by Mr. B.

Created on: August 04, 2008

Time is expensive. There is so much to do in too little time, so each second of the day is valuable. This is worst for students like myself who have school and other factors dictating our schedules in ways we don't want. A horrible offender of time consumption is reading assignments with essay or project components. Wouldn't it be nice to get through a few of these assignments in less time? Personally, I would never advise cheating. This is about getting the assignment done.

The first thing to do to save time is to determine if the book may actually be interesting. Most of the times, it will be. You're just too taken aback by the size of the book and the length of the assignment. If it seems like it may be an enjoyable read, just read it. It'll save you a bit of distress later. Otherwise, follow the instructions below.

1. Read your assignment. Determine what elements you will need from the book. Maybe information about the theme, specific character information, or specific events. Just list what you actually need from the book.

2. If it is a longer story, force yourself to read at least 1/5 of the book. By the end of those pages, you should the main characters and have an idea what is going on. You'll also better be able to understand how the book is written and catch on to patterns of literary techniques used in the book. If you make the horrible mistake of going past the first 1/5 of the book, don't worry. Keep going as far as you would like. It will do nothing but make it easier for you. Be sure that whatever you read, you are forming predictions and relating it to what you will need out of the story for your essay or assignment.

3. The next part can work two ways. You can go chapter by chapter and read at least the first page of those chapters to keep track of where the story is going. Compare what is going on to your predictions. Wherever you see parts that confuse you or new characters that seem significant, go back a bit and try to figure out how the situation came to be. Chances are you'll despise having to go back, but you know you're curious and you'll want to know. If none of this seems appealing, just go straight to the end and read the last chapter or a significant amount of the end of the book.

4. Using a TRUSTED resource, fill in the gaps. This could be the infamous Spark Notes or other sites. Wikipedia could even be used, but keep in mind it is not really TRUSTED. When you're filling in the gaps, be sure to refer back to the text if there are parts

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