Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Owning YOUR Reading


In order to process the Freakonomic’s reading I annotate the text by underlining the key points, and placing numbers on ideas that are connected to one another. I try to make it a habit to summarize parts of the reading. It’s important to interact with the reading, so it helps to jot down my thoughts on what I agree, disagree, or have questions on. When I continue to read my questions tend to get answered. I circle the words I don’t understand, look them up, write them in the book, and make sure to understand what the author is trying to express. Since I enjoy the topics they bring up, I can read through the book in 2-3 sittings with 45 minutes each or less. Since I’m always on the go, I tend to do it on Bart or a car ride.
            My recommendations to people who don’t enjoy reading would be, take notes, and don’t forget to look up words or expressions you don’t understand because without it you can lose the authors main points. I strongly suggest not racing through the text; if you cannot focus take small breaks. One last note, don’t believe everything you read; challenge the reading by pointing out their contradictions or bring out your own facts. This will help you keep an ardent attitude. 

2 comments:

  1. Jen, this is great advice, especially for somebody like me who doesn't like to read. You have really good points and I notice that you do annotate a lot, which is very helpful. Keep it up!

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  2. Hey Jennifer, cool blog post! I found the annotation strategy useful as well.

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