Suggestions for How to READ a Math Textbook

The Basics

The first reading:

• Skim through the section from start to finish. Don't get bogged down; just try to identify the main ideas.
• Note new vocabulary, particularly if it gets used repeatedly.
• Spend a little more time on graphs, tables, and boxed formulas.

The second reading:

• This time read more carefully, and make an effort to understand every part. If you have trouble with part of the text, refer back to previous sections or look up terms in the index.
• When you come to a worked-out sample problem, read the question, but cover up the solution and try to figure it out on your own. Look at the text's solution only when you're sure you're seriously stuck (or after you've solved it yourself).
• If something is still unclear, start a list of questions to ask classmates or the instructor.

Variation

Try reading the text with a group of 2-4 people. After reading each paragraph or sentence, try to rephrase it in your own words. Identify what happens in each step of a computation. At the end of each section or major subsection, try to summarize the main points in one sentence. Your partners will tell you if you're not making sense!

Other Hints

• When you come to a definition, jot down the new word(s). After you look at the examples, read the definition again. Look up the term in the index to find more examples.
• For each example, of which definition/concept is it an example? How does each example illustrate the idea?
• When you read a definition, try to make up your own examples of things that fit the definition and things that do not. Why is the definition useful?
• When you come to a table, graph, or equation, ask yourself: What does each symbol represent? What is graphed on each axis? What information is being conveyed here?