Reading Like a Graduate Student: A Framework for Developing Best Practices

As they enroll in graduate school, students bring with them knowledge, information, and expertise based on their previous coursework and lived experiences, as well as maturity, emotional intelligence, and self-knowledge.[1]

This brief guide offers general suggestions for best practices in reading on a graduate level for coursework and for research.[2]  Disciplines may have additional expectations of their graduate students.

The following selection of USC Libraries Resources may be of additional help:

• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper Guide
• Organizing Research for Arts and Humanities Papers and Theses Guide
• Evaluating Information Sources Guide
• Guide to Citating Conventions

[1] These terms were widely introduced into usage through research and publications into leadership conducted by Daniel Goleman.

[2] Suggested practices in this guide were adapted from Purdue OWL, Claremont Colleges’ How to Read in Graduate School, and University of Pennsylvania’s Reading Effectively in Graduate School. Accessed in March 2025.