Study Tip: Increase Your Class Participation with a Reading Journal

Many teachers factor your class participation into your overall grade. This helps them not only to encourage discussion, which makes class more interesting for everyone, but also to keep track of which students seem up to date on their reading and engaged in the course material. You can turn this to your advantage. Improve your participation grades and impress your teachers by keeping a reading journal.

Keeping a reading journal, much like keeping the class note summaries I discussed in an earlier post, doesn't have to take much time. Don't worry about writing your journal particularly well. Unless your teacher specifically assigns a reading journal already, no one has to see yours but you. Just take a few minutes as you read, and right afterwards, to jot down your thoughts on the material. Some particularly useful things to record are:

• Any questions you might have about what you're reading
• Anything you're having trouble understanding (here, also try recording what you think the trouble spot might mean so that you can check your comprehension in class)
• How the assignment ties in to the rest of the class
• Your opinions about and responses to the material (no, not "this is boring and I hate this class" opinions, but rather "this writer seems to hate women" or "this seems poorly reasoned" opinions), and quotes or examples that support your opinion

Bring your reading journal to each class session.

This kind of reading journal can be a valuable tool. You'll never freeze up if your teacher calls on you for questions or responses. You'll always have something to contribute to class discussions. You'll impress your teachers, and you may just learn a little bit more than you would otherwise.