Making the most of your essay reading

In my first year at university I hated doing further reading for essays. Why waste time reading what other academics have written when you could be coming up with something new? Essay reading is not the most engaging activity, but with some strategies you can get it done quickly and effectively.

Reading online is my top tip for getting through essay reading. Obviously, you can’t exclusively use digital sources but they can be a useful tool in academia. The digital texts have some advantages that physical books do not: for example, you can carry multiple sources in your bag and it will weigh no more than your laptop. Juggling three or more 800 page books as well as your laptop can be physically exhausting but you need not struggle: climbing the stairs to the fifth floor of the library does not need to be made any more unbearable. There is also no need to worry about getting a late fine: by using the digital resources that the library offers, you can use these texts in the comfort of your own bed and never have to leave to return your book. Other websites, such as JStor and Google Scholar, also offer texts.

You don’t have to read the whole text in order to reference one idea

The other benefit of digital texts is the ability to search for key terms in the source. Once you have established a plan for your essay, searching for key terms within your texts will mean that you can instantly find material related to your thesis. This saves valuable time, meaning that – if you are approaching your deadline – you don’t waste energy reading beforehand. The same term can be searched within multiple texts and the obvious links formed may help you achieve higher marks. Synergy (the fusing and interaction between two ideas from different authors or texts) is a technique found in higher level essays. When using the search tool similar ideas can be identified more quickly and, when used correctly, will help you achieve those 2:1s and firsts everyone desires.

Just because digital sources have their benefits, however, doesn’t mean that the physical texts must be discounted. Although you can’t search for key terms, the chapter titles and essay titles within journals will indicate their usefulness. You don’t have to read the whole text in order to reference one idea: carefully selecting what will be worth reading is half the battle of essay planning. It feels needless to say, but if the title of your original text is in the chapter title then reading this segment will be useful.

Checking the author’s bibliography and cited sources will most likely lead you to more texts that can be used in your essay

It is generally a rule of essay writing, moreover, that you include theory that both agrees with and contradicts your thesis. Therefore if a reading doesn’t agree with your view, there is no need to let it go to waste. Rather than struggling to find another text that does align with your view, including the reading by analysing it in context of your thesis will most likely boost your grade and save the need to read further texts if done correctly.

If the text does not relate to your line of argument at all, however, there is no point in including it. Shoe-horning in a point simply because you need the extra sources will not benefit you and might hinder your argument, making it less focused. There is a difference between a contradicting and an unrelated source. If you need to find more texts and do not have time to waste on reading possible sources only to find that it is unrelated, the answer may lie in the reading you have already done. When you have finished with a text that has been useful in writing your essay, the text may have one final benefit to you. Checking the author’s bibliography and cited sources will most likely lead you to more texts that can be used in your essay and will be quick to analyse when following these tips.