Study Skills for Higher Education: Reading and Note-Taking Methods

This essay explores essential study skills for higher education, focusing on reading techniques and note-taking methods to enhance learning and retention. It identifies effective reading strategies such as SQ3R, skimming, scanning, active reading, detailed reading, and structure-proposition-evaluation, highlighting how these techniques improve comprehension and efficiency. Additionally, the essay discusses various note-taking methods, including the list method, outlines method, concept maps method, and the Cornell method, emphasizing their role in helping students remember new information and stay organized. The conclusion underscores the importance of these study skills in promoting academic success and skilled task performance. Desklib provides a platform with past papers and solved assignments for students to further enhance their understanding and skills.

Study Skills for Higher
Education - Assessment 2
Individual essay

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Identification of important reading techniques that help students to become more efficient
readers..........................................................................................................................................1
Discussion on four methods of note taking that help students to remember new information....3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Study skills helps individual to become successful in its life as well as achieve goals and
objectives in effective manner Chen, 2020). It helps them to develop confidence, self-esteem and
competence effectively as well as reduce anxiety in effective manner. It also helps them to
improve their ability in order to learn and retain knowledge in appropriate manner. This essay
describes important reading techniques that help students to become more efficient readers as
well as it also describes methods of note taking that helps students to remember new information.
MAIN BODY
1. Identification of important reading techniques that help students to become more efficient
readers
Reading refers to an important communication method that enables students to convert
their writing into an effective meaning. Student are required to read a lot in their daily life in
order to learn new and effective information in effective manner. They were asked to read news
articles, research studies, web pages, textbooks, instructions from teachers and lecture slides in
order to learn more information in effective manner. Reading help students to increase their
reading comprehension by maintaining their global understanding (Cottrell, 2020). There are
many techniques available that helps students to enhance their reading skills as well as become
more efficient reader. It allows students to convert their written text into a meaningful language
with fluency, independence and comprehension in order to interact with their message in
effective manner.
The SQ3R Reading technique is an important reading technique that involves five steps.
Each steps helps students to get more closer to full understanding of the text. Survey is the first
of this technique, that provide quick ideas of the structure and content of the reading. It help
student to prepare their mind in order to read effectively. Question is the second step in which
students has to prepare questions for themselves in order to get over as they read the material. Its
third step is Read, it makes students to read content with the help questions in their mind. Fourth
step is Recite in which students has to come back in order to answer those questions that they
were created. Review is the last step in which student has to make mental notes in order to
analyse what they have learned or missed while reading the content.
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Skimming is also a reading techniques that help student to glance over the material in
order to find what they are looking for. This can be used effectively when the student know
about the general idea of particular text. Students can also skim material or text before further
reading. It can be used when student going over a speech in last minute, quick research or quick
review before the exam. It helps students in order to save their time by making them aware about
key points without fully understanding the entire text (Gachino and Worku, 2019). It makes them
to read the material in more deeply in their saved time. It makes students to quickly read the
contents or text which makes them to become more efficient reader as well as become more
successful in their future.
Scanning is an effective technique that help student to simply run their eyes in over the
text in order to find what they were looking for or find anything that are more important for
them. Students uses this techniques mainly for reading their daily, non academic tasks in
effective manner. Scanning can be used for reading list of email subjects, a food or drink menu
or news articles. Students should be flexible while reading the material in order to increase their
speed of reading in efficient manner.
Active reading refers to the reading technique that provides deeply understanding of text
to the student. Student used this techniques mainly when they are reading something more
complex as well as want critically thinking. Students must ask questions from themselves
throughout the text and reflect these questions while reading the text in order to read text
actively. Students should try to relate their reading to their previous knowledge and experiences
as well as takes notes in order to use them when needed. Students should read actively with the
help of new, difficult and unfamiliar material along with reading those that helps them to know
well.
Detailed reading are refers to the most time-consuming and labour intensive reading
techniques. In this technique, students should read, analyse and consume each words meaning in
careful manner. It provides deeper understanding by piecing together the meanings of each
words in sentence but it takes more time and patience (Hurst, 2018). It is considered best
techniques in order to use in some cases. Students can use this technique while reading medical
reports, scholarly research articles and poetic literature.
Structure-proposition-evaluation is a reading techniques and also known as SPE
techniques. It was given by Mortimer Adler in 1990 in his book ' How to Read a Book'. It states
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that, it is the best method in order to read a book by finding structure, author made propositions
and as well as students should create their own evaluations while reading a book. In order to use
this reading techniques, students should first analyse the structure of the text as well as make an
organised design layout in their mind or an paper. After designing the layout, students should
find the all logical propositions form each section of layout. After this, student should evaluate
the propositions and arguments in order to make their own conclusion about the reading in
effective manner.
Speed reading is a combination of different reading techniques that helps student to
increase their reading speed without compromising the understanding of the reading text in
effective manner (Mason, 2019). In this technique, student must identify words without focusing
on each other, not to sounding out all words, not sub vocalizing some phrases, spending less time
on some phrases than others and skimming small sections. This helps them to improve their
reading speed in effective manner.
Discussion on four methods of note taking that help students to remember new information
Notes are important for the students in order to understand the things in more effective
manner. Effective notes taking assist students to retain what they have learned during the class
or lecture by using study material in order to build their knowledge as well as tackle complex
concepts in effective manner. Keeping notes and handouts helps students to stay organised in
order to understand material or text in effective manner. Note taking is a process in which
student analyse, select and summarize important information so, the student can easily capture
and remember important information. It helps student to save time while studying or preparing
for the exam in effective manner. Notes taking strategies is an important way that helps students
to get success in effective manner (Mello and Wattret, 2021). It ensures active listening among
the students so, they properly understand that what their teacher says in the class. There are
different methods that help students in order to takes notes. Student can choose any methods
depends on their personal style as well as instructor's approach on the material.
The list method of note taking describes sequential listing of presented ideas. List consist
short phrases or complete paragraphs that describes ideas in more detailed manner. Students use
this method as a fallback when they have not learned from other methods. In this method lot of
writing is required so, the student may find that they are not keeping up with their professor. It
focused on capturing more information that instructor says but not processed information in
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effective manner. It is important for the student to review their notes as soon as possible after
their class as well as write summary of the class by using their own words (Winstone and
Carless, 2019). It is considered effective for the student in order to process or remember their
study material in effective manner. It is an effective method for those students who does not have
good study skills. It makes easier and simpler way for them in order to capture notes in effective
manner.
The outlines method of notes taking helps student understand the material by placing
most important ideas in left margin and numbered them in roman numerals. It intents supporting
ideas of the main concepts as well as noted with them capital letters. Further details are added
under in each of these ideas. It is a good method in order to use when the material is presented by
the instructor in well organised manner (Otunla and Amuda, 2019). It is an easiest method for
taking notes through computer. It allows student to prioritize their ideas in effective manner.
Students should use their syllabus in their early stage in order to determine those key ideas in
which instructor plans to present in class. It also helps them in reducing editing as well as it turns
main point into question in order to make review easier.
The concept maps method of notes taking helps students in their notes taking process by
placing their central ideas in centre of a page and after it student should add lines and new circles
in a page for obtaining new ideas. They also use lines and arrows in order to connect their
various ideas in effective manner. It is a great methods that display effective relationship
between ideas in appropriate manner. It harness the visual sense of students so, they understand
complex material in effective manner. It also provides flexibility in order to move one ideas to
another idea as well as come back easily on that idea. It helps in maximising their active
participation, emphasizing critical thinking and affords immediate knowledge in order to
understand study material in effective manner.
The Cornell method of notes taking uses two column approach and it is mostly
recommended in many colleges because of their flexibility and usefulness. It is a simplest
method used for capturing notes as well as helpful in defining priorities and it is also an very
helpful study tool (Pouratashi, 2019). It follows specific format which includes four boxes that
are one header, one footer and two columns. The header in the page is a small box placed on the
top of the page. In this student can write analysing information like course name and date of the
class. Under the header two columns are placed in which narrow one is placed on the left and
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wider on the right. The wider column is known as notes column that takes most of part of the
page and it was used for capturing notes. The left column refers to cue or recall column which is
used to highlight keywords, main ideas, clarifications, questions and other notes in effective
manner. Student can used this method in during the class as well as when reviewing their notes
after the class (Suleman, 2018). After this student used footer box for writing the summary of
their class in their own words. This helps in making sense in their notes for future and it is an
valuable tool that helps them in their studying and recalling in effective manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned essay, it is concluded that study skills in higher education
makes students more productive and skilled in order to perform their task in effective manner.
Reading skills helps students to improve their comprehension, become better reader as well as
score higher marks in their tests during the class. The SQ3R Reading technique, Skimming,
Scanning, Active reading, Detailed reading and Structure-proposition-evaluation are the most
important reading techniques that helps students to become more efficient reader. Notes taking
force students to pay attention as well as helps them to focus in class in effective manner. List,
outlines , concept maps and Cornell are four important method of notes taking that helps student
to capture and remember important information in effective manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Chen, K.Z., 2020. Coaching College Students’ Self-Directed Online Learning Skills. Change:
The Magazine of Higher Learning, 52(6), pp.48-56.
Cottrell, S., 2020. Teaching study skills and supporting learning. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Gachino, G.G. and Worku, G.B., 2019. Learning in higher education: Towards knowledge, skills
and competency acquisition. International journal of educational management.
Hurst, A., 2018. Reflecting on researching disability and higher education. In Disability and
Society (pp. 123-143). Routledge.
Mason, H.D., 2019. Evaluation of a study skills intervention programme: A mixed methods
study. Africa Education Review, 16(1), pp.88-105.
Mello, L.V. and Wattret, G., 2021. Developing transferable skills through embedding reflection
in the science curriculum. Biophysical Reviews, pp.1-7.
Otunla, A.O. and Amuda, C.O., 2019. Nigerian Undergraduate Students' Computer
Competencies and Use of Information Technology Tools and Resources for Study Skills
and Habits' Enhancement. In Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Library
Science, Information Management, and Scholarly Inquiry (pp. 90-102). IGI Global.
Pouratashi, M., 2019. Higher education and activities to improve students' employability
skills. Journal of Education for Business, 94(7), pp.433-439.
Suleman, F., 2018. The employability skills of higher education graduates: insights into
conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education, 76(2), pp.263-
278.
Winstone, N. and Carless, D., 2019. Designing effective feedback processes in higher education:
A learning-focused approach. Routledge.
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