Tips and tricks: do I need to do the ‘recommended’ reading?

In my two years so far at Warwick, the one thing which has always baffled me is the recommended reading. As a PAIS student, these readings can range from short articles to multiple chapters of Old English political philosophy (Hobbes, anyone?), all supposedly expected to be read, summarised and highlighted in a week. It’s not just those typical ‘BA’ subjects, either – almost every subject has a form of recommended reading.

For anyone starting Warwick in October, I’m sure you are a bit nervous about the workload. To be perfectly honest, don’t fret too much. It’s probably the most asked question in the first few weeks of term: “what am I actually meant to read?” For many modules, seminar tutors will advise you on the readings that they would like you to do from that never-ending list.

I found it particularly helpful to read the more ‘basic’ books first, to grasp an actual understanding of particular concepts

The level of recommended reading you do also depends on how much background knowledge you have of a particular topic. For me, I found it particularly helpful to read the more ‘basic’ books first, to grasp an actual understanding of particular concepts. From there, I would go into the discussion-based articles and chapters, to be able to understand the seminars. Depending on your prior knowledge, this could make reading a whole lot easier.

For those of you who, like me, don’t have much background of your subject area, it isn’t the end of the world, and by no means a problem. Seminar tutors can often recommend reading that is shorter and simpler, but will still give you the same amount of knowledge as those around you. I’ve had many seminar tutors acknowledge that there is a lot of reading, and often, they don’t expect you to do all of it.

On a deeper note, I do believe that the level of appreciation and enjoyment you have to do with your modules can be based on how much reading you do. Even if you aren’t the type to speak up in seminars (I am not, by any means), the more reading you do, the more likely you are to enjoy the discussions at hand and prepare yourself for exams.

I only truly appreciated the content of my course when I understood it, and the best way to understand the concepts is through the readings

I only truly appreciated the content of my course when I understood it, and the best way to understand the concepts is through the readings. You will always have that person in seminars who has the knowledge and doesn’t do the readings. It is a personal preference sometimes whether you choose to do the readings. Eventually, you might actually enjoy learning complicated concept.

You don’t necessarily have to do the readings to do well – part of doing well is going above and beyond the core readings and doing research of your own. For this, YouTube videos and case studies can often be extremely helpful. Sometimes, the readings are repeats of a topic to make sure you fully grasp a concept. In that case, if you understand one reading, you don’t really have to do another. At the beginning of the year, it might be worth going through the reading list and finding a particular author or textbook that continuously crops up. You can then flick through copies in the library to see if any particular author has a way of writing that you understand more. This could cut the amount of reading time in half, if you know whose style you enjoy.

For those weeks where you have to do a lot of readings (I vividly remember sitting on the floor of my friend’s bedroom with about a hundred pages of Hobbes, a pen and highlighter, scrawling away in hysterics, with absolute confusion over what I was reading), it might be worth speaking to people in your seminars or friendship group to split up the reading and share notes. Again, this can be risky – with time you develop a preferred way of making notes, which might not be as in-depth or detailed as your friends.

If you really feel as though you can’t cope with all of the jargon, it is definitely worth speaking to your seminar tutor for advice in office hours

In some cases, the reading might supplement information given in the lectures. In that case, you can sometimes get away with just going to the lecture. This is a last-minute tactic, if you have a lot for one module and can’t imagine having the time to do all of it.

In the first few weeks, you will get to grips with how much reading actually goes on. For most modules, it all depends on your tutor, lecturer and how much you already know. If you really feel as though you can’t cope with all of the jargon, it is definitely worth speaking to your seminar tutor for advice in office hours. They are always willing to lend a hand and give you tips on how they would like you to cover the subject. In many cases, they give you notes or slides during seminars that should help you.

At the end of the day, the main point is that you understand a concept, rather than memorise chunks of text. So, if you are really worried about reading endlessly, please don’t worry too much. More often than not, you might actually begin to enjoy reading certain authors and ideas!