Skills booster: Read faster, remember more

Don't start reading until your goal is clear. If you do, chances are you'll be flipping through (too) many pages and little will stick of what you've read. To stay focused and absorb information, you need to know what you are going to focus your attention on. And most importantly, what you will need to do later with what you have read.

Why are you going to read this? Are you reading to: 

• get an overview of a topic?
• find specific information?
• better understand difficult concepts from the lecture?
• assess whether an article is useful for a paper?
• answer questions or complete assignments?

If you know why you are reading a text, you will be better able to choose the right strategy.

Be selective about what you read, when you read it, and how much time you invest in it. If you have to read a chapter in preparation for a lecture, reading has a different function than when you have to read an article for a tutorial, in which you will discuss the content, for example.

In the first case, you can read through a chapter globally so that you already have an idea of what will be covered in the lecture. Then in 15-30 minutes you can go through the title, headings, any images and a summary, without having to understand and memorise everything already. After the lecture, you can use your notes to study things that you found difficult or that the lecturer dwelt on longer. You then take notes on these so that you can better understand and remember the content.

If you need to read articles in preparation for a tutorial or seminar, look at the context first. Is there a central topic? Are there questions or assignments you need to complete? Keep assignments or questions close and use them as a guide when reading. That way you avoid spending a lot of time reading irrelevant material.

If no assignment or topic is given, you can preview the reading first and then, depending on the type of course you are currently taking, determine which parts of the text are most relevant. In any case, try to briefly summarise the main idea of the text for yourself (e.g., the central problem (thesis) and answer) and make note of any questions you may have so that you can participate well-informed in the discussion.

Textbooks are not novels that you can "binge" for a while. So reading for hours at a time is not recommended. It can be done, but your absorption capacity is limited, so at some point it won't stick (anymore). Therefore, in addition to a concrete goal, make sure you set a time you want to associate with this activity. If necessary, you can use the pomodoro technique for this.

After a reading activity, take another look at your goal and formulate for yourself what you know or can do after studying your book or article. By doing so, you are actively engaged in knowledge construction and what you have read will also stick better.