The aim of the study was to examine reading and writing tasks as learning tools in higher education in Spain. The participants were 171 undergraduates from three different university degree courses. The data were gathered through a questionnaire that explored the kind of tasks carried out by the students, their perception of different aspects of the tasks they perform, and the conditions in which they perform them. The article presents the most relevant differences found, taking into account the type of course being studied. The findings suggest that the most common tasks are still those aimed at knowledge reproduction. Nevertheless, students of history differ from students of psychology and biology in that they carry out some of the tasks requiring writing and discussing on the basis of reading multiple texts to a greater extent. (Contains 9 tables.)