Independent Learning

Should I read all the books on my reading list?

Students often ask if they should read all the books on the reading list, and I must admit this does vary from tutor to tutor. Some will give you no books at all to read and tell you to go and find your own. Others will give you such a long list that it'll be completely impossible to read them all. And others will give you just a nice, short list of three or four core topics, core books to read. And the answer here is read the core books. Now, if you've got this long list, really do go back to your lector and ask, "What are the core books I should read?" If you don't get a satisfactory answer, then you may have to identify that yourself. So read the core books initially, and then you will be expected to read around that core list as well. Otherwise, you just get a very small idea of what the subject's about.

How much reading should I do per day?

If you want to know how much reading you should do per day, the answer is that I don't know. It really does depend on your course. It depends on what is expected of you and it depends on how much you know of the course. It's not so much of how much reading you should do per day, but it's more about how much reading you should do across the course. You really have to know at least the core information, so you've got to read enough to know that plus a little bit more. Having that 'plus a little bit more' will give you the extra marks.

What should I do if I get stuck while reading?

If you get stuck while you are reading, the best thing to do is to ask your friend. Ask someone on your course and find out if they have similar problems. Because if you're stuck, more than likely other people are having problems, but they may have way of helping you. So you may be stuck in one part and you can help them, and they may be stuck in another part and they can help you. So really ask your friend. Again if you can't resolve it that way then you need to go to your tutor and ask them.