplained assumption here? • Does that conclusion come from the evidence? • How would I apply this in my assignment?

22. SQ3R [6] Read • Read the detailed areas that will address the questions you have set out. You will need to reread some sections to make sense of them. As you read make notes about the main points. You could set out the logical steps in the author’s argument and highlight any illogical jumps. You could note the main findings and then list the evidence that supports these main findings.

23. SQ3R [7] Recall • After you have read, answered and made notes of your questions, it is helpful to recite the questions and your answers: an aural summary. This reinforces what you have learned and may provoke further thought about the issues.

24. SQ3R [8] Review • Using your notes, mentally go over the material immediately. Then go over the material again within 24 hours of reading it. One further review about a week later will firmly embed the ideas in your brain.

25. SQ3RW Method • Note-making is an essential part of effective reading. It keeps you active, thinking and creating. It provides the method to recall the ideas at a later stage. The form you choose to store the writing will need some thought. Pen and paper is useful, but perhaps using Word, OneNote or bibliography software may be more effective.

26. SQ3RW [2] Whichever form of recording you use, try to: • record the source of your notes exactly (author, title, date, publisher and page numbers) – a reference • the date on which you wrote them • revise the record so that it is clear and precise • try to keep the notes to one page • use a logical and memorable layout for the page (a mind map will work well) • use colour, diagrams, capitals, underlining, to format the text and create an interesting layout.

27. SQ3RW [3] The content of your notes will vary, but try to systematically record: • the author's main ideas and any important details • the logical structure of the argument (use a mind map where possible) • any important references and links to other writing • paraphrase, do not copy – use your own words • use Word in outline format to create the bare bones of the content and argument • add sections under these headings if you think it is important • be brief, aim for a reduction factor of over 50, so that your writing is less than 1/50th of the original.

28. Section Summary [1] Ten ways to read more effectively • Have your eyes tested. Many people turn out to need some form of optical assistance. • Make sure you don't sub-vocalise words or say things aloud as you read. • Try to read in chunks so that your eyes only stop two or three times in a line of print instead of every word. With practice you can read whole sentences in one look. • Read from a wide range of sources. • Extend your vocabulary by making a note of words you read but you are not sure of their meaning. After reading, look up these ‘new’ words in a dictionary and keep and review the word list regularly.

29. Section Summary [2] • Keep a separate list of technical words related to your subject area – we often call this a glossary. • Force your reading speed higher by allowing only a certain amount of time to read passages, gradually reducing the amount of time allowed. Aim to be able to read a 4,000-word article in 15 minutes. This would include making notes of the key points. • Use the traffic light system to choose the appropriate reading speed. • Don't expect every text to be fully understood at the first time of reading. You may have to go through it several times. Several rapid readings will probably give you a clearer understanding than a single detailed reading. • Consciously practise reading and writing and spend time reviewing your performance.

30. Textbooks • Large and more difficult to navigate, note they are structured as chapters, sections, paragraphs. • You will mostly only need a small part at any particular time, so navigate to the section you need using: • index • contents • section headings • diagrams and illustrations.

31. Textbooks [2] • Textbooks should be the first place you go when researching a new subject area. They will provide a clear, structured overview of the topic area quickly. One textbook source will not be sufficient to provide the background reading that you need. At the outset your aim should be to review three textbooks relating to any new subject area or assignment. This will provide a general grounding in the subject area. Textbooks rarely contain the detailed sources, ideas and information you need for assignments, but they do provide a number of ideas and links to other sources.

32. Journal Articles • Journal articles are normally either reporting the findings of a research study or critically debating a theory, approach or concept. You need to identify which type you are looking at early in the reading process. The structure of these two types is quite rigid.

33. Journal Articles [2] • Journal articles usually have a structure that is determined by the particular journal in which they appear and by the type of research being reported. This makes extracting information from them sometimes easier than from less rigid textbooks. The reporting of empirical research will mostly follow the format of abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion.

34. Journal Articles [3] • Journal articles that are critically debating ideas and concepts will often follow the format: abstract, introduction, history of an idea and summary of the current thinking, main section dealing with the critique of the ideas or concepts, summary and ideas for further research or critique.

35. Journal Articles [4] • Abstracts should provide a complete overview of what the article is about, what it did, how it did it, what it found and what the results mean. The abstract should be the first section that you read. You will then be able to ‘weigh up’ if the article will be useful. • Concluding sections will present a summary of the research or critique. They will also set out the implications of the research and make recommendations about further research or policy and practice.

36. Critical Reading • In the main do not form a view about the value of an article until you have done the following: • understood the main message • evaluated the evidence supporting that message • evaluated the writer's perspective.

37. Critical Reading [2] • Displaying to your tutors that you have read sources critically is vital to achieving good grades. Do not accept any writing or arguments as sound without evaluating this for yourself. Show how you have reviewed and evaluated the source(s) in your writing. This is best done by a combination of subtle evaluative statements in your writing, reflective accounts of your thinking and critique and the use of source tables, with a summary and evaluation of the source.

38. Critical Reading [3] Subtle evaluative statements such as: • ‘Despite the rather small sample size, Farrindon’s (2008) data is useful in extending our understanding of…’ • ‘Havelock’s (2009) analysis, despite the omission of Hall’s (2006) work, provides a good summary of the research related to…’ • ‘While there are flaws in the logic, the Brasenose (2004) argument for freeconomics is still the best account…’

39. Critical Reading [4] • Reflective accounts set out your thinking on the source and its limitations. You would incorporate your thinking from some of the critical questions below into a paraphrased account of the strengths and weaknesses of the source document.

40. Keeping Track of Your Reading • At university you are going to read large volumes of books, journal articles, reports and web-based material. It is a good idea to develop a system for keeping track of this reading. This can be incorporated into another tracking system if you have one, such as a OneNote file or spreadsheet.

41. Bibliographic Data • Bibliographic data starts to accumulate at university from the very first moment. Some useful tools to help keep track of this data include: • using a Word document • using Excel or a spreadsheet • using a database • specialist bibliography software • specialist software • Endnote, Reference Manager • Procite • Bibliographix • Refworks • Biblioscape • WIKINDX • Bibliography Writer • EasyBib.

42. Next Week • how to develop good writing habits • how to plan what you will write – macro writing • how to write and express yourself clearly – micro writing • how to develop good ideas and be creative • how to write effective paragraphs • how to develop clear, effective arguments • how to reference and avoid plagiarism

43. The Business Skills Handbook The End