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English: skills for learning
English: skills for learning

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1.2 What do university students have to read?

University students read textbooks as well as other printed or online material. The type of material they read depends on the subject they are studying.

Below are five examples of texts a university student is likely to read. They are often available both in print and online.

You may already be familiar with some or all of these types of text. Test your knowledge in the next activity.

Activity 2

Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes

Match each source to the description of its content.

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. Reference material

  2. Academic journals

  3. Newspapers and magazines

  4. Specialist organisations’ websites

  5. Academic books

  • a.Key principles, facts and theories about a topic

  • b.Up-to-date developments, current issues and events, written by journalists

  • c.Online specialist information on a topic

  • d.The most specialised and up-to-date research, theories and debates in your subject area, written by academics

  • e.Facts and figures, addresses, statistics, definitions

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = e
  • 2 = d
  • 3 = b
  • 4 = c
  • 5 = a