AOA dear members,

How to read effectively? A few tips,

-Read the introductory and last paragraphs first, and come to the body of the article later. This way you will have an understanding of where the writer is coming from.

-Take notes, especially of any information you'd like to quote in your paper, quotation/date etc.

-Summarise the whole reading in 3 sentences that tell you about introduction, main argument and conclusion.

-Write with your hands rather than a keyboard.

-Do not declare most of the material irrelevant/non-quotable. Find something in everything. This way you'll keep engaged in active reading rather than just skimming & declaring stuff irrelevant, difficult, dispersed etc. on first sight.

-Do not start reading everything on the planet in the name of current affairs and general knowledge. You don't need to know the colour of the bricks of every historical building even if you've seen a paper-setter questioning about the colour of Taj Mahal's bricks in a previous paper. Of course his intellectual caliber was questionable. The people who make your papers are generally not psychologically challenged.

-Do not Tweet/FB/Talk to a person while reading serious stuff.

-Keep reviewing the information every once in a while. Otherwise, when you reach the revision part of your preparation, everything will seem new.

All members are welcome to make serious contributions/recommendations.

Best,

Aik Admi