1. Successful Reading Strategies
Kay McEachran
Will Hall
Academic Skills Centre
(Image taken from

2. Q. Where to start ?
A. Read selectively

3. How? Read with purpose –only read texts which are useful to you
BE A SMART READER (only read texts that are useful to you)
Skim & scan (for information)
Read with a purpose (ask questions)
Read with purpose –only read texts which are useful to you
Skim & scan – text which is useful to you for information

4. Be a smart reader – Read Selectively
Ask –why you are reading a text?
Use what you already know about a topic
Consider what information you need to get from your reading
Look for clues in seminar/lecture notes to guide your reading/research
Break down your essay question
USE SCANNING AND SKIMMING TO HELP SELECT RELEVANT TEXTS
There will be more on this in our online guide to essay planning and writing
Assessing whether or not a text is relevant
BE SELECTIVE – nobody reads everything
Ask students how they select their reading?
Good start – core reading. This should contain general information you need to know about a topic

5. SELECT/FILTER READING MATERIAL
NOT RELEVANT
RELEVANT
MAYBE
SELECT/FILTER READING MATERIAL
Of course You will be given reading lists by your lecturer which contain texts which are relevant to your course. Many of these lists will contain core texts(i.e.) reading that is necessary.
However, outside of these core readings these lists may also contain texts which are not so relevant. For instance, they may be geared towards specific modules or essay questions. It is therefore important that you are able to select or filter reading material so that you read texts that are relevant and appropriate for your purposes.
ALSO –when it comes to dissertation time/maybe even before, since some courses require you to make up your own essay questions –you will definitely

6. Why is it important to filter?
Keeps you focused on the topic at hand
Saves time
Helps you to stay focused –this is important as it will prevents you from reading material that is not useful –even if it is interesting
This in turn helps reduce stress and also saves time.
Stops you from reading unnecessary material which can be overwhelming
(Images taken from

7. Assessing a text’s relevance
Look at the essay question below –you will need to analyse the question and break it down and identify key words/terms. This will help you answer the question.
In the last 10 years, cyberbullying among teenagers using social media has increased dramatically in Western countries. Critically analyse some of the different explanations given for this phenomenon. In your discussion you should consider what implications these explanations might have for young people’s emotional health & wellbeing.
Look at the essay question above –you will need to analyse the question and break it down in order to select relevant texts

8. Assessing a text’s relevance
In the last 10 years, cyberbullying among teenagers using social media has increased dramatically in Western countries. Critically analyse some of the different explanations given for this phenomenon. In your discussion you should consider what implications these explanations might have for young people’s emotional health & wellbeing.
Look at the essay question above –you will need to analyse the question and break it down in order to select relevant texts

9. Assessing a text’s relevance
Look at the article titles on the next slide. If you were attempting the cyberbullying essay topic how would you categorize them into not relevant, relevant, and maybe?

10. (ANSWERS ON NEXT 3 SLIDES)
In the last 10 years, cyberbullying among teenagers using social media has increased dramatically in Western countries. Critically analyse some of the different explanations given for this phenomenon. In your discussion you should consider what implications these explanations might have for young people’s emotional health & wellbeing.
Cyberbullying and its Risk Factors Among Chinese High School Students (Zhou et al, 2013)
The Origins of Increased Teenage Suicide Rates in the UK (Jones, 2015)
3. The Growth of Social Media Use in the UK Workplace (Wilson, 2008)
4. Reasons for Increased Social Media (Mis)Use among Schoolchildren in the US (Miles, 2017)
The Impact of the Increased Popularity of the World Wide Web (Thomas, 2005)
6. Physical Violence Among Pupils in UK Secondary Schools: Statistics (Collins, 2015)
7. The Impact of Social Media on the Psychological Wellbeing of Children (Smith, 2016)
Look at the above article titles. If you were attempting the cyberbullying essay topic how would you categorize them into relevant, not relevant and maybe? (answers on next slide)
(ANSWERS ON NEXT 3 SLIDES)

11. NOT RELEVANT X
3. The Growth of Social Media Use in the UK Workplace (Wilson, 2008)
Although this article looks at social media –it concentrates on the workplace –not on teenagers.
The Impact of the Increased Popularity of the World Wide Web (Thomas, 2005)
This article is about the internet in general –not social media. It is also over 10 years old.
Physical Violence Among Pupils in UK Secondary Schools: Statistics (Collins, 2015)
This is a report containing statistics –not explanations. It is also about physical abuse –not cyberbullying.
Look at the above article titles. If you were attempting the cyberbullying essay topic how would you categorize them into relevant, not relevant and maybe? (answers on next slide)

12. RELEVANT ✓
The Origins of Increased Teenage Suicide Rates in the UK (Jones, 2015)
Although the terms cyberbullying or social media do not appear in this title, suicide is related to psychological wellbeing. Also, suicide among teenagers has been related to cyberbulllying and abuse via social media (this relates to implications). The term ‘origins’ suggests that the article will be concerned with providing explanations.
Reasons for Increased Social Media (Mis)use among Schoolchildren in the UK (Miles, 2017)
Again, the title does not mention cyberbullying directly. However,it does mention the misuse of social media among schoolchildren. We can therefore be fairly confident that some of this article will touch upon teenagers (schoolchildren) and cyberbullying (misuse). Also, the term ‘reasons’ suggests the article will provide explanations.
7. The Impact of Social Media on the Psychological Wellbeing of Children (Smith, 2016)
This title does not mention cyberbullying, but it does look at the link between social media and the psychological wellbeing of children. Since cyberbullying has been shown to have a detrimental impact on psychological wellbeing and most children using socal media are teenagers – we can expect this title to contain useful information. In addition the term ‘impact’ suggests the article will be concerned with examining implications.
Look at the above article titles. If you were attempting the cyberbullying essay topic how would you categorize them into relevant, not relevant and maybe? (answers on next slide)

13. MAYBE ???
Cyberbullying and Its Risk Factors Among Chinese High School Students (Zhou et al, 2013)
Although this title specifically looks at cyberbullying among high school students (teenagers) as well as the risk factors (implications) – the article concentrates on China, which is not a Western country. Nevertheless, the article may still give you some good ideas for explanations and implications. However, any evidence given in this article to support the explanations and implications will not be relevant when answering this question. Try to find Western evidence/examples to back them up.
Look at the above article titles. If you were attempting the cyberbullying essay topic how would you categorize them into relevant, not relevant and maybe? (answers on next slide)

14. Scanning
Skimming
(Image taken from openphotonet_magnify04.JPG)

15. Scanning
Scanning is really fast reading to find a specific piece of information without fully understanding the whole text. Scanning is used when:
 you use reference works such as a dictionary, encyclopaedia, phone directory, TV listings
you search for answers to specific questions among lengthy or many resources (e.g. names, dates, places…)
Now going to look at scanning and skimming. They are 2 specific reading techniques which enable you to cover a vast amount of material very rapidly. These techniques are similar in process, but very different in purpose.
You already use scanning techniques without fully realizing it : for instance, when you look up the meanings of words in dictionaries or search tv listings for a particular programme
(Image taken from

16. How to scan?
Step 1:  Take a few minutes to preview the material and see how it is organized.  Look for clues that might help, such as key words, bullet points, numbers, underlining, bolding, italics, headings and font sizes.  Step 2:  Move your eyes quickly down the page to find specific words and phrases.  Avoid reading every word.  Only focus on finding the information that answers your questions. Step 3:  After you find the key words and phrases, slow down and read the section carefully to answer your questions.

17. Skimming
Skimming is reading something very quickly to get an overview of the main ideas in a reading passage. You should skim at least twice as fast as you usually read and make sure NOT to read every word. You don't need to get the details - just the main ideas!
Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.
Skimming for an overview and for key points
(Image taken from

18. How to Skim?
Step 1: Read the introduction at your usual speed and ask yourself “What is this about?” Step 2: Read the conclusion/ last paragraph of the passage at your usual speed and ask yourself "What does the author think about this topic?“. It should sum up what the author has been saying. Step 3: As soon as you understand the main idea, go to the 2nd paragraph. Read only the first sentence (also known as the topic sentence). Remember that you don’t have to know the details. You only have to learn the main idea about the passage. Make sure to read as quickly as possible. Step 4: Read only a few words in each paragraph after that. You should look for words that tell you about the main idea. Often they are at the beginning of the paragraph, but they may also be at the end.

19. THERE NOW FOLLOW SOME EXERCISES WHICH TEST YOU ON YOUR SELECTIVE READING STRATEGIES:
There are some scanning exercises
There is also a reading exercise which is designed to test all of your selective reading abilities:
1) scanning
2) skimming
3) assessing the relevance of text