If your semester is anything like mine, you will at some point be tasked with reading something difficult. Perhaps it will be filled with jargon, packed full of tough concepts or just plain long. I used to hate challenging reading assignments, but only because I went into them with the wrong attitude. However, with some patience and the right studying techniques they have turned into some of my favorite readings. I want to share some strategies I use to help me tackle the incomprehensible and come out with a better understanding and appreciation of it.
First, it is useful to stop thinking of challenging reading as a purely individual activity. Often we get in the habit of reading in our down time, which is perfectly reasonable for most of the media we consume. When it comes to truly challenging writing, however, this can be frustrating. When a concept isn’t easy the first time around, trying to grasp it independently might not be the best way to go.
My first suggested strategy for challenging reading is to talk about the material with someone you know. Even just trying to articulate what you are learning can help you remember the important parts and clarify what you still need to learn. As opposed to ordinary study sessions that can be too focused on memorization, a friendly conversation encourages you to actually try and put the material in your own words. By seeking out a friend outside the class to discuss the reading with, you can get a feel for what you really understood and see if you need to look at the material in more depth.
Second, it pays to take it slow. I long had a tendency to try and speed through reading assignments as fast as possible, but often when I would return to the assignments I could recall very little. Challenging reading can’t be viewed the same way as math practice problems, which are designed to get us to learn and re-learn through repetition; it is hard to get the first time, and requires careful attention to details. Reading at a slower pace, as well as taking breaks in between can make the learning process easier.
Third, it can help to try some new note-taking methods. When dealing with easy material, it is simple enough to just write down the main concepts in a piece of writing to reference later. When a writing takes a while to comprehend this can be much more difficult. The main points of the work might not be obvious at first and might only become clear once the reading is finished. Notes on challenging reading also might have to be more detailed to fully capture the complexity of the material.
A helpful method I found was to focus on what I didn’t know within my notes. I would jot down everything I didn’t understand throughout the reading, allowing me to go back after I finished to see if things got cleared up. These notes also served as a helpful tool in the next class, when I could ask the professor about anything that I didn’t understand. Writing down what I didn’t get, as opposed to only the things I did, helped me to figure out where I was going wrong and what the main points of the work were.
The most important part is preparation. Each person studies in their own way, and I’m certain there are hundreds of acceptable methods for tackling difficult material. I don’t intend to say that any one way to read complicated material is wrong. Instead, I want to encourage you to think about the issue and develop your own strategies. If you have a feeling that a future reading won’t be easy to understand the first time around, start planning ahead and figuring out ways to get the most out of it.
Now I’ve learned that challenging material can even be “fun,” provided I do things right. It can be rewarding to puzzle over a concept and finally understand it with some effort. By developing your own strategies for tackling difficult reading, you can finish these assignments with a deeper understanding and a more fulfilling experience.