How to Read & Take Notes Like a PhD Student | Tips for Reading Fast & Efficiently for Slow Readers

Summary

This video by Kalyn, a second-year Ph.D. student at Yale, offers a comprehensive guide on how to read effectively as a Ph.D. student. She discusses three types of reading: for class, retention, and research, providing strategies for note-taking and understanding. Kalyn emphasizes the importance of active recall and using tools like Notion for organization. She also shares her personal system for reading academic articles and books, aiming to help students at all levels enhance their reading and retention skills.

Takeaways

• 📚 Reading is a fundamental skill for graduate students and scholars, requiring a strategic approach for comprehension and retention.
• 🔍 The speaker, Kalyn, emphasizes the importance of reading with a purpose, whether for class, retention, or research, and tailoring note-taking accordingly.
• 📈 Start the term by reviewing syllabi to identify key readings that align with long-term academic goals and research interests.
• 📝 For class notes, Kalyn recommends using Notion to organize notes into categories like major themes, scholarship, and questions for efficient class participation and exam preparation.
• 🎓 Attending office hours for exam-based courses can provide key takeaways and support academic success.
• 🔑 Active recall is essential for retention; discussing and teaching what you've read to others helps establish long-term memory.
• 📘 When reading for retention, focus on the main argument, supporting arguments, and the scholarly conversation the text is part of.
• 📑 For academic articles, identify the main argument, supporting arguments, and scholarly discourse, noting sources and methods used by the author.
• 📕 Academic monographs should be read with attention to the introduction and conclusion, which contain the main argument and scholarly discourse.
• 🔍 When reading for research, use key terms and indexes to find the most relevant information quickly and efficiently.
• 📘 For chapters in a book, read the first and last few pages thoroughly, and skim the middle for examples that support the author's thesis.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to provide tips and strategies on how to read effectively like a PhD student, covering different types of reading, note-taking, and retention.

Who is the speaker in the video?

The speaker in the video is Kalyn, a second-year PhD student in history and African American studies at Yale University.

What are the three primary types of reading discussed in the video?

The three primary types of reading discussed are reading for class, reading for retention, and reading for research.

Why is it important to read the syllabi at the beginning of a new term?

It is important to read the syllabi to determine which readings are most pertinent to your long-term goals in research and to read with a strategy in mind, rather than wasting time on subjects you may never need again.

What is the recommended approach for taking class notes according to the video?

The recommended approach for taking class notes is to use an organization app like Notion, breaking notes into sections such as major themes, scholarship, and questions, focusing on talking points and examples for class participation and exam preparation.

What is the significance of attending office hours for exam-based courses as mentioned in the video?

Attending office hours is significant as it helps students align their reading and note-taking with the key takeaways recommended by the professors, thereby being better prepared for exams.

How does the video suggest using Notion for academic purposes?

The video suggests using Notion for organizing notes, managing research, tracking progress, and integrating with citation management software. It is also used for creating databases of readings and managing dissertation projects.

What is the main argument in academic articles or books according to the video?

The main argument or thesis is the center of the text, representing the author's contribution to the field, and should be clearly indicated in notes for easy reference and understanding.

How should one approach reading an academic article for retention as per the video?

For retention, one should focus on active recall, engaging in discussions, teaching the subject to others, and integrating readings into research papers. Notes should include main argument, supporting arguments, subjects and sites, sources, methods, scholarly debate, terms and themes, questions, and personal notes.

What are the key sections of an academic monograph that should be paid attention to?

The key sections of an academic monograph that should be paid attention to are the introduction, chapters, conclusion, and bibliography. These sections contain the main argument, scholarly discourse, and evidence.

How does the video suggest reading for research?

For research, the video suggests focusing on key takeaways relevant to the project, using search terms to find applicable texts, and utilizing the index or find feature to locate sections directly referencing the subject matter.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Mastering Academic Reading

This paragraph introduces the importance of reading as a skill for graduate students and scholars. It emphasizes that reading is not just about scanning words but understanding their meaning, the structure of arguments, and developing strategies for retention and understanding. The speaker, Kalyn, a second-year Ph.D. student at Yale University, shares her formula for reading like a Ph.D. student, focusing on different applications of reading and note-taking. She covers three primary types of reading: for class, for retention, and for research. The goal is to help students at all levels perform better academically.

05:01

📘 Reading for Class and Note-Taking

This paragraph discusses strategies for reading and note-taking for class. It advises students to read through syllabi at the beginning of a term to identify pertinent readings and to read with a strategy, rather than attempting to do all assigned readings. The speaker recommends using an index to determine the structure of books and readings and to focus on chapters or sections relevant to one's subject matter. She shares her personal note-taking system using Notion, categorizing notes into major themes, scholarship, and questions. The emphasis is on creating efficient notes that serve as talking points and examples for class participation and exam preparation.

10:03

🔍 Reading for Retention and Active Recall

This paragraph focuses on reading for long-term retention, particularly for students preparing for comprehensive exams or Ph.D. admissions. The speaker highlights the importance of active recall through teaching, discussing, and integrating readings into research papers. She outlines a note-taking system for retention, including headers such as main argument, supporting arguments, subjects and sites, sources, methods, scholarly debate, terms and themes, questions, and personal notes. The speaker also provides a detailed example of how to read an academic article, emphasizing the main argument, supporting arguments, and the discourse within the text.

📖 Reading Academic Books and Research

This paragraph delves into the structure of academic monographs and strategies for reading books effectively. The speaker advises paying close attention to the introduction and conclusion of a book, as they contain the main argument and scholarly discourse. She recommends reading the first and last few pages of each chapter, focusing on the main argument and supporting evidence. For reading for research, the speaker suggests focusing on key takeaways relevant to one's project and using the index or find feature to locate specific information. The emphasis is on purposeful and strategic reading to find pertinent information efficiently.

Keywords

💡Reading

Reading in the context of the video refers to the active engagement with written material to extract meaning and structure. It is central to the academic journey of graduate students and scholars. The video emphasizes that reading is not just scanning text but processing its content and developing strategies for retention and understanding, which is essential for class participation, research, and long-term knowledge retention.

💡PhD Student

A PhD student is a person engaged in doctoral studies, typically pursuing original research under the guidance of a supervisor. In the video, the term is used to describe the presenter, Kalyn, who shares her personal strategies for reading and note-taking as a second-year PhD student in history and African American studies at Yale University.

💡Note-taking

Note-taking is the process of recording information from readings, lectures, or other sources to aid in understanding, memory, and later review. The video discusses various methods of note-taking, such as using Notion for class notes, retention, and research, highlighting its importance for students at different academic levels.

💡Retention

Retention in the video refers to the ability to remember and recall information over time. It is a key aspect of reading for long-term academic success, especially for comprehensive exams or when preparing for PhD admissions. The script discusses strategies for enhancing retention, such as active recall and integrating readings into discussions or research papers.

💡Research

Research in this context is the systematic investigation and study of materials to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The video provides specific advice on how to read for research purposes, emphasizing the need for a strategic approach to find pertinent information quickly and efficiently.

💡Syllabi

A syllabus is an outline or summary of the topics to be covered in an academic course, including readings and assignments. The video mentions the importance of reading through syllabi at the beginning of a term to determine which readings are most relevant to one's long-term academic goals.

💡Notion

Notion is a productivity and organization app used by the presenter for note-taking and managing class notes, research, and other tasks. The video features a sponsored message about Notion, highlighting its versatility and usefulness for students, including its integration with citation management software and customizable features.

💡Active Recall

Active recall is a learning technique where learners actively attempt to remember information without looking at the material. The video suggests using active recall as a method for enhancing long-term memory retention, such as by discussing or teaching the material to others.

💡Academic Monograph

An academic monograph is a specialized book, typically written by a single author, presenting original research on a specific topic. The video provides a detailed guide on how to read an academic monograph effectively, focusing on the introduction, chapters, conclusion, and bibliography.

💡Scholarly Debate

Scholarly debate refers to the discussion and argumentation within an academic community regarding theories, interpretations, and findings. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding scholarly debates when reading academic texts, as it helps to identify the author's position and the broader intellectual context.

💡Index

An index is an alphabetical list of terms or topics found in a book or document, with page numbers indicating where they are discussed. The video advises using the index or 'find' feature in a PDF to locate key terms quickly, which is particularly useful when reading for research purposes.

Highlights

The act of reading is central to the experience and research of graduate students and scholars, but it is a skill that's mastered over time.

To read is not simply to glance over the words but to process their meaning, the structure of one's argument, and to develop a strategy for retention and understanding.

Kalyn is a second-year PhD student in history and African American studies at Yale University.

The video covers how to read like a PhD student, sharing tips and tricks for different applications of reading and note-taking.

Three different types of reading are discussed: reading for class, reading for retention, and reading for research.

For class readings, it’s important to read through syllabi and determine which readings are most pertinent to long-term goals in research.

Class notes should be set up with major themes, scholarship, and questions to help jog memory during class.

Attending office hours for exam-based courses can help in reading based on the key takeaways recommended by professors.

For retention, active recall is crucial. Discussing what you've read with friends or professors helps in long-term memory retention.

Setting up notes for retention with headers like main argument, supporting arguments, subjects and sites, sources, methods, scholarly debate, terms and themes, questions, and notes is beneficial.

When reading an academic article, the main argument or thesis is often near the beginning, and discussions the article engages in are crucial.

For academic books, the introduction and conclusion should be read thoroughly as they contain rich details about the thesis and scholarly discourse.

For research, focus on key takeaways of your project, use the index or find feature on PDFs to locate pertinent information quickly.

Establishing a long list of applicable terms helps in finding relevant sections in texts.

Reading is all about purpose and strategy, and different methods are required depending on the reading's aim, whether for class, retention, or research.

Transcripts

the act of reading is central to the

experience and research of graduate

students and scholars but it is a skill

that's mastered over time

to read is not simply to glance over the

words but to process their meaning the

structure of one's argument and to

develop a strategy for retention and

understanding that is what we'll be

covering in today's video hello everyone

and welcome or welcome back to my

channel if you're new here my name is

kalyn i am a second year phd student in

history and african american studies at

yale university and today i have a much

awaited

many times requested video for you

this is how to read like a phd student

i've been asked to make this video since

i started my channel and i have put it

off time and time again because i wanted

it to be

perfect but now i think i've come up

with my formula i have a distinct system

for how it is that i read as a phd

student i'm gonna be sharing all of my

best tips and tricks and really focusing

on the different applications of reading

and note-taking so that way you can

perform the best that you can as a

student whether you're in high school

undergrad or a current graduate student

i think this video is going to be useful

for everyone so grab a cup of coffee and

let's go ahead and get started when

considering all of my tactics for

reading and how to effectively take

notes there were three primary things

that came to mind in today's video we're

gonna be covering these three different

types of reading

one how to read for class two how to

read for retention and three how to read

for research first we'll begin with the

most applicable lesson for students

across fields which is how to read and

take notes for class at the beginning of

a new term it's important to read

through your syllabi and determine which

readings are the most pertinent to your

long-term goals in research while it may

be initially overwhelming most

professors don't actually expect their

students to do all of the reading as a

student who studied at universities

across the world i can tell you it's

important to read with a strategy in

mind rather than to waste your time on

subjects you may never come across again

at the beginning of each week go to the

index of your books and readings to

determine the structure and which

chapters you may want to pay attention

to the most for example as a student

interested in the history of slavery and

the law i'm likely to be called upon in

seminar to answer questions related to

my subject matter therefore i always go

through the readings and consider which

chapters in books or sections and

articles will have the information i

most need to retain from there i set up

my class notes for my class notes i use

none other than the versatile and best

organization app on the market notion

for this i break my notes into three

primary sections major themes

scholarship and questions after years of

taking inefficient notes on all the

quotes and nitty-gritty information in

my readings i soon found that having

talking points and notes which helped

jog my memory during class were so much

more efficient while there may be

readings that you wish to read more

thoroughly for retention i want you to

think of your class notes as a set of

talking points and examples which you

can use to feel confident participating

in class and preparing for exams one

quick side note attend office hours for

exam-based courses so you're also

reading based on the key takeaways they

recommend to be a successful student and

now for a quick message about the

sponsor of today's video notion if

anybody's been watching my channel for

any period of time you know how much i

absolutely love notion i not only use it

as a student i've been using it for

three years now but i also use it as a

business owner i have the business

subscription for my team at accepted

consulting and accepted society i use it

for my research i use it for content

planning for my youtube channel i just

think it's the most useful application

out there i've tried everything and i

just think that notion is truly a

perfect application for organization and

for tracking your progress but even more

so i think it is the perfect app for

capturing all of your notes and here's

why in addition to being the best team

and project management resource i've

tried notion is the ultimate tool for

your notes and research with

integrations with citation management

software such as zotero templates for

dissertation projects and the ability to

create a database of all of your

readings notion is the ideal tool for

students over the past few months i've

actually been using notion to keep track

of the 200 plus books i have to read for

comprehensive exams and its customizable

format has allowed me to track which

books are in progress those i've

completed notes from meetings with my

examiners and so much more thank you so

much again to notion for sponsoring

today's video to download notion go

ahead and check out the description down

below and let's go ahead and head on to

part number two which is all about

reading for retention unlike how you

might read for class where key arguments

and main points will get you by

reading for attention is all about

long-term recall the advice in this

section is for students taking

comprehensive exams preparing for phd

admissions or who want to master the

literature for their research and as

future educators one of the most

important takeaways in this section is

about active recall reading and taking

notes alone will not help you remember

all of the details of a text grab a

friend meet with your professors or like

me grab a camera and start discussing

what you've read through teaching the

subject to others and integrating your

readings into research papers you'll

begin to establish long-term memory

however like learning a language reading

and the knowledge it produces must be

practiced so where your brain may be

faulty it's best to have a repository of

notes

lesson 2.1 note taking for diligent

students

when taking notes for retention there

are several categories worth

highlighting quick disclaimer some of

the points made here are more history

specific but can be adjusted to suit

your needs and research questions begin

by setting up your notes on notion with

the following headers main argument

supporting arguments

subjects and sites

sources

methods

scholarly debate terms and themes

questions

and notes while your notes may be more

extensive the three most important

features of retention when thinking

about academic articles or books are the

main argument how the argument was

supported with evidence and who that

argument is in conversation with

the main argument or thesis is the

center of the text this is what the

author believes is their contribution to

the field and should be indicated

clearly in your notes this will come

especially handy if you have to write

any book reviews in the future

supporting arguments are claims made by

the author but which are not the central

takeaway from the text

subjects and sites have to do with

people and location who is involved in

the study and where was the study

conducted sources and evidence include

data historical documents pieces of art

surveys conducted or anything used to

corroborate the author's thesis

methods or theory is all about analysis

ask yourself how has the author analyze

their evidence to draw this conclusion

now on to questions questions are posed

within the text by the author and are

often used to support the thesis by

indicating for the reader what the

author believes are the most important

takeaways

scholarly debate is central to academic

scholarship while reading check out who

the author cites and mentions multiple

times to see who they are influenced by

or who they may be arguing against

lastly are your notes this is where

you're going to track quotes that you

may want to use in the future especially

for your research papers theses or

dissertation

section 2.2 how to read an academic

article

for today's example i'm going to be

looking at jennifer morgan's article

part of sequitur ventrum as you can see

here there is the general introduction

and when i'm taking notes i'm also

taking notes in the margin if you want

more details on how i take notes on my

ipad i have a video for that that i'll

link down below but what's really

important is the

main argument and supporting arguments

and all the different pieces that i

discussed in the note-taking section

you're going to indicate the primary

argument of the paper this is often

indicated by lines such as this essay

will argue or i claim that usually

leading language that will help you

indicate where the primary argument is

then if we zoom in here we can say that

she actually has a further argument so

you can either include this in the main

argument section or if we believe that

this is a supporting argument then we

would put it in that section of our

notes as we move down we can see that

her general subjects are enslaved women

for the sources we can indicate that

from either the reading of the text and

you can also find it in the footnotes

this is a largely secondary

literature-focused article where she's

in a discussion with a lot of these

scholars so this would go in the

discourse section in terms of methods i

think this is a more theoretical text

whereas other texts may be more focused

on oral testimony or maybe focused on

quantitative methods so for jennifer

morgan's method i would put that she is

using the theory of the race

reproductive bind coined by alice

weinbaum and then for notes i would go

and look at all the different side notes

that i had in the margin here and also

write down all of the quotes as i

discussed in the notes section with

articles what you're looking for is the

main argument which is going to be

coming from the introduction of the

paper and then you're going to be

looking for different sources or

evidence which is often going to come

from the center of the paper for methods

that is often discussed in the

introduction however you'll also find it

throughout the entirety of the paper and

the discourse as i said in the earlier

section is usually in the introduction

as you see here my notes begin to become

more sparse throughout the article i

find that majority of the information of

articles is centered at the beginning

and at the end however this is largely

history specific

and some articles will have an abstract

however for history papers they

typically do not

key takeaways 1. articles should be read

thoroughly but pay attention to the

introduction two the main argument or

thesis is usually near the beginning and

three pay attention to which discussions

they are engaging in articles tend to be

more direct and calling on other

scholars and their work

lesson 2.3 how to effectively read a

book the academic monograph has four

distinct sections the introduction

chapters conclusion and bibliography

let's begin with the introduction this

is the section along with the conclusion

which you should pay the most attention

to in contemporary academic monographs

this is where the main argument and

scholarly discourse lies therefore this

is not the section to skip read

thoroughly and take your time take notes

based on the categories we discussed and

consider which chapters or sections

pique your interest

for this example i'll be returning to

jennifer morgan's work this time with

her recent publication reckoning with

slavery first things first let's go

straight to the table of contents in

this section of the book you'll find a

general overview of the book which will

help you indicate which sections may be

the most intriguing the table of

contents will also help you see the

overall flow of the book allowing you to

ask questions about chronology that may

be useful to you later on now we move to

the introduction this is perhaps the

most important section of the text as it

often contains rich details about the

thesis the discourse the author is

engaging in what evidence will be

presented and so much more as you'll see

in the margins of my book i've left

myself clear notes which help me

indicate which categories they should

fall under on my notion page for

long-term retention and for research i

recommend taking your time with the

introduction

take notes in the margin and don't

forget to check the footnotes and

citations

by the end of the introduction you

should have a clear sense of the

direction of the book and whether or not

it should be useful to your research or

lesson plans now let's move on to the

chapter sections as a slow reader i've

often struggled with maintaining focus

while reading lengthy chapters but after

a few years and countless academic books

i think i've mastered a formula step

number one read the first four to five

pages of the chapter this is often where

the topic and argument of the chapter

will be presented and should be read

thoroughly step number two read the

first three sentences of each paragraph

and skim the rest the middle sections of

chapters focus primarily on evidence

analysis and theory so unlike the

introduction which had clear takeaways

chapter sections will require that you

indicate a few examples or anecdotes

which are supportive of the author's

thesis quick side note indicate between

one and four examples of how the author

uses evidence to support their thesis

for scientific or quantitative based

texts focus on their statistical methods

of analysis

step number three the conclusion read

the last four to five pages of each

chapter to see how the author claims

their examples have supported their

argument this will allow you to see

clearly what they believe are the most

important takeaways final section the

book's conclusion like the introduction

the conclusion is often rich with the

author's argument read thoroughly and

take notes we're useful

now on to our final section reading for

research unlike reading for class or for

retention reading for research is all

about finding the information most

pertinent to your project in a timely

manner whether you're writing a research

paper for a class or a 200 page doctoral

dissertation reading for research

requires a whole different type of

strategy when reading for research i

want you to focus on the key takeaways

of your project you're going to be

looking at different search terms to

find the text that are going to be the

most applicable to your study but in

addition to that you're going to want to

use a specific set of tactics when going

into the text to find what it is that

you're looking for when reading for your

research take the tips that i gave you

in section 2.3 but focus only on the

chapters which are directly applicable

to your project and now comes one of my

most important tips do not skip on the

index the index of a book or the find

feature on a pdf is your best friend

establish a set of key terms find it in

the index and see which pages and

sections directly reference your subject

matter side note establish a long list

of applicable terms as the text may not

directly use the same language as you do

in your writing at the end of the day

reading is all about purpose and

strategy whether you are a slow reader

or at the stage where you are seeking to

focus on a specific subject and begin

writing or publishing your research i

hope that these tips will be useful

comment below anything that you learned

and any tips you might like to share on

how to read and take notes effectively

with application in mind thank you all

so much for watching today's video i

hope that it was helpful for you and

that you got some useful tips out of it

and thank you so much again to notion

for sponsoring today's video you guys

know how much i love notion i talked

about it earlier in the video i am just

so thrilled that i got to work with them

on this particular collaboration if this

video was helpful for you all then go

ahead and hit that subscribe button as

well as the bell notification so you're

notified next time i post i have a lot

of graduate admissions content coming

for you in the coming months as well as

fun vlogs we're heading to london this

summer for research so go ahead and

stick around and i will see you all in

the next video bye everyone

[Music]