When you have decided that the text is helpful, and which parts of the text you will read based on your time constraints and purpose, it is time to read. Read carefully to ensure you understand it, remembering the questions you want to answer.
As you read you might like to highlight and/or take notes. You might find it beneficial to skim read a section through once and then highlight and take notes as you read through a second time, this time more deeply.
An important way to read actively is to critically evaluate the texts as you read. It is a good idea to jot down your evaluations as you read, while they are fresh.
The questions below can be used to guide your evaluation:
Always keep these questions in mind as you read and note down any which may be needed to show critical evaluation in your work. In an assignment you should provide your reader with the appropriate information to evaluate the source or the topic.
Another question to ask as you critically read is, "What type of information is the author using?". When you have identified this, it is best to actively engage with the reading in a way that matches the types of information you are reading.
The type of essential information varies between disciplines, but the common ones can be categorised using the acronym PECKS: Practical; Evidence; Conceptual; Key terms; Sundry. Think about a bird with a tray of different seeds, how does it sort out the seeds it wants to eat – it PECKS. This is a strategy to help you sort out what you read.
You might find it helpful to:
| P |
Practical Information
|
| E |
Evidence
|
| C |
Conceptual
|
| K |
Key terms and people
|
| S |
Sundry
|
As you read, identify which type of essential information you are reading. If you want to highlight, do so based on a system such as PECKS.
Have a look through each of the tabs below to learn more about each category of information and how to identify it while you are reading.
When reading, you will often find information that explains how a concept is used in the real world. This context, usually found in the introduction, helps you understand the topic’s importance and relevance.
You will also encounter details on how to do something or how a process works. This practical information links abstract ideas to real-world applications, making it easier to understand and apply concepts.
Identifying practical information is helpful because:
Go to the next tab: Evidence
Evidence includes facts, figures, words, results, or observations that show a claim is true or valid. Writers use evidence to support their claims, so you will encounter many examples of it.
Identifying evidence is helpful because:
Go to the next tab: Concepts
At university, you will encounter a lot of abstract information, such as theories, models, and frameworks.
Identifying concepts is helpful because:
Go to the next tab: Key terms
At university, you will need to learn a lot of new words (terminology). Research suggests you learn over 500 new words a year, and there’s a link between vocabulary size and grades (Milton & Treffers-Daller, 2013).
You will also need to remember names of important people.
Identifying key terms and people is helpful because:
Go to the next tab: Sundry
As you read, you will come across a lot of general information that helps you understand your topics. While this information is interesting and provides a general understanding, it might not be directly useful for your learning or assessment purpose. Think of sundry information as all the leftover information once you have identified the practical, evidence-based, conceptual, and key terms.
Recognising sundry information is helpful because:
Identifying and using sundry information is helpful but,
Once you have looked through each of the PECKS tabs above and are familiar with the categories, the next step is to do something with that type of essential information and each category of PECKS has a unique action associated with it.
We will look at each category and discover some specific strategies for each one.
In this video (5:02 min) from QUT (2018) we see an example of how and why we scan the text, read only the parts which are going to answer your questions and take notes while reading.
Critical reading is explained in this video (0:46 min) from QUT (2018).
In this video (10:52) from Presenting Psychology explains what critical evaluation is and also looks at some of the common logical fallacies to help you evaluate as you read.
