Biomedical and physical sciences: Active reading approaches
You probably feel like this at exam time when you’re studying a subject such as anatomy
or physiology, where the textbook is thick and the details seem to have no end. This
is not surprising, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you do feel like this, you
need to start reading in a different way. It’s not necessary to read from the first
line to the last as though all the text is equally important to your study.
You need to learn to skim and scan for the information you really need, and this means
that you need to know what you are looking for from your course objectives. Skimming
means to read the first sentence in each paragraph or section… And scanning means to look for
the specific word that you need on the page.
When you read, you need to approach the text by getting a rough overview at first. You
need to identify the key messages or the most important concepts first. On your subsequent
readings, you can read around these central points, refining and defining the details
as you go. You cannot and should not read to get a fine grain picture all at first.
You need to set up the structures in your own mind before you can absorb the finer points.
The question is: How fine a detail do you want to go down to? That will be determined
firstly by the course objectives and the lectures, and secondly, the time you have available
before the exam. So even if your study time is limited, it is better to have a general
overview of the section, rather than having no information at all. When you read,
you need to read with purpose. In other words you need to have some question in mind. Unless
you’re looking for something in particular, very little will stick with you as you wander
through the text. What you are looking for should be given by your course objectives.
If you’re fortunate to have objectives for each lecture or topic, then be guided by these
by all means. If your course subjects are less specific, then you might use some of
the reading objectives provided by the text.
Here is a page from the text. It details a section about capillaries. As you can see
here, there is a reading objective that you should keep in mind while you are reading
through the whole section. if you want to study the topic more comprehensively, look
at the section headings and the subheadings, because these will flag the landmarks of the
topic. And the main points relating to these headings will be mentioned early in that section.
If you want to refine your study even further, start looking at the topic sentences at the
beginning of each paragraph. Here, these are introducing the three types of capillaries
and the small paragraph details special varieties of the continuous capillaries. And fortunately
in this text, you are also guided by the keywords being printed in bold.
The language of a textbook might seem quite dense and inaccessible to begin with. This
will be the case if you’re new to the subject of anatomy and physiology, and it may feel
especially true if English is not be your first language, but do not despair! Even if
the language seems complex, the concepts that are described are not necessarily as complex
as they sound. And remember, you need to understand the information, not reproduce the language.
In time, as you become more familiar with the new terminology, you will be able to use
it more fluently.
Also, if English is not your first language and you feel much more comfortable working
in your mother tongue, it is reasonable to make notes at first in your own language to
consolidate your understanding. You will, however, need to follow this up with an English
version very soon, because this is what you must use and understand in the exam.
Here is an example of translating the text into simple terms. Read and understand what
the text is saying, and this may require several readings.
Then, rewrite it in simple terms that are easy to understand. I cannot stress enough
the value of rewriting it. Underlining or highlighting text only identifies where the
information is sitting on the page. Making notes, and in your own words that is, forces
you to internalise the information. By the time you get to revising before the exam,
you will be able to put into practice some of the expressions and terminology that seemed
so difficult at the start.
If you are a visual thinker, you could use mind maps to represent the information. Mind
maps are great because you can always return to them and add detail around more and more
bubbles on the map. Keep in mind, though, that for long answer questions or essay questions,
you should still practice putting your ideas into sentence form.
In summary: Do not try to learn everything on the page
at once. Start with an overview, and refine your understanding
each time you review the information.
Do not read just for the sake of reading. If you look for nothing in particular, nothing
in particular will stick.
Have a question in mind that you are seeking to resolve. This will act like a magnet that
a lot of other information will stick to.
Finally, simplify the language at every stage so that you really understand what it
is that you’re saying.