Notes on Reading College Textbooks: Tips, Ebooks, Onscreen Reading

Useful Tips for Reading Any Textbook

• Read actively, but don't read textbook chapters from beginning to end. They aren't stories, even if narratives are embedded within them. Instead, preview the text by looking at titles, headings, illustrations, graphs, charts, and introductions. If the text includes outlines of the chapter's contents and end-of-chapter summaries, pay close attention to them. Try to figure out the chapter's main idea, paying particular attention to the first sentences of each paragraph, and read section by section.
• Pay particular attention to the study questions at the end of each chapter as you preview the text. The kinds of questions asked will give you clues on how to read it. If a text prompts you to “explain,” “define,” or “differentiate,” those are typical learning tasks. If a history text prompts questions like “What were the major events?” “What were the main crises?” “What were the primary purposes and strategies?” “How did this movement change over time?” “How did this movement transform the culture?” these tasks require synthesis and interpretation. Different prompts reflect different teaching goals and disciplinary emphases, so adjust your reading accordingly.
• As you read the chapter, take notes. Use a pencil, a separate notebook, or the note-taking feature of your learning management system to put the main ideas into your own words. In a science course, you might create a list of important terms and their definitions; in a humanities course, you might record significant people, texts, or events and what made them important. It’s important to do the exercises and sample problems in a math textbook. After reading the chapter, try to answer the study questions provided in the text. If you can’t answer one, go back to the chapter to find the answer.
• At the end of each section, write a brief SUMMARY of what you just read, ideally without looking at the section. Restate it in your own words to test your memory.
• Don’t try to do too much in one session. Work on a textbook assignment in chunks of twenty to thirty minutes. Then take a break and switch to a different subject.
• When you’re reviewing your reading, focus on the main ideas and concepts. Make an OUTLINE from memory, and then use the textbook and your own summaries to fill it in. Next, read through your course notes and look for connections between what was said in class and what the textbook says — they sometimes differ!

Reading Ebooks

• You are likely studying from one or more e-textbooks. Ebook versions often look and read like print texts, but there are differences.
• The table of contents may consist of links that take you directly to the chapter or section you need.
• A search tool may help you find information anywhere in the book and provide a glossary of terms if you need definitions.
• Important terms may be linked to definitions and additional information, accessible by a single click or mouseover.
• Embedded videos may offer additional information and brief lectures by the authors or other experts.
• Built-in highlighters and comment boxes let you annotate the ebook as you would a print text.
• A text-to-speech function may let you listen to the text as an audiobook.
• Embedded self-quizzes that check your work and explain the correct answer may allow you to see how well you understand a section or chapter’s contents.

READING ON SCREEN

• If you’re used to reading websites and social media posts, be aware that research shows we tend to read differently onscreen than we do in print: we skim and sample, often reading just a sentence or two before jumping to another site, and if we need to scroll, we may not bother. In general, we don’t read as carefully as print texts and are less likely to reread or take other steps if we don’t understand something.
• Strategies to read effectively onscreen:
  • Adjust your reading speed and effort to your purpose. Skimming and browsing are sensible for getting an overview or locating sources, but for evaluating a source, finding specific information, or learning course content, you’ll probably need to read more slowly and carefully.
  • Keep your purpose in mind as you read. Resist the temptation to click hyperlinks and bounce from site to site. Make a list of specific questions you’re seeking to answer to stay focused.
  • Print out longer texts. Reading online can be harder on the eyes and harder to remember information from long texts; printing out key texts can aid comprehension and memory.
  • If the text is long, use offline reading when possible. Download portions to read offline, and use the browser’s Print function to save pages as PDFs, helping you avoid online distractions.
  • Use search functionality to find key terms or concepts quickly. If a text lacks a search icon, use CTRL+F (Windows) or CMD+F (Mac).
  • Use bookmarks to flag material you want to revisit. Some ebooks let you customize bookmarks with titles and notes, which can serve as a study guide later.
  • Make the reading experience interactive. Use digital annotation tools like Hypothesis or Perusall, or use built-in note-taking tools and color-coded highlights (e.g., green for definitions, blue for examples). Engage with embedded quizzes, animations, audio, or other multimedia elements—the more you engage, the more you’ll learn from the material.