Academic Literacy
Ch. 3: Reading for Study
Purposes
Cecilia Dube
The role of reading in our everyday lives
We read, amongst other reasons:
for entertainment
for specific information
to empower ourselves with general
knowledge of all kinds
to sharpen our powers of imagination
for academic success
READING FOR STUDY
PURPOSES
Reading-related Challenges Facing Students
Many students’ in their first year of university study
find
reading challenging because they:
find academic texts difficult to understand
do not spend enough time on reading assignments
or their own private study
think that reading a text once is sufficient
do not enjoy reading most academic texts
would rather skip difficult parts of a text than
spend time trying to understand it
are overly-reliant on lectures or other
presentations
prefer to read relevant chapters AFTER rather than
BEFORE lectures
Reading for Academic
Purposes
Reading with understanding at university
requires awareness of:
the different types of texts
the way information is presented in them
how to exploit knowledge of text type to
promote understanding
the appropriate strategies to apply to each
reading task
Different types of academic study
reading material: texts and textbooks
Texts and textbooks, which are
characterised by
the use of formal, academic language
non-fiction content
presentation of content in particular formats,
e.g.
introduction and conclusion
notions of thesis point or statement
paragraphs with topic and subsidiary sentences
Different types of academic study
reading material: journal articles
Journal articles, which present findings from
research, have the following basic
structure:
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Reading Purposes and
Strategies
At university, we read mainly for the following
purposes:
to find specific information
to have an overview of a text
for critical analysis of a text
for study purposes.
What to do Before, During & After
Make adequate preparations before you
settle down to read
Understand what you read during the
reading
Equip yourself with strategies for storing
what you read in your long-term memory
after your study session.
Reading for Study Purposes (1):
SQ3R
Be systematic by applying a tried and tested
study reading method. One such method is
SQ3R, which stands for:
Survey
Question
Read
Recite
Review
Survey
Before studying a chapter in a book, look at:
the chapter heading
sub-headings, if any
pictures, illustrations, or any other graphics
(read the captions, if any)
the first paragraph
the first sentence of each succeeding paragraph
the last paragraph
discussion questions, if any
Why you need to survey
Surveying is critical for preparing yourself for
reading in order to:
Get an overall picture of the content of a text
Decide what’s important or relevant to your
assignment
Locate the main points
Connect what you already know to what you
don’t know
Ensure that you have cleared your mind,
ready for the reading process. Ideally, you
should create a conducive environment for
study, i.e. one in which you are unlikely to be
Question
Turn the chapter heading into a question
Turn any sub-headings into questions
Create other questions based on:
the introduction
pictures, graphs, illustrations, etc.
the conclusion
Why you need to question
You need to question the chapter headings,
sub-headings, visual images, etc. so that
you:
Stay focused on the reading task
Give yourself a purpose for reading every
part of the text
Keep your interest levels high
Read
Be ready to integrate new knowledge with what you
already know as you start reading
Read interactively by annotating the text
underline or use a highlighter to identify main points
circle important definitions
mark unclear sections with question marks
use key words or symbol in the margin to mark
important points
group similar points by assigning them a number
take note of any patterns that identify the genre of the
text
NB. The implication of these points is that
you should never begin reading without a pen
and paper
Reasons for reading a
specific text
to gain information
to prepare for a lecture
to prepare for a discussion
to prepare for a test or an exam
Recite
Recite what you have just read by saying it
to yourself - aloud or silently, depending on
the environment
Focus on the main ideas
Ideally, recite each paragraph or section as
you go along
Write brief notes from what you have just
recited. DO NOT copy from the text
Why and when to recite
Why recite
It improves your concentration
It helps you remember the material
When you should recite
As you go along, i.e. immediately after
reading each section
Review
Go over your notes from the ‘Recite’ stage
Check them against the text for accuracy
Correct any inaccuracies after re-reading
the relevant section
Reading for Study Purposes
(2): SQ4R
SQR4 has an additional “R”:
Read
Recite
Review
Relate
* After reciting (i.e. repeating to yourself) what
you have just read and checking the accuracy
of your notes against the original text, you
relate it to what you already know.
Reading for Study Purposes (3): SQ5R
SQ5R has two R’s more than SQ3R:
Read
Respond
Record
Recite
Review
* In SQ3R, the second “R”, i.e. “Recite”, includes note
taking, which is presented as a separate step (“Record”)
in SQ5R.
* SQ5R has a step referred to as “Respond”, which refers to
the automatic process that occurs when a reader comes
across something that he/she recognises and responds to
it at the intellectual or emotional level. Particular attention
is paid to significant or important information here.
Reading for Study Purposes
(4): ECT
Supplement SQ3R, SQ4R or SQ5R with ECT,
which stands for:
Exploration: activate prior knowledge
before a lecture through
revising relevant notes, brainstorming
reading around the topic
Consolidation: reflect on prior and newly-
acquired knowledge; edit, re-write and
reorganise lecture notes
Testing: answer self-evaluation questions
READING GRAPHIC
INFORMATION
Types of Graphic
Information
Graphs
Charts
Tables
Diagrams
Illustrations/Photos
Getting the big picture
Read the text outside the image (title, date,
source, etc)
Read around the image (i.e. what is
measured and units of measurement)
Read inside the image (i.e. bars in a graph,
slices in a pie chart, images within a picture,
etc)
Process of interpretation
Begin by identifying the aim of the image and
its context
Focus only on those variables that are
relevant for your present purpose
Introduce your description by providing a
context for the contents of the image:
Why was the image produced?
Who produced it?
When was the information collected?
For whom?
If it is a graph, chart, table, etc, what is being
measured, against what?
Use the textual information outside the
image to introduce your analysis and
interpretation
Use full sentences in your description
Focus on the specifics according to the
purpose of your interpretation
Use linking words to produce coherent text
Developing A Wide
Vocabulary
One way of systematically expanding your
disciplinary vocabularies is to compile
glossaries of new words for all your
subjects.
For each one, draw a table with three
columns:
Column 1: new words
Column 2: everyday meanings
Column 3: specialized disciplinary meanings
* To learn the new words as effectively as
possible, add another column in which you
use them in sentences of your own.
Any questions?
References
Beekman, Dube, Potgieter & Underhill. (2016).
Academic Literacy, Second Edition. Cape Town:
Juta
- (n.d.) SQ3R. Retrieved on 12 October 2016 from
https://www.google.co.za/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=57YDWL
LxI42p8weIponwAQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=rfr.ch+-+1+
sq3r.3-revised_9.3.ppt
Brazosport College. 2018. SQ4R Reading Method.
Brazosport College. Available from:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search
?q=cache:http://brazosport.edu/programs/acad
emics/Learning-Frameworks/SQ4R/index
[Accessed 19 February 2019]
