Library Basics Week 6: Active reading and critical reflection
Have you ever driven home from work or uni and realised that you don’t remember the journey at all? We frequently do repetitive or familiar tasks passively, going through the motions to get from point A to point B.
This can happen with reading as well; unfortunately, that can cause issues in your study. Rather than turning the pages and glazing over information, you need to build up the skills of active reading and critical reflection to really understand a text. Here are some tips that will help you develop those skills.
Become an active reader
If you want to read actively, it is important to know why you’re reading or engaging with something. In particular: what are you trying to find out from the work, and how will you be using the information? If you are researching for an assessment, the assessment question can form the basis for your purpose.
Some strategies that can help you save time and retain information more easily:
- Take notes as you read or engage with the resource.
- Make a note of words you don’t understand, then look up their meanings.
- Ask yourself questions about the topic.
- Write a summary of the piece in your own words after you have read it.
- Represent the information graphically. For example, you could draw a picture or create an argument map or a mind map.
Discover more tips and ideas on our Active reading resource guide.
Engage in critical reflection
Critical reflection involves thinking about your own experiences, while also drawing on other sources to assist this process. Doing this will help you increase your self-awareness, engage in ongoing learning, and improve your professional and learning practice.
Infographic source: https://deakin.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=49990213
Critical reflection is about more than merely remembering things that you have experienced. It is an active process of asking questions about your thoughts, feelings and actions. Additionally, you could consider how you might change the way you do things to improve your work and study practices, allowing you to achieve better outcomes for yourself and your colleagues or study partners.
Writing your reflections on paper is a good way to make the process active. Many study skills books (e.g. Cottrell; Moore, Neville, Murphy, and Connelly) recommend keeping a learning journal. In this journal, you would describe what learning activities (attending lectures, making notes, reading, etc.) you have undertaken, and reflect on how effective they have been.
Learn more about critical reflection on our Critical reflection for assessments and practice resource guide.
Get further help
As always, if you have any questions that need a more personalised response, we encourage you to get in touch with us via Library Chat or contact the Scholarly Services Librarian who specialises in your subject area for further advice.
Are you in your first trimester at Deakin or returning to study after a break? We’ve got you covered. Each week, we’re sharing a tip, tool or service we think you should know about. The Library is key to your success at uni – make the most of everything we have to offer by following our Library Basics series.
Next week’s Library Basics blog will cover advice on taking good physical and digital notes. Subscribe to Article to get the latest blogs from Deakin Library directly in your inbox.