During your time at university or college you will need to approach your reading very intelligently and diligently by putting considerable effort into it. As a student it is important to recognize that reading may be the most demanding work you do at university or college and that a huge volume of reading will be required to pass a course. Almost certainly reading strategies need to be developed in order to get through the amount of reading to be done. For some people it may be a matter of changing perceptions about reading. For example, on entering a library some students will think ‗Oh no, look at all these books to read!, while others will think ‗Oh wow, look at all these books to read – where shall I start? Let me get going!‘. Over the years authors have identified, described and analyzed the issues relevant to a particular area of study, such as business, philosophy, botany, education and psychology. Within each discipline theorists examine a subject from a number of viewpoints, identifying key themes and issues and embodying certain assumptions. One of the particular advantages of reading is that in many instances it is possible, through books, to read the original works of an author. The written word is still the main way of accessing academic debate in all fields of study. Through reading, it is possible to discover the fundamentals and essential aspects of a subject, its basic assumptions, the facts upon which it is built and how these are examined and approached. Purposes for reading A student will read for many different reasons, and it is important to remember that the way reading is approached should change depending on the purpose. Glancing through a newspaper to pick out the main news items is quicker than and different from reading for study, and both involve a variety of skills. A newspaper often gives only a cursory coverage of a topic, ignoring the details. A textbook may require detailed study to extract the essential knowledge it contains. When reading, for example, it is possible to: a) read an instruction book with the intention of immediately applying the information in order to play a new stereo, use a cooker, repair a car; b) read an enjoyable, exciting novel for escapism, as quickly as possible, with no need to worry about remembering any of the story afterwards; ​​​