Am I Doing it all Wrong?

[daydreamer254]

I'm in m first semester of grad school and for one seminar we have five books, with pairs/trios initiating discussion every week on whatever book we're on. I realized that most of my classmates read the books from beginning to end...and I don't. All i do is read the preface/intro (and the back cover), look at the chapters, look at the chapter headings, then make questions based on those headings and answer them. (I did a google search on how to read in grad school and took the advice I was reading).

 

Last night's discussion was on a book that was 335 pages, and even though most of my classmates actually read it, they did skim the last chapter because it was getting "too redundant." I didn't speak as much as I did previously because 1) I was tired, but mainly because I couldn't really follow the discussion. My classmates were talking about things in the book that I only skimmed and I felt bad.

 

So, my question is that am I reading wrong? Should I really read these long books cover to cover, like my classmates?

[pears]

I'm a "cover-to-cover" reader as often as possible, but it's been easy to do this semester; I don't think I've hard such a hard time getting through a reading so far that I felt compelled to skim or skip any part. That said, my department isn't hyper-competitive, nor does it have any professors that deliberately assign a nearly-impossible amount of reading every single week to force students to learn how to skim, although I have friends in different fields & different programs who have experienced that.

 

Personally, if I want to be able to start & actively engage in as many discussions as possible (which, for me, is pretty much synonymous with academic success in this program), I find it extremely difficult to come up with thoughtful questions & answers without having read every word of the paper or as much of a book as possible. I've gotten pretty good at speed-reading, & I only skim if the reading is optional, or if I've somehow become too pressed for time to read it thoroughly at least once... & I really try to avoid the latter situation. That said, I've got a department, schedule (work, class, etc.), & personal goals that foster my approach.

 

Basically, it depends on your program, your professor(s), & what you want to achieve as a student + the necessary means for reaching those goals.

[Lisa44201]

Doing the bare minimum to pass a class because some website said it's okay will not work well for long.

[St Andrews Lynx]

I would say "Read enough to be able to contribute meaningfully to the discussion." No doubt as you progress through grad school you will be able to skim-read and pick up enough to talk confidently about the book by that approach...but that's a skill you develop over time, which also requires a thorough grounding in the field (starting out, you probably don't have that yet). 

 

If your colleagues all read the texts completely - I think you're going to have to as well if you want to be able to contribute at their level. Unless there's a Sparknotes for your book (...which I"m guessing there is not )

[wtncffts]

Obviously you'd know better, but I'd tend to doubt that most of your classmates actually read every word of the book. I don't know anyone in my program who does that, except for some (very rare) occasions when there's enough time. I suspect some of your classmates are just very good at 'skimming', and getting enough to be able to at least have some thoughts about all parts of the book.

 

I don't have classes any more, but when I did I'd often quick-read most or all of the chapters, and then pick a number of them, by interest or importance, to closely read; that way at least you're well prepared to contribute when the discussion moves that way (and I've gotten pretty good at steering discussions as well, which is also a skill).  

[TakeruK]

I'm in a field where the readings for classes are often supplemental (i.e. optional), not central to the lectures/discussions. When we do get specifically assigned to read certain papers or chapters from a book for a discussion, it's something that is actually manageable (i.e. less than 1 hour of reading). My learning style is also not from reading but from someone verbally and visually explaining concepts to me. 

 

So, I usually only skim my assigned readings unless I am expected to discuss it. When I skim, I make notes of some questions I want to ask or highlight some key points that I might bring up in a class discussion. I don't think our profs expect every single one of us to be experts on everything we read -- the whole point of the discussion is for those who understand it more to help others understand the material and also provide interaction/added depth to our surface-level reading. In my courses, most of the work is in problem sets so I would also read select sections of text that provide the information I need to solve the problems.

 

I should define what I mean by "skim". When I "skim", I "read" every word (i.e. my brain registers each sentence) but I don't try to critically evaluate it and I might not take time to go back to connect ideas. When I "read" an assigned piece, I would actually read it several times, try to rewrite the main arguments and supporting ideas and connect ideas presented in the work with other ideas in the work or previous work. It is very hard for me to read things and remember ideas without writing them down so if I seriously read a piece, I am usually taking notes. For me, "skimming" doesn't mean skipping over words/paragraph, but it just means a cursory first pass, considering one section of text at a time and just jotting down whatever pops into my head as I read it. 

 

I'm not sure what kind of program the OP is in. I think classes in graduate school are very different than classes in undergrad. At the grad school level, it's up to you to decide what you want to get out of each class. In many programs, you will have to take classes that are either uninteresting or not useful to your degree. It's perfectly okay to do the minimum in these cases and spend your time on more important classes or other priorities such as research (if you're in a research based program). In other words, in grad school, we realise that we don't have enough time/energy to do everything well. We have to prioritize what we want to get accomplished and budget our time/efforts accordingly. This might mean not participating as fully in every discussion and/or doing the bare minimum in some situations.