An understanding of the etymology (the origin) of words often gives us a better understanding of the meaning of the words, particularly in medicine where many words have their origin in Latin or Greek. Find a dictionary such as the Concise Oxford Dictionary which gives the etymology of words and look up the following parts of a book:
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Appendix
Glossary
Foreword
References
Bibliography
Index
Don’t forget to check the pronunciation as well as the meaning. When we start reading a book depends on why we are reading it. When we read books for pleasure, such as novels, we may well turn to page one and start reading, but this is not a sound approach to academic study. Under what circumstances would we start by looking at the index or at the bibliography? Answer this question for all the above parts of a book. Reading an academic text is an active process of assimilating our own knowledge and experience with the new information presented to us. This can be done in four stages.
