Previewing an entire book can help you use it more efficiently. The preview can give you a quick, general sense of the book's purpose, organization, and learning aids.

To preview a textbook, do the following:

1. Look at the opening pages to check the publishing date. (If several dates are given, look for the last one.) You should know whether the book is providing you with recent information about its subject.

2. Read the preface to get an idea of the author's purpose in writing the book. The author may also describe briefly the organization of the book.

3. Go through the table of contents to get some idea of how the book is organized and how the course may be developed.

4. Finally, flip through the pages of the book at random. Note the kinds of headings and subheadings that are used. See if there are introductions to and summaries of each chapter, and study questions at the end of chapters. Look quickly at charts, diagrams, and pictures. Check the end of the book for a glossary (definitions of terms used in the book), an index (page references for information presented in the book), appendixes (supplementary material), or other special information.

Use one of your books to fill in the textbook preview that follows.

1)      Name of textbook (include subtitle, if any): ______________________________________________________________________

2)      Author: _______________________________  3. Date of publication: _____________

3)      Does the preface explain how the book is organized? _____  If so, what is one way that the book is organized? _____________________________________________________________________

4)      Does the preface talk about the author's purpose in writing the book? _____  If so, what is the purpose? ____________________________________________________________________

5)      Number of chapters in the book: ________

a)      Title of the first chapter: _________________________________________________

b)      Are the chapters grouped into parts? _______________________________________

c)      If so, how many parts are there in the book? _________________________________

6)      Does the book use:

a)      Italicized words? ________Bold print? ________

b)      Several kinds of headings in each chapter? ________

c)      Summaries? ________

d)      Questions at the end of chapters? ________

e)      Other study aids at the ends of chapters? ________

f)        Photographs? ________

g)      Charts, graphs, tables? ________

8. At the end of the book is there:

a. A glossary? ________

b. An index? ________

c. An appendix? ________

d. A bibliography?________

9. Look for possible repeating themes in the table of content and use them to organize your notes.  You can reduce your notes this way and can create charts or diagrams when you merge the information.
   
   

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