Reading week at British universities is literally a week set aside for active reading. It is usually arranged on the 5th or 6th week of each term, so last week was our campus reading week. Initially, the purpose of having a reading week was to enable students, especially those majoring in arts, business and humanities, to catch up on their compulsory reading assignments and class notes and prepare for the following weeks as well.

    However, some students think that reading week is a bit of a waste of money and time. It is because we only have a 12-week program this term and each term now generally costs £3,000 for British and European students and £7,000 for international students. Thus, my classmates majoring in English with creative writing always joke that we spend thousands of pounds on tuition fees only to receive dozens of reading lists from professors.

    Besides, it is easy for us to fall into the trap of using reading week as a holiday. According to pictures posted on Facebook, Instagram and WeChat last week, most of my Asian friends chose to travel in European countries, especially France because it only takes two hours to go from London to Paris by Eurostar train. In addition, the transportation fee is affordable for students. If you book a return ticket one month before the date of your departure, it only costs £59.

    British classmates saw reading week as a gilt-edged opportunity to go back home with luggage stuffed full of dirty washing and a chance to go to the bar with close friends at night. For me and other night owls who have been staying up late for weeks before essay deadlines, it provided us with a great chance to catch up on some sleep. No matter how many touches of concealer I added under my eyes, I still wore the dark circles like badges of honor before the break. More interestingly, in order to create a sense of belonging for students choosing to stay on campus, the Student Union also arranged a week full of events such as planning a zoo trip and a wine tasting activity at the campus pub. Consequently, it seems that every student regards it as a period of rest and recuperation

    So did anyone actually do any reading during reading week? In fact, some students with foresight and self-discipline have already gotten ahead on their essays and have done secondary-resource research for their dissertations which account for nearly 40 percent of their final year’s results. Indeed, reading week is a luxury for us to read texts at our own pace and work on what we are interested in.

    Hence, it is recommended to make full use of reading week and keep your reading as efficient, as productive, as possible!