Page 188 - Keys to College Success

talk risk and reward . . .

Risk asking tough questions to be rewarded with new insights. Use the following ques-
tions to inspire discussion with classmates, either in person or online.
■ How can reading be a risk, and what reward would it bring? What risk do you take
if you do not read?

■ What steps do you take to ensure that you understand what you read? Have those
strategies worked for you so far? Why or why not?
CONSIDER THE CASE: What step (or steps) from SQ3R could help Mary improve her
ability to choose the most important information to use and set the rest aside? What
step or steps do you think will be most helpful to you as you read materials in prepara-
tion for a writing assignment?

Define the purpose. Ask questions such as:
■ Why did the creator produce this source? In other words, what is the goal of the
source?
■ What does the creator want to convey to the intended audience? The loyalist may
have wanted family back home to denounce the colonies, whereas the colonist
may have wanted letter recipients to rally to his cause of independence.

Compare and contrast the sources. Ask questions such as:
■ How does the information from this source compare to what you already know or
to other information about the event or time? A primary source may or may not
reinforce accepted fact, and it can be interesting to consider why.
■ What surprises you? History professor Zachary Schrag recommends asking this
question, seeing what information and observations emerge as you compare a
source to other primary or secondary sources. 11
Secondary sources provide comprehensive overviews, but necessarily leave out
pieces of information and often add a layer of interpretation. Primary sources allow a
more direct experience of an event, providing a chance to discover and consider infor-
mation that a secondary source author may have set aside. With a primary source in
hand, you are the interpreter.

HOW CAN YOU BE AN INFORMATION
literate reader and researcher?

When it comes to research, most students’ first instinct is to power up the com-
puter and start jumping around on Google. However, there are a myriad of research
resources at your fingertips. Library materials have been evaluated by librarians and
researchers and are likely to be solid and credible—a definite time-saver compared to
the myriad of Internet sources that may turn out to be nothing more than conjecture,
opinion, and rants. Risking time and effort to search carefully will reward you with the
most useful, accurate, and reliable information.

Know the Basics of Library Research Reading, Research, and Writing
To select the most useful information for your research, get an overview of what is
available. Attend an in-person library orientation session to familiarize yourself with

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