How to be an Efficient Textbook Reader

By Alyssa Laffitte on October 30, 2018

As college students, we have to spend lots of time reading. Usually, we have to read textbooks. Yes, textbooks can be dry and boring, especially if you are not interested in the class. Still, you can learn a lot from reading the textbook. In this post, we will discuss eight ways to be an efficient textbook reader.

Image via Isorepublic.com

Don’t get distracted

In order to understand the material, you must dedicate all your attention to your textbook reading. This means you can’t multitask while reading. Don’t have Netflix, YouTube, music, or a podcast playing in the background, as you might be more inclined to focus on what they are saying rather than on your textbook. Similarly, don’t let your phone distract you, either (because when you’re getting tons of notifications, it is way too tempting to stop reading). To solve this problem, put your phone on “airplane mode” or “do not disturb”, since they will stop notifications from coming in. You could also simply keep your phone out of reach, like in another room or in your backpack. When you remove these distractions, and allow yourself to focus on your textbook reading, you will grasp the concepts in your book much quicker.

Pay attention to the figures and tables

When you want to read quickly, you might be tempted to skip over the figures and tables in your textbook. This is not a good idea, since you might miss important information that’s conveyed in the figures and tables. Plus, if you are a visual learner, you might learn more from the figures than you might through simply reading a chunk of text. While you read your textbook, take the time to look at the tables and figures, too, because they have lots of important information that will help you understand the concept.

If you are a visual learner, make your own figures and tables

Similar to the last point, you can make your own figures and tables! This is a great way to make sure you understand all the information you’re absorbing, especially if you are a visual learner. For example, if you are reading a history textbook, draw out your own timeline of the events. This will help you see when the events happen in relation to each other. If you are reading a biology textbook, draw out a diagram of a cell and label the organelles.

Don’t simply skip over something you don’t understand

We humans have a tendency to simply skip over things we don’t understand. This might be due to laziness, if we don’t want to look it up. However, when you read your textbook, you can’t do this. The line you don’t understand might be the most important line of the chapter. If you come across something you don’t understand, don’t simply skip it. Look it up on Google or even Wikipedia! (We’re not going to cite it, we’re just using it to understand a concept, so Wikipedia will work just fine.) You could even look up educational videos on YouTube; those can be very helpful, too. You could even look in the back of the book in the glossary or index if there is a specific word you don’t understand. If you can’t find any answers online or in the back of the book, send your professor an email and ask them. In other words, if you don’t understand something, actively seek out answers!

Read actively, with understanding, not passively

You have probably heard about “reading actively, not passively”, but what does that mean? Passive reading is simply reading through the text, then closing the book and forgetting about it. People like to do this because it doesn’t take much time or mental effort, but it is not an efficient way to read a textbook. On the other hand, active reading involves thinking about what you are reading. It’s about picturing the concepts in your head, and how they fit in with your current knowledge. It involves asking questions, too. These techniques might make you read slower, but they will definitely help you make the material your own.

Summarize what you just read

One form of active reading is summarizing. Summarizing is a good way to make sure you actually remember what you just read. Once you finish reading the chapter, write down the main “take home” messages of the passage. Your summary doesn’t have to be fancy. A few bullet points will be enough. If you need some help, look at the headings of the chapter. Use them as guidelines for writing your summary. Your summary will help you remember what you’ve learned, and will be very helpful when it’s time to study for the exam.

You will most likely have to read many textbooks throughout your college career. These readings require you to be focused and dedicated in order to understand the subject. If you are focused, pay attention to the figures, and read actively, you should be able to make the most of your textbook reading time. Happy textbook reading!

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