the air

I am sure that many of you will agree with me when I claim that many college textbooks are boring, too wordy, and overly expensive. However, in many college courses, we are forced to read the textbook since many professors expect us to be responsible for the content. So what exactly is the best way to read these wordy and boring texts? If you can answer that question, please feel free to lead a campaign. In the meantime, I want to share with you how I cope with these so-called authoritatively boring textbooks.

College textbooks should not and, in many cases, cannot be read like a novel. Rather, you really have to interact with the book. So what exactly does interaction entail? Interaction with your textbook requires three simple steps:

1. Understand objectives of the chapter
2. Read paragraph headings prior to reading in detail
3. Work through the examples yourself

Understand the Objectives

Many textbooks have a page listing the following chapter’s objectives. I cannot tell you how many students simply skip this page without bothering to give it some credit. This page is extremely crucial since it literally outlines the content of the chapter for you. In addition, it also acts as a goal list since your goal is to learn everything in the chapter and those objectives pertain to most of the material. Once you are done reading the chapter, you should be able to explain, in detail and in your own words, what exactly each objective is talking about. To sum it all up, the objectives page serves as a checklist to ensure that you know the material contained within the chapter comfortably. From my own experience, it helps me prepare for exams quickly and lets me hone in on the material that I am struggling with, not material that I already know. Thus, it trims that amount of material I need to actually re-read and strengthen. On a side note, most textbooks have a chapter summary at the end of each chapter. Be sure to use this section in junction with the objective page to reinforce the knowledge.

The question that lingers is, “what if my book doesn’t have an objectives page before the start of each chapter?” That should be no problem for you. Look at this as an opportunity to grow even more. If your textbook does not have an objectives page or a chapter summary at the end, do not worry. What you should do is divide the chapter into equal parts. Generally, I like to divide a chapter into 3 - 5 parts. As I read each part, I summarize the information and take my own notes. Once my notes are complete, I go back and design a general outline of my notes. From this, I am able to create a rudimentary objective list which I can use to quiz myself. The process is time consuming, but it is a sure way of guaranteeing myself a very good grade.

Skim the Chapter First

Skimming the chapter will give you a preview of the content that lays ahead. Think of this step as a tool that will help you develop a game-plan. In many sports, coaches will obtain videos of games their opponents have played and analyze them carefully. Skimming the chapter is a similar concept. You are simply previewing the game and you will formulate an effective plan to help accomplish your goal. The purpose behind skimming is to help you determine what is the best method to tackle the material. In addition, skimming will help you understand what concepts will be tricky and what concepts will be easy, in addition to what content lays ahead. When I skim a chapter, I generally read the text in bold such as section headings and paragraph headings. Another good approach is to pose these headings as questions. Once you are done reading each section carefully, you should be able to go back and answer those heading questions that you just developed.

Work With The Examples

Finally, the third step concentrates on the examples presented within the chapter. It is to your advantage to carefully work on the example problems along with the text and understand how the answer is derived. Many students fail to carefully study the examples and when it comes time for homework, they are left clueless. In addition, if you work on the examples along with the book, you will become accustomed to the methodology and the terminology. Working on the example does not mean you “read” it. It means that you take out a sheet of paper and re-write the problem and then solve it. You should also make some side notes on how you solved the problem and what theories were required to solve it. This is a very crucial step and should not be neglected.

Conclusion

Reading a textbook should not be a hassle. In addition, it is not a process that can be simply done in a few minutes. It is time-consuming and requires careful attention. What I have written today is just some steps that you should consider taking when attempting to read your textbook. It is imperative that you take your own notes while reading. This concept is known as active reading. Active reading allows you to retain the knowledge for longer periods and strengthens your familiarity as well. Reading a boring textbook is a daunting task. Unfortunately, many of us have no choice but to read to succeed. Therefore, rather than pretending to read the textbook, let’s actually read it and maybe try to understand the material. At least if you read the textbook and you still fail to understand the material (which is quite popular amongst all students), you can at least approach the professor and have grounds to encourage him or her to help you with the material. Most professors and many teaching assistants do not even bother to assist those who do not spend the time to read the material. As a TA, I strongly encourage all my students to read prior to coming to my office hours. Those who don’t, I tend to frown upon them and help them once I am done helping those who have completed the reading. So fear not, and read to succeed.

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