This notes will be sharing with you some tips on effective reading.

1. HOW TO READ
SUCCESSFULLY
BY:
NOOR HAZARINA HASHIM, PhD
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
27 DECEMBER 2018

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And you thought you had a lot to read
in your undergrad program…….
Welcome to Grad School!

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4. BIG CONCEPT
Bring the attention of your audience over a key concept using icons or illustrations
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5. WHAT IS
READING?
READING
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▪ A cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning
from the text.
▪ Reading consist of two related process:
a) Word Recognition : process of perceiving how written
symbols is written symbols correspond to one’s spoken
language.
b) Comprehension: The process of making sense of words,
sentence and connected text.

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Self-reflection questions
 How strong are my reading skills?
 Am I reading fast enough?
 Do I read with a critical eye?
 Do I manage the vast amount of information I need
to read?

7. Reading
Comprehension
- the ability to
fully understand
what is being
read
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8. Issues
Related To
Reading…
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1. SPEED
The speed of reading is determine by:
1. Purpose: Leisure, Seek for Argument
2. Nature & Difficulty: depends on background knowledge and
complexity of material
3. Internal Structure: Fixating and Regressing Experiments with
slow readers show that not only do these readers look at every
word (called ‘fixation’), their eyes jump back to previously seen
words (called ‘regression’).

9. How to
improve
speed?
▪ Preparation 0: Is the right paper?
▪ Preparation 1:
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• Conditioning your eye
• Skimming: SKIMMING IS READING.
• Building your vocabulary: For second language
speakers of English, vocabulary acquisition, both
academic and non-academic, is an ongoing and daily
process. Strive to learn a few new words each week.
• Improve concentration
• Improve memory and recall
• Reduce subvocalization
• Reduce interruptions, procrastination and stress

10. Issues
Related To
Reading…
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2. COMPREHENSION
There are three types of reading comprehension
Content reading – Understanding the
information
Empathic reading – Understanding the
spirit of the message
Critical reading – Combine the first two
with analysis and evaluation

11. 1.
Let’s start with the
first set of slides
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12. How to read
a research
paper?
▪ Preparation 0 : Is the right paper?
▪ Preparation 1: Print the paper, have a stack of paper for note-taking.
▪ Preparation 3: Reading a paper is adifficult task, a very difficult task.
It requires con
▪ Preparation 4: Skimming through the paper.
▪ Identify the types of the document
- Abstract: Please read closely
- Introduction: Usually, the introduction also summarises the contributions of the
paper to the area (more verbosely than the abstract). Read this carefully, and take
some notes to remind yourself later on.
- Conclusion: You’ll find a more detailed summary of the contributions, and their
context – how they performed compared to similar techniques, what impact their
contribution
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13. How to read
a research
paper?
▪ Preparation 5 : Reading the paper. Read critically,
▪ Preparation 6: After Reading the Paper
- Put the paper aside and think about it, and how it is related to
your interest and work.
- Rewrite the notes into concise ones, with sufficient detail to
allow you to recall the paper contents in a year’s time.
- Think about the paper, and compare to related work.
- Reread your notes in a couple of days to make sure that they
still make sense, and that you have left nothing important out.
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14. Issues
Related To
Reading…
14
3. CRITICAL READING
Critical reading involves evaluating and judging the accuracy of
statements, soundness of the reasoning that leads to conclusion.
What to consider when reading critically?
Content reading – Understanding the
information
Empathic reading – Understanding the
spirit of the message
Critical reading – Combine the first two
with analysis and evaluation

15. Issues
Related To
Reading…
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4. RETENTION
61% of what you read is lost after the first hour
and
100% is lost after 24 hours unless….
You revisit the information.

16. Issues
Related To
Reading…
16
5. VOLUME – TOO MUCH!
Keep on Top of the Pile: On your daily schedule, set aside a
block of time called ‘Reading’, preferably at the same time each
day so you become habituated to a reading routine.
Reduce Volume: to essential things and then read them in the
way appropriate to that specific task.
Read for Purpose: e.g. get an overview; read to do an
assignment; read for studying (reading to access information), in-
depth insight into a theory, argument, process; prepare for a
seminar
Don’t Panic: Don‘t let the reading list on the syllabus scare you.
Professors don‘t expect you to read it all. They are simply giving
you additional reference, insights into topic, etc.

17. Issues
Related To
Reading…
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6. FOCUS AND
CONCENTRATION
• Minimize distractions e.g. email, kids
• Know your best concentration span for reading
and stick to it and then take a break. Try the 50-10-
50 technique: 50 minutes reading, 10 minute
break, 50 minutes reading.
• Don’t try to read when tired
• If you are a kinesthetic /tactile learner, you need to
DO something while you read.

18. Credits SOME USEFUL RESOURCES:
CRITICAL READING FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
https://sass.queensu.ca/wp-
content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/Critical-reading-for-
graduate-students.pdf
How to read a paper?
http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/gordon.pace/Teaching/HowToRead
APaper/HowToReadAPaper.pdf
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