Social work, Social care and Community Studies

Before we begin finding journal articles, let's think about how we read for academic study.

Reading is a lifelong skill and we read all the time... whether its reading for fun or for specific purpose like reading furniture assembly instructions. 

• Remember, we are reading with a purpose to help answer your assignment question. 
• We can be selective and read only the information we need! We do not have to read the textbook from page 1 to the end of the book - only the relevant sections we need!
• Be active... make notes to help consolidate your understanding.

Here are a few useful guides for you to take a look about effective reading to help you get the most from your reading:

Here are some tips and strategies on how to get more from your reading.

Learn how to identify the purpose of your reading, the correct approach to take, and adopt new techniques such as skimming and scanning.

Reading and Notemaking tutorials

The materials above have been provided by the Skills Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. 

The Skills Centre runs sessions on both campuses covering all sorts of topics, from improving your writing to stats help. You can find out more out about the Skills Centre here.

Lets think about how to work with the information you find and then need to read.

Spend the next 4 minutes listening to these top tips from our final year students. We are all unique and learn in a variety of different ways and use different strategies for reading and working with information. 

The Strategies for Supporting Academic Reading video allows you to consider which practice will work best for you and you may find a new approach that you want to try.