Our own perceptions of our current period of distraction therefore need to be seen in a longer perspective. Concentration is a social, learned behaviour that is more necessary in some contexts than in others. The modern appetite for bingeing on box sets and multi-episode podcasts makes it clear that we are not losing the ability to concentrate, merely directing it towards different media. We concentrate when we want to. Distraction allows for different, not simply lesser, possibilities than absorption. And reading a book from start to finish is not a moral act. provides a personal record of what you've learnt (more useful thanyour lecturer's or friends' notes) and records your questions and ideas Though some people don't like this style of note-taking, there are a number ofadvantages to using spidergrams: begin{array} &x &\implies & { x }

When we sense danger, our body prepares us to go into flight, flight, or freeze mode so we can protect ourselves from danger. At that moment, the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of our brain responsible for reading, math, and other deep-thinking tasks, is put on pause. James, an Aston Villa fan said: “It’s a bit of a joke. When you consider Manchester City and Chelsea have been over spending for years, it’s all a bit suspicious to me”. Being meticulousand accurateabout recording sources anddirect quotations is an important part of academic discipline, as well as helping to avoid accidental plagiarism.This means:Now you will be ready for the main activity of reading. This involves careful consideration of the meaning of what the author is trying to convey and involves being critical as well as active. Recall Perhaps you want to learn how to code, paint, or start a successful business ? Maybe you want to learn how to stop procrastinating ? Or perhaps you want to figure out how to change your life completely ? I don’t buy newspapers, but I do read newspapers online. I like to keep up to speed on what is happening in the world. I choose good quality news sources such as the Guardian as I can’t stand tabloid newspapers. The tabloids don’t really report real news, mostly the articles are just about famous people and what was on tv the night before. Everton’s history-making points deduction for breaching financial rules continues to make headlines, but what do fans of each Premier League club really think? And what do they think should happen to Manchester City as a result?

Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of the writing, the language used as well as the content. Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be able to fully analyse the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole. Identify key words -for instance, notice when words or phrases are being repeated. Underline or circle in your notes any words that seem to be really significant. Are there particular words that seem to sum up the overall message? (For instance, 'oppression' or 'conflict' or 'solution'.)

Good readers … reflect on what they read

The best part? You can get all these benefits of reading books while enjoying some fantastic entertainment. Ultimately, the politicised furore over unconscious bias training may be allowing for some convenient scapegoating of this particular approach, rather than more careful scrutiny of broad challenges. Thinking critically, in the academic sense, involves being open-minded - using judgement and discipline to process what you are learning about without letting your personal bias or opinion detract from the arguments. If the thought of reading a whole book exhausts you, try reading shorter bits of writing. This can include: