Reading a text for a Champlain College class, especially a Core class, often involves more than just reading every word. Questions in college-level readings will elude the reader unmotivated to dig up and piece together answers. College-level texts vary in form and purpose—from tweets to breezy Web articles to dense scholarly essays to contemplative writings passed along over millennia. Texts also vary in complexity and level of difficulty.
In short, college-level reading is work—useful work, rewarding work, but work. Successful reading begins with the understanding that, like work in the career marketplace, different reading tasks call for different approaches. Note-taking, for example, often accompanies college-level reading to a greater extent than it accompanies casual reading. The links below will help you engage with course texts efficiently, effectively, and strategically. Not every reading strategy will appeal to you. What’s most important is that you have one.