A reading framework
time to complete: 20 minutes
To help you cope and engage with your academic reading, we are going to introduce a reading framework that consists of four main areas. Each area includes questions that can help you identify important information about the article quickly and gain a general understanding of the text. In a way, this framework will serve as a basis for further targeted, more detailed reading later.
So, let’s have a look at the questions in the first two areas: general information and article structure.
Task: See if you can finish the questions by dragging the correct words into their correct place. You can then view the completed questions below.
General information
- What journal was the article published in and what does this tell you about the type of information in the article?
- What is the title of the article?
- What are the authors’ (writers’) names and what information are you given about the authors?
- When was the article published?
- What are the keywords and how could they help you?
Article structure
- What information does the abstract give you and why is this useful?
- How many sections are there in the article – what are they called?
- Are there any subsections? Why are they important?
Before you move on to the other two areas, take a moment to reflect on your reading habits. Do you ask yourself any of the questions we just saw? Why/why not?
Now, let’s look at a few more questions regarding other aspects of academic articles: citations and references and figures, tables, appendices and acknowledgments.
Task: See if you can finish the questions by dragging the correct words into their correct place. You can then view the completed questions below.
Citations and references
- What is the difference between an in-text citation and a reference?
- How are the references organised? How can they help you?
Figures, tables, appendices and acknowledgments
- What is the difference between an in-text citation and a reference?
- How are the references organised? How can they help you?
So, by answering the questions in this reading framework, you can:
- identify important information about the article,
- navigate throughout the article more effectively, and
- decide which sections, tables, etc. to focus on and read more carefully.
Next, you are going to apply this framework by looking at an article and answering these questions yourself.