Are you one of those “Try before you Buy” types? This blog features the Introduction section of Dr. Matt’s Gutsy Guide to Reading in College. If you’re interested in ordering the book or learning more, visit the Gutsy College Website or reach out to Dr. Matt. Enjoy!
Introduction
Right before our university’s winter break, three of my Introduction to Sociology students came to my office in tears.
Lilly was the first in her family to go to college. She was working hard. Finishing her degree would be great for her, inspire her younger brothers, and support her family in the years ahead. But the reading and study load was more than she expected, and she was struggling to keep up.
Jose was working full-time and sticking his toe back into college after being out of school for ten years. He, too, was a committed student but facing some serious headwinds. He was sure that going back to school was a great way to take care of his family, but besides not being sure how to get through all the reading, getting his kids to swim practice and helping them with their homework left little time for his own reading. And on top of that, he didn’t know how to ask his family for the support he needed.
Tanika was straight out of high school where she was a fantastic student who went above and beyond when it came to her studies, sports, and other activities. But this reading load was really kicking her butt. She was used to reading everything and acing every test, but that strategy wasn’t working anymore. Both her grades and spirits took a big hit last semester.
Going to college takes guts.
Lilly, Jose, and Tanika were all strong students and committed to doing well in college. But they were also overwhelmed with the work and especially the reading. They were sinking, felt like everyone else knew something they didn’t, and were considering dropping out. It wasn’t because they couldn’t do the work but because no one had taken the time to walk them through how to be great readers in college. If you’re feeling a bit like Lilly, Jose, or Tanika, it’s time to change that.
Most students I’ve encountered over the years can read well, but never learned how to read in college. Reading in college and deciphering the material is essential for graduating and succeeding in a career. No one explained how different readings are set up or why professors choose the readings they do. Nobody walked them through how to take notes on readings or how to organize their space and people to maximize their time. This book covers all of these essentials in one place.
Why am I writing this?
Because I’ve been there. On my way to completing my PhD and becoming a university professor, I was a college student facing the same questions. I remember being straight out of high school and adjusting to the college reading load. Later in life when I returned to school, I learned how to reorganize my plans for studying, working, getting the kids to swim practice, making dinner, and attending parent-teacher conferences.
Over the past decade I’ve designed reading lists for dozens of classes. I’ve talked with hundreds of beginning and advanced students about college reading strategies. I’ve taught thousands of students in the classroom. And of course, I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours on my own reading. Along the way I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the best ways to read different genres, and I have worked with students to fine-tune their notetaking and organizing strategies. In short, I’m sort of a reading geek.
Why does reading matter?
And here’s the thing about why learning to read well is so important: reading is the foundation of college success and life afterwards. Every class you take in college will include reading. Some will have more; some will have less. It will all be slightly different, but every test, project, paper, and assignment in college will require reading. (BTW, I know that right now you may be trying to think of classes that won’t have any reading. But trust me, even the volleyball and tai chi classes I took in college had some reading.)
After graduation, when you’ve started your career, every blueprint, employee evaluation, and instruction manual will require you to read carefully. The further you go in your career, the more important it will be to read not just for information, but as a creative and critical thinker. I’ve written this book to help you get great grades in school and also prepare you for the life that follows.
In fact, I’ll give you a reading hint right now that will pay for the price of this book. Without exception, the main reason students in my classes lost points on papers they wrote was because they did not carefully read the assignment. Yes, some lost points for hideous grammar or forgot to run a spell check. Some plagiarized or turned in their assignment late. But most students lost points because they did not take a few minutes to carefully read the assignment. If you learn nothing more from this book than to take some time to read your assignments more carefully, you will have increased your grade point average by at least half a point.
What You’ll Find Here
Fair warning. This book is not about speed-reading or power-cramming. This book is about learning how to figure out what to focus on in the reading. This book will teach you how to improve your recall for exams. It will explore new ways to take notes and organize your life and reading. If you work these ideas into your routine and reading strategies, you will not only see your grades improve but also discover some entirely new ways to make reading part of your life.
How are we going to do this? If you just want reading tips and tricks, I’m happy to save you some time (and a few dollars). You can find page after page of clever ideas about how to read on the internet. But if you really want to change your reading in a way that will change the way you study, you’ll find it here.
Chapter 1. What We Know about Reading
takes a short walk through what we know about reading. What happens in your brain when you read? How do you read in ways that will help you remember? How are kids’ and adults’ brains different, and what does this mean for how you learn and read?
Chapter 2. What We Know about Reading…in College
digs deeper into what reading looks like in college and how it’s set up in specific ways. We’ll look at what professors are thinking when they assign readings, how difficult college reading really is, and how to recognize different types of reading. Understanding what’s going on behind the college reading curtain will help you know how reading fits into your whole academic adventure.
Chapter 3. Setting Up to Read
is about setting yourself up to be an excellent college reader. This is an essential step that most students never think about. Here you’ll learn how to set up your state-of mind, schedule, space, people, and technology. These steps alone will dramatically improve your college reading and probably your grades.
Chapter 4. Doing the Work: Reading and Taking Notes
gets to the heart of our reading work. In addition to those perennial questions about the usefulness of highlighters, flashcards, and the pros and cons of reading off paper versus screens, we’ll unpack a dozen different note-taking strategies and the particular ways to use these as you work through textbooks, academic articles, novels, and other types of reading.
Chapter 5. Final Notes on Reading in College
wraps up with some perspectives on reading that you’ve probably never heard. These perspectives take you well beyond the reading strategies in the first four chapters and will not only impress your professors with your insightful questions, but also change the way you look at everything you read. If you take them seriously, they might just change your life.
How to Use This Book
This book is designed to give you both excellent information about reading in college and practical tools that you can start using right now.
Three steps for getting the most out of these tools:
1. First, read the whole thing from cover to cover. It’s shorter than much of what you’ll encounter in your classes, and you’ll find tools and perspectives to strengthen your reading from the beginning to end.
2. Next, work through the “setting up” chapters in Chapter 3. Don’t get too perfectionistic about it. Also, remember that the accompanying free downloadable workbook found at gutsycollege.com will give you tools to work through the setting up. Think about the areas where you have your life put together, and then do a bit of work in places where you need some help. For instance, maybe you’ve got your study space and tech all figured out, but you’ve not sat down with your family to talk about what your return to school will mean for everyone’s weekly routines.
3. Finally, once you have a feel for the book’s content and have yourself set up, try this system as you encounter your next college reading:
- If you haven’t already, go to Chapter 2 and review “Why should I care about the syllabus?” Then, read the syllabus. Then, when you’re finished, read the syllabus again. You get the idea.
- Go to Chapter 2 and review the “What Will I be Reading in College?” section. Ask yourself what type of reading it looks like you’re going to be working on.
- Go to Chapter 3 and review the different ideas for taking notes and which work best for different types of readings. Choose the strategies that work best for you and get started. Don’t’ forget to hop over to gutsycollege.com and download the reading template. It is a pre-formatted .docx document that you can save and adapt, and you will see examples of all the notetaking styles described here.
- Go to Chapter 3 and, if you’ve not already, decide how you are going to file your notes. You are putting high-quality time and money into your education and future. It would be a shame to waste it because you misplaced your hard work!
Once you’ve moved through this process a few times
it will not only become easier, but you’ll begin to see how this organization saves you time and improves your grades. For instance, just think how much your papers will improve with the high-quality reading notes you’ll be accumulating! This book is designed to not just be read through and put on your shelf, but used as a guide to help you design your own best reading discipline.
Whether you’re 18 or 58, getting ready to head to school or are already there, this book is for those of us who have struggled with reading and keeping the rest of our lives in balance. If you work these strategies into your routine and stick with them, you’ll see your grades improve, impress your professors, pick up some great career-building habits, and might just learn a few new things about yourself.
In addition to the in-depth information you’ll find here, make sure and visit the accompanying website gutsycollege.com. The site provides more learning hints and free downloadable reading tools and templates that accompany these chapters. You can customize these resources to make your reading and studying even more efficient. Read on!
Reading in college is hard. Hundreds of pages coming at you from textbooks and academic articles to literary classics and lab reports.
Dr. Matt’s Gutsy Guide to Reading in College takes you step-by-step, through how to succeed with your college reading. The guide is packed with strategies for creating your perfect reading spot, setting up your tech, managing your routine, learning what to watch for in your reading, discovering your favorite note-taking style, and much more! Hop over to www.gutsycollege.com to check out the book and Gutsy online classes.
Dr. Matt Friesen received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Oregon and has spent most of life as a student, professor, researcher and advisor. Check out www.gutsycollege.com for the free Workbook for Reading in College and Note Taking Template. Watch for his upcoming book Dr. Matt’s Gutsy Guide to Reading in College coming in spring 2024.
Noah Friesen’s artwork is featured in these blog posts. Noah has been drawing since 2003 and specializes in caricature and comic art. Connect with Noah, check out his gallery or commission him for your project at www.ko-fi.com/idekdraws.
