How to read academic writing: Repeat.



First skim for the thesis statements and the major steps of the argument.



Then read the supporting paragraphs under the theses, but if they seem unclear, try reading the paragraphs backward.

Mostly the information and ideas that lead to the conclusion or sub-conclusion come after the conclusion is stated, often in nearly reverse order. So start at the end of the paragraph and try to get what each sentence says, in reverse.

Then once you have the gist of what they were trying to say and the logic of how they got there, you can decide if you want to read the thing.



You haven't really read it yet; you just figured it out.



But that's okay. Actually reading something is often not necessary.