University study involves a lot of reading. There is no way around this and nor should there be.
This is because uni study, especially in the social sciences, requires critical evaluation of complex historical contexts, ideologies and philosophies, policy documents, and current events, from the perspective of multiple diverse sources. If you want to do well in at uni, active and critical reading are the core skills to develop.
To that end, I’m going to explain why reading is important and briefly show you how to read consciously, by approaching it as an active process, as critical evaluation, and as a daily practice.
Reading as a process
Reading at university is not a passive exercise, it’s an engaged interactive process.
Active and critical reading are the crux of university study because this type of engaged reading enables you to deeply interact with complex texts, question your assumptions and those of others, and construct well-informed arguments, all of which is essential for academic success.
Let’s tease out what I mean by active and critical reading…
- Active reading is a dynamic process where you engage with a text by questioning, annotating, and summarising its content to enhance comprehension and critical thinking.
- Critical reading is the process of analysing and evaluating a text by assessing its arguments, evidence, and underlying assumptions to form an independent judgement.
Mastery of active and critical reading is a foundational skill of academic study and THE most important contributor to your success.
Active reading
Just like in the image above, an active reader highlights key passages and makes notes about the texts they read. In identifying key passages you are thinking through a reasoned interpretation of the text. That’s an active thinking process!
The notes you add can tease out why you think those passages are important as well as any further implications of that point that are relevant to your assignment (or just plain interesting!).
Summarising and paraphrasing are also active thinking processes because they prompt you to make choices in defining what’s important about the text and explain the meaning of the text in your own words.
Approach your reading with an inquisitive mind! Active reading should prompt you to ask as many questions as it answers and encourage you to dive deeper into the topic of the text. Asking good questions is another applied thinking skill that will enhance the value of your reading experience.
Critical reading
The quality and accuracy of your sources matters, so it is essential to assess them carefully. Here’s what to look for:
Core argument: Identify the main points that the source is trying to make and evaluate whether you find them convincing.
Evidence: Look for the evidence that the author/s use to support their core argument and supporting ideas. Evaluate whether this evidence is accurate and relevant to the argument being made.
Credibility: Investigate the author/s background to see if they are qualified to write authoritatively on their topic.
Purpose: Consider why the information in this source is being published. To do this, identify the target audience and whether the source has been written to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade. The style and tone of the writing will be instructive here.
Potential biases: Think about how the author/s professional background and political leanings might influence the argument they make in the text, and how political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases might be reflected in the text itself. Likewise, consider how the ideological position of the publisher might influence the argument and tone of the source.
Currency: Check when the source was published to see if it represents the most up-to-date information on your topic. If you’re doing historical research, think about the context of the time in which your source was published to make sure its relevant.
Observations on these points are what you might include in the notes you compile while reading the text.
You could get your favourite AI to summarise texts for you, but if you skip the active reading process you won’t learning anything. If you don’t learn anything, it’s just wasted labour.
Pro’s and con’s of different types of text
There are different types of texts that you’ll come across in your studies. Each type of text has a specific style, purpose and audience, and will play a different role in your learning journey.
Peer-reviewed literature
The most important types of texts you’ll read at university are peer-reviewed books and journal articles. Peer-reviewed academic literature is scholarly work that has been evaluated and approved by experts in the field for its accuracy and quality.
Peer-reviewed studies are superior to other sources of information because to get published they undergo rigorous evaluation by experts to ensure accuracy, credibility, and scholarly rigour in their research design, data and write-up. Your campus or public library is the place to find peer-reviewed sources.
Primary documents
Of great importance to academic study are primary documents, which are original materials such as government records, letters, speeches, or data sets, created at the time of an event that offer direct evidence for historical or political analysis.
Note that primary documents are raw sources of information; as scholars and analysts, our job is to interpret this information to understand its meaning.
Grey literature
Grey literature is another useful source of information. Grey literature refers to published materials including reports and policy briefs produced by international organisations, think tanks or non-government organisations that provide valuable but less formal insights.
These are usually produced to provide easily digestible information that can be read quickly by busy decision-makers.
News media
News media sources provide reporting on and perspectives on current events, as seen in newspapers and online news media.
These sources are short-form and report what happens in current events.
They generally do not analyse why events occur. It is our job as analysts to evaluate these as raw sources of information and define their significance to our area of study.
Audio-visual sources
Finally, we will also share audio-visual sources. AV materials combine sound and visual elements, such as documentaries, news broadcasts, podcasts and online videos that offer an engaging and accessible way to explore topics.
These are excellent to use as backgrounders or explainers, and to capture the immediate emotional flavour of a topic. I love YouTube and TikTok just as much as you do and they can a wonderful compliment to reading practice.
However, while videos on TikTok or YouTube are a fun watch, they are not where you’ll find the most deep, detailed and reliable exploration of topic content at the required level.
Reading as a practice
I encourage you to make reading a daily practice. Just as a pro athlete trains their body through regular exercise and repetition of skills, academic scholars train our brains through the regular practice of active and critical reading. The more you do it, the more you’ll get into the flow.
Edge Dwellers Café 