Steps to Breeze Through a Course with a Heavy Reading Load

Even if you're an avid reader you have to draw the line somewhere. Sitting down for hours on end to go through this weeks heavy reading load can be frustrating and a miserable experience. Over the years, I have learnt and developed practical and efficient ways to get through courses with heavy assigned reading loads without pulling my hair out. More importantly, I can do so without omitting important information. Study tips are useful only if put into practice.

Practical and efficient ways to turn a whole lot of nothing into something

Learn The Art of Skimming

Textbooks and most research articles are already designed to help you to read through them easily. By this I mean most of what you need to know is already highlighted using bold fonts and headings or listed.

• Read the introduction of the chapter to get the gist of it.

• Focus on the chapter headings and sub-headings. Those provide insight into what the body is about and is basically a summary of what you need to know.

• Always read through the brief summary or key takeaway points at the end of the chapter.

• While doing the above, make brief notes so that you don't have to keep going through the textbook. Your notes will become your reference.

This process takes about 5-10 minutes. Once you have clarity on what you must know, it makes writing and remembering easy.

Doing your own research is important and this can come in many forms

Do Your Own Research

It is important to do your own research because it helps you to understand the concepts and ideas in your own words. Textbooks can sometimes be difficult to understand. Self-research allows you to breakdown what you need to know in simple ways that you can apply.

• Google always has articles, journals etc. that explain what you need to know in several different ways. Find the one that works for you. This is also a great way to confirm and back-up your claims by siting sources.

• YouTube everything that you need to be explained a bit more. It is also good to ask an expert that you may know about the topic or speak with a fellow colleague to get a deeper understanding

Make Your Own Notes/Jottings

Writing or recording information is historically a proven method used to remember new and old information. Your notes will become your source of information and the go-to place for refreshing your memory as opposed to constantly searching for information or referring to the textbook.

• Write down the key/major points

• Draw pictures and annotate them if you have to

• Review your notes multiple times and the textbook once

Join the 7 Day Challenge: Virtual Learning Made Practical to develop your study habits so that taking exams becomes easier.

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