<p>do you actually read every single word? i try to, because i'm worse at skimming than i am at reading, and i'll don't get very much out of skimming. i'm reading a lot of fun things (ancient greek novels, english novels, etc.), but even that gets tiring at about 200 pages a week, including noticing small details (which means having to read word for word), and comprehending them well (study questions). i try to make an effort to read the newspaper everyday too (takes off an hour a night), plus i read this forum (haha). i'm also a manuscript reader at my internship, so add on another 50-100 pgs/wk. have to read some stuff in chinese every day too. i'm doing a lot of fun things, but even that's making me very tired. i'm just a little exhausted from reading.. i feel like doing a math problem! just interested in how people shake up on doing the same things over and over again.. even if it's something they like.</p>
<p>Per week:
Internat'l Relations: 150-200pgs
Comp. Politics: 100 pgs
History: 250 pgs+
English: 150 pgs</p>
<p>I listen to music, take breaks but sometimes I can not read and just put it down, because nothings worse then having to read the material twice. I read everything, because my prof's only assign the reading if it's important/relevant, I also take notes on all the readings so I don't have to read it again.
Breaking it up helps, as in not reading it in blocks. I'll read between classes, a lot of people read when doing cardio- biking, eliptical, walking, increases retention rate.</p>
<p>^this makes me glad to be an engineer^</p>
<p>tiff90, what year are you?</p>
<p>I used to be a journalism major and we always had to read several-hundred page biographies of renown journalists, large magazine articles and journals, if a journalist went on a trek to Africa and wrote a 500-page book about how he single-handily saved the albino giraffes from being attacked by a space ship while winning a Nobel Prize for his work in curing morning breath - we had to read it. </p>
<p>I rarely read at home, though. Any reading I did was done during downtime: i.e. while on the hour-long subway ride, (not) working at my internship, in other classes that were extraordinarily boring, in between classes - etc. </p>
<p>I found that made the reading a lot more tolerable and because I was reading during events that were even more boring than the reading itself, it made reading x-person's autobiography somewhat interesting.</p>
<p>Frankly, I found the writing to be a lot more excruciating than the reading.</p>
<p>What is your major now, PlattsburghLoser?</p>
<p>I'm currently in Computer Science and dancing back and forth between Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering - can't decide which yet.</p>
<p>I read everything closely in German because of my lack of native fluency, but in English, I do skim at times. What helps me stay interested in books is to track themes and quotations as I read, and even though it takes me a bit longer to finish, I find it much more enjoyable in the long run. I normally have about 150 pages of German each week, and anywhere between 200-700+ pages of English per week. We tend to read an entire book and then discuss that book for 2-3 class periods, so it's fairly common to have a really light reading load one week and then 5 novels the next. (This week, I had 692 pages and two movies, and I'm taking tonight off!)</p>
<p>What German courses are you taking right now, aussiek?</p>
<p>Only one German class- Jugendliteratur. The reading isn't difficult, but it does take awhile.</p>
<p>Very cool. We are reading Gina Ruck-Pauqu</p>
<p>Depends on the class.</p>
<p>Philosophy usually has less volume, but it's really dense, so then I do read everything that's assigned.</p>
<p>But here's how I read history/poli sci:</p>
<p>If I've got lots of time:
Read the intro
Read the conclusion
Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph</p>
<p>Less time:
Intro, conclusion and first/last two pages of every chapter</p>
<p>10 minutes until class starts:
Go on JSTOR or some other database your school subscribes to, and search for the book you're reading. There should be lots of academic reviews, so read one or two and you've got the main ideas of the book right there.</p>
<p>im constantly reading lol im in 3 history classes...but history is my concentration and im set too have 2 A's and a B in those classes</p>
<p>Though I don't make it official until next year, I do plan on being a history/government double major and most of my classes are, unsurprisingly, in those departments so there are a lot of assigned readings.
The thing is, I find that most of my professors base their readings off of their lectures, not the other way around. So as long as I take good notes and pay attention in class it's pretty easy to keep up to speed without doing much reading. </p>
<p>If you get stuck with a professor who likes to test on material not discussed in class but mentioned in the readings then its best to try skimming the readings. Personally, when choosing classes, I find out if the professor has a reputation for doing that and if they do I find another class.</p>
<p>Let’s assume that a student actually wants to complete all of the readings for his/her courses. Would it be possible to do so assuming a reasonable course load? Or do students skim/skip readings because there simply isn’t enough time to do them?</p>
<p>I skim readings. My course load is all reading and writing… There isn’t enough time in the day or enough patience in me to read everything word-for-word. Sometimes if there are multiple readings for one day I’ll read one thoroughly so I’ll have some context for in class discussions and then skim the other ones.</p>
<p>I’m an Econ major but I have to take a lot of required Humanities classes. I have one professor who I honestly think is just nuts - the woman will assign over 1000 pages of reading to do in 2 days, thinking we’ll actually do it. Her class is a required class ALL freshman must take regardless of major.</p>
<p>For example, last Monday, we had to read In Praise of Folly by Erasmus for Wednesday. Then Wednesday, the assignment is some reading by Pico Della Mirandola as well as 4 chapters in our textbook! Sorry professor nutbag, but I have 4 other classes besides yours, as well as babysitting and a part-time job. And as an Econ major, my Statistics, Micro, and Calc classes are a lot more important to me than some BS classics class in which we interpret art and talk about what the author secretly meant when he drew a green circle on a piece of paper (I’ll give you a hint, he meant to make millions of dollars off of idiotic people who think that crap is art, and to fool millions of stupid art critics, art profs, and art students into wasting their time interpreting and analyzing his piece of crap because they feel there is a secret symbolic meaning behind everything.)</p>
<p>I never do all of my readings (unless it’s on a topic I’m struggling with or genuinely interested in), I usually read the intro, skim the middle and search for main points, then read the conclusion. The instructor will usually fill in the gaps during lecture.</p>
<p>I’m an International relations major. I skim things all the time and almost never read the entire text. You can read it all, but it won’t necessarily help your learning. The rule for me is, I have to complete 2 out of the 3: attend discussion, attend lecture, or complete the readings. If I do 2 out of 3 then I get the most benefit- I don’t waste my time doing things that won’t help me in the long run, and still learn everything I need to.</p>
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<p>Even with a heavy course load, there are enough hours in a day to complete all assigned readings (reading all the pages plus notes). I understand that some have other obligations outside of school (work/internships, family, commuting, etc.) that consume time, but even then it definitely can be done. If you have readings. However for some, partying, tv, video games, internet, etc. lead to skimming and not getting the most out of coursework. Just my 2 cents.</p>