Reading and note-taking

Reading in anthropology is more than absorbing information. It is a skill that allows you to engage with existing work and contribute to ongoing debates. To set yourself up for successful reading, ask yourself:

(1) Where are you reading? Are you comfortable and able to concentrate?

(2) What times of day are you most mentally alert? Set aside these times to read.

(3) Are you moving around enough? Take stretch breaks and walks (you can think through your readings in the fresh air)!

(4) Do you have everything you need to place your reading in context? This might include lecture or class notes, background information from the reading list, or guiding questions from your class teacher.

Place your reading in context

The information you read is only useful if you can connect it to other source materials and to the broader structure of the course. Ask yourself:

(1) What module are you reading this for? You might read the same text for different teachers and for different reasons.

(2) When was the text published, and what is its socio-historical context? What knowledge was available to the author at the time of writing?

(3) What kind of text is this? Different texts require different reading strategies. 

Kinds of texts

During your degree, you will come across the following types of writing:

(1) Programmatic essays, which examine one or more theoretical issues in anthropology and suggest new directions for future research.

(2) Research articles, which discuss one or more theoretical issues in anthropology and suggests new directions for future research.

(3) Theoretical articles or chapters, which offer and/or apply an interpretive framework. This could be a book review, which addresses the scope and contribution of a specific work, or a full-length ethnography, a book-length work resulting from immersion in a social setting.

Separate your goals from the author’s

There is no point underlining or highlighting 50% of a text. Remember that the author has particular goals in writing, and you have particular (not identical) goals in reading. To keep these separate, write down your goals for reading before opening the article.

After reading the abstract and introduction, write down the author’s stated purpose in writing the article. Bear these in mind as you read and refer back as needed. 

Note only what is relevant

Anthropology articles often have a lot of ethnographic detail. The author needs this to ‘prove’ or frame their argument, but you don’t necessarily need to note and remember them all.

Sometimes authors are engaged with several different theoretical debates in their work – not all of these will necessarily be relevant to the course/ week for which you are reading a text.

First, try to read the text quite quickly, not worrying about sections you don’t understand. Try to get the gist of the piece. Don’t take detailed notes until you have a sense of the work as a whole, and of the most important passages.

If you are reading for class, make sure to read any questions, summaries, or introductions to the material that the class teacher has prepared. Reading over notes from previous classes and lectures will help place your reading in context before you begin taking notes.

If you are reading for an independent research paper (rather than to prepare for class) start with overviews, reviews, introductory texts to get the basics. Then work your way to more complex material.

In both cases, follow this sequence.

Step-by-step notetaking

(1) Start with what you know. Write down or copy-paste the main questions from the lecture into your notes document, along with any key terms or phrases. The goal of reading is to explore the ideas already introduced to you by your professors and to fill in the frameworks they’ve provided with rich case studies and examples. 

(2) Cite the source, in JRAI format, using referencing software like Zotero, Mendeley, or CiteThisForMe. Just do it! You’ll thank yourself later. 

(3) Write down anything you know already about the author and connections to other anthropologists or fields of study. Think, what led them to write this article, and what might their goals be in writing? Who are they writing for? 

(4) Read the abstract (copy-paste it, if you want) and rephrase the key argument in your own words. The abstract is a key tool for refreshing your memory of the article weeks or months later. Note the fieldsite and any key terms the author mentions. 

(5) Read the introduction and think about how the author is locating themselves in a theoretical tradition or inserting themselves into an ongoing conversation between anthropologists. Don’t spend too much time writing down who said what, but do note down the main ways the author differentiates their methods or findings from others’. 

(6) For each of the main headings (can copy-paste these), write down one or two bullet points on the main ideas. It helps to read the whole section before writing anything at all. It might help to ask yourself:

What three keywords summarise what this section is about?

In your own words, what was this section about? Write as if you are telling a non-specialist what you are reading.

What evidence does the author draw upon? 

(7) Once you’ve read the whole article, skim back over your highlights and bulk up your notes with the most memorable and relevant examples.

Note your impressions of the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument and/or motivation.

Think about the relevance – e.g. how does this compare to the other readings?

Reading

(1) Use this template to take notes on an article from your current reading list. Keep track of the time you spend from start to finish. 

There is no ‘right’ amount of time to spend on a single reading but try to keep your notes at a (typed) page or less. Knowing how long it takes you to do this will help you set aside enough time to read in the way that works for you. 

(2) Refer to these notes in your next class.

(3) After class, reflect: Which sections of the template helped shape your ideas in the discussion? What details you included were important and which were unnecessary? What parts of your notes helped you make connection to other readings/weeks? 

Note-taking

(1) Skim this article by Gardner, et al., and think about how to apply the above note-taking strategies.

(2) Look over these sample notes. Do you think the note-taker provides enough information or not enough?

(3) Practice these strategies on one of this week’s readings (and check how long it takes). Send them to your mentor to get their feedback.

Reading for Academic Purposes from TLC Podcasts (LSE LIFE), including general advice on selecting readings and time management.

Reading for Academic Purposes Worksheet from LSE LIFE: step-by-step guidance for reading academic texts (not anthropology-specific).

Taking effective notes from your reading, from LSE LIFE (not anthropology-specific): a podcast/video laying out the steps of academic note-taking.

Tips on Reading and Taking Notes from McGill University (anthropology-specific), including guidance on reading exam questions, reading for essays, and strategies for concise note-taking.