Reading lists

On most courses your tutors will provide you with reading lists, which might be in printed or electronic formats. For example within the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), in a programme handbook or course guide.

Here are some sample reading lists from different departments. The list may be divided into several categories to show the relative importance:

• essential/required
• recommended/secondary
• further/background

From the lists below you can see clearly that lecturers recommend specific books, and the list will indicate if any of the texts are essential reading. You can rely on the fact that all resources listed are reliable, and relevant to your academic field.

Another point to note is that increasingly texts are available for online reading; you can choose to read these online, or alternatively print out particularly relevant sections if you need to annotate them.

List 1 – Social Psychology

List 2 – Construction Management

List 3 – Chemistry

Reading lists are often provided before a course starts. This is particularly helpful if you’re studying on a Masters course, which can be very intensive.

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We’d like to hear from you.

• Have you been provided with a reading list for your course?
  • If so, have you started your reading? How useful has this been for you to understand more about your course before it begins?
  • If not, are there any resources you have read, or would like to read in advance of your course starting?

Share your thoughts in the comment area below.