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Reading lists

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★☆☆ beginner

Reading lists are collections of reading materials that are either necessary or helpful to your modules.

Here at Essex, we use the reading list platform Talis Aspire. On your lists you'll find what you need to read each week, along with suggestions from your tutors about further reading to help you get the most out of your modules. Your reading lists can either be found on the Moodle page for your module, or by searching by course code via the Talis home page or Library reading list guide.

This introduction to reading lists covers:

• The types of resources you can find on your reading list
• An overview of the helpful features within your reading list
• Using reading lists as a research tool

Click to expand presentation: Using your reading list

Already confident in using reading lists? Start the next section on 'Managing Information' or return to the Skills at Library homepage to select another lesson.

Reading lists can also be a helpful research tool

Reading lists are a great place to start when you are researching a topic. You can use them to your advantage to help with your research in a few ways:

Key texts

Before you start searching for literature on a topic, go back to basics. Are there key texts, textbooks or authors included in your reading lists? These would be a great place to start your research. 

Further reading

Many reading lists will include further reading, beyond what you will need to do week by week for your classes. You may not have looked at them when you first studied the topic, but go back and see what recommended reading there is before you start your assignment. There may be some useful and relevant resources there already without you even having to search for them!

Related sources

These key texts and further reading can lead you to other related sources that you may be able to use in your assignments. Try using them as a starting point for a chain search. You can do this by looking at the reference list or bibliography at the end of the article, chapter or book. This will include the texts the author has read and used in their work. These may be related or relevant to your topic, so could be worth reading and potentially using as sources for your assignment. 

Keywords

While looking at the titles on your list, and once your start reading, you may find alternatives or synonyms for your keywords, which you can use to help you build your search strategy.

Here's some quick links to help you start looking for different types of sources:

• See the 'Types of information' page to learn about using the different types of sources found in your reading list.
• You can find more details about finding and accessing your lists in our Reading List Help Guide.

Getting started with reading lists requires basic information literacy skills. Continue learning with Skills at Library to develop advanced skills.

Want to learn more?

• Complete our Academic Skills Audit to assess your current information and academic skills and discover resources to support your development.
• Explore the Digital reading section of the Skills@Essex course on Moodle.
• Visit the 'Unlocking information' lesson to learn how to use digital reading tools to make your reading efficient and effective.
• Keep a look out for our 'Getting the most out of your digital readings' workshop. This session is offered regularly online and in person as part of the Skills at Library open workshop programme.
• Continue to the next lesson for tips on organising your readings.

To get started with navigating a reading list, why not check out Making the most of your digital reading  below?

Except where otherwise noted, this work by University of Essex Library and Cultural Services is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.