Critical Reading for Graduate Students

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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?

Introduction

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

A true story: When I was doing my Master's one of my professors passed me a book which had nothing to do with his course or my field of study. He said gleefully, "I've been reading this interesting book. I thought you might enjoy it, too", and shoved it into my reticent hands. What a position he had put me in. On the one hand, I felt obligated to read this book since he chosen ME to read it. On the other hand, I was so swamped and overwhelmed with my own reading that the thought of having to open the front cover of this book made me feel nauseous.

Unlike undergraduate courses where some students do minimal reading and still succeed, graduate studies require a student read large volumes of information. Reading at graduate school is the way in which students glean new ideas, theories, models, etc that inform their theses and research papers. Grad students are asked to actively engage with the information they read. For example, a literature review requires a student to read with great breadth and depth within his/her research area and then synthesize the ideas into a unified whole. The number of documents that must be read, analyzed, and synthesized to compile a literature review can be mindboggling. So consider organizing a chunk of time each day to read. Daily reading will help you stay on top of your "in-tray", thereby, reducing stress and helping to maintain motivation.

To succeed in graduate school, you must have strong academic reading skills. Take a minute to assess your reading skills.

Reading Issues

This module covers the following issues related to reading:

1. Speed
2. Comprehension
3. Critical Reading
4. Retention/Recall
5. Volume of Reading
6. Focus and Concentration
7. Reducing Stress

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