How to Study

Read with a Plan
More than any other type of writing, highly specialized technical 
writing must be read with a plan. You can’t approach your reading
assignment merely with the goal of completing it. Such mindless 
reading will leave you confused and frustrated, drowning in an ocean
of theories, concepts, terms, and examples.
Your plan should incorporate the following guidelines:
1. Learn the terms that are essential to understanding the 
concepts presented. Knowing the precise definitions that 
the author uses will enable you to follow his chain of thought
through the text. 
2. Determine the structure or organization of the text. Most
chapters have a definite pattern that forms the skeleton of the
material. A book may begin with a statement of a theory, give
examples, provide sample problems, then summarize. Often
this pattern can be discerned through a preview of the table 
of contents or the titles and subtitles. 
Chapter 3 
■
How to Read and Remember
57

---

3. Skim the chapter to get a sense of the author’s viewpoint. 
Ask questions to define your purpose in reading. Use any 
summaries or review questions to guide your reading. 
4. Do a thorough analytical reading of the text. Do not 
proceed from one section to the next until you have a clear
understanding of the section you are reading—the concepts
generally build upon each other. To proceed to a new section
without understanding the ones that precede it is, at best,
futile.
5. Immediately upon concluding your thorough reading, review!
Write a summary of the concepts and theories you need to
remember. Answer any questions raised when you skimmed
the text. Do the problems. If possible, apply the formulas.
Technical material is saturated with ideas. When reading it, you must
be convinced of one fact: Every individual word counts! You will want
to read such material with the utmost concentration—it is not meant
to be sped through.
Good readers know that such material demands a slow read that con-
centrates on achieving the greatest level of retention.
■
Every definition has to be digested. 
■
Every formula must be committed to memory. 
■
Every example needs to be considered. 
To improve your reading of such technical material, you will want 
to hone the skill of identifying the devices an author uses to commu-
nicate. In so doing, you will be able to connect the chain of thought
that occurs. When reading such texts—or attempting to work out
technical problems—try the following “tricks”:
■
Whenever you can, “translate” numbers and formulae into
words. To test your understanding, try to put your translation
into different words. 
How to Study
58

---

■
Even if you’re not particularly visual, pictures can often help.
You should try translating a particularly vexing math problem
into a drawing or diagram. 
■
Before you even get down to solving a problem, is there any
way for you to estimate the answer or, at least, to estimate
the range within which the answer should fall (greater than 1,
but less than 10)? This is the easy way to at least make sure
you wind up in the right ballpark.
■
Play around. There are often different paths to the same 
solution, or even equally valid solutions. If you find one, try to
find others. This is a great way to increase your understanding
of all the principles involved. 
■
When you are checking your calculations, try working 
backwards. I’ve found it an easier way to catch simple 
mathematical errors. 
■
Try to figure out what is being asked, what principles are
involved, what information is important, and what is not. 
■
Teach someone else. Trying to explain mathematical concepts
to someone else will quickly pinpoint what you really know 
or don’t know. It’s virtually impossible to get someone else—
especially someone who is slower than you at all this stuff—
to understand if you don’t!