The other day I was reading an old book and I found something in it that attracted very powerfully my attention. The book contained a bookmark on one side of which it had the inscription “how to learn” and on the other side “how to get the most out of a book.” One problem that I have encountered when reading specialized articles and papers is that despite of having the adequate level of knowledge and expertise, it is very difficult to follow the thoughts and calculations throughout the reading. Even though I carefully follow the directions specified on the bookmark (see below), anyway I find very difficult to understand what the authors are trying to tell me. I would like to know your perceptions and thoughts about this issue. How articles, papers, and specialized books can be written so that they are much more accessible to a wider audience and easier to understand. The goal is to be able to grasp at least 90% of the content of every paper you are interested in, especially if the topic of the paper is within the scope of your expertise. I believe authors have to be allowed when submitting papers to journals to print, in much more detail, the way they arrive at their main results. Please share your ideas. What do you think? The following are the inscriptions of the bookmark I was talking about, whose guidelines, however, are good enough when dealing with textbooks in the branch of mathematical sciences for undergraduate students. How to get the most out of a paper? Is it possible to design a guideline of the kind when trying to grasp the main results of any specialized thematic paper?

How to learn

This book was written so that you might learn. In order to learn from it, however, you must know how to use it properly. The book will teach you little unless you put organized effort into reading it, for active, directed work is necessary if you wish to understand and remember what you read. Careful, intelligent reading of this book will mean that you understand better what you learn in class. What is equally important, if you have studied this book properly in the first place, it will serve as a convenient and quick refresher for future reference. Nearly everyone knows that we easily forget what we learn when we do not use it. What many students do not realize, however, is that we can relearn what we have once learned, providing we have learned it well in the first place. Thus, this book provides a convenient auxiliary memory that can serve you all of your life.

In order to understand and remember the contents of this book, it is essential that you do more than read. It means that you must actively recite, question, and review the material you have read. See the reverse of this card for suggestions that will help you to study this book. By following these suggestions, you will find the book will be more valuable to you both in the course in which it is assigned and as a part of your permanent library.

How to get the most out of a book

1. Skim through the assigned reading so that you will know what it is you are to study.

2. Read the text carefully. Do not forget that many important ideas are presented in graphs, diagrams or maps.

3. As you read, stop now and then recite to yourself, in your own words, the important ideas in what you have just read.

4. Make brief notes in the margin. These will serve as cues for subsequent self-recitation.

5. Mark important or key passages for later review.

6. Review the material at least once between the first time you study the assignment and study for exams. Make use of your marginal notes as cues for self-recitation.

7. Remember that a little relearning is necessary each time you wish to use what you have learned for an examination, a related course, or for independent study. If you use the author’s headings, marked passages, and brief notes for cues, it will help you relearn easily.

8. Coordinate what you read with what you learn in the classroom. Keep well-organized lecture notes. Lecture notes that are legible and accurate will, like your textbook, serve in the years to come as quick and inexpensive keys to the knowledge that you are acquiring.

James E. Deese

Associate Prof. of Psychology

The Johns Hopkins University

Author of

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING