Improving Your Reading Speed

Just think of the time that you could save if you read faster. The truth is that most people could read at least as half as fast again and still understand just as well. Slow readers tend to read one word at a time, often mouthing the words. Some read so slowly that by the time they have reached the end of the paragraph, or even a sentence, they might have forgotten how it began.

Here are five ways you can start helping yourself to read faster.

1. Have your eyes tested- many people turn out to need reading glasses for continuous study.
2. Make sure you don't mouth words or say things aloud as you read.
3. Try to read in "thought units" (two or three words at a time) so that your eyes only stop three or four times in a line of print instead of every word.
4. Build up your vocabulary by:
   • Reading widely.
   • Using a dictionary whenever new words crop up in your reading, noting their meaning.
   • (c) Making glossaries of words commonly used in your subjects.
5. Practise reading faster (force yourself) by:
   • Timing your reading of magazine articles of known length and test your recall of the content.
   • Reading all your study materials faster, even if you have to read them more than once. 

The aim is to vary the speed of reading according to the complexity of the material and the purpose for which you are reading it.

If you are simply trying to get the gist of a piece of narrative type writing, you should be able to read two or three times faster than when you are trying to unravel the detailed development of a complex argument. Mostly you will benefit from skimming and/or scanning the material quickly before you read it more intensively.

Don't expect every text to be fully understood the first time of reading. You may have to go through it several times. Several rapid readings will probably give you a clearer understanding than a single painstaking perusal where you try to assimilate all the points made.

After Your Reading

• Check to see you have answered the questions you wrote down at the beginning.
• What points have arisen during your reading which you think are important but which you weren't aware of? Write these down.
• Check your notes reflect all the important pieces of information from the reading.
• Check accuracy of any quotes you wrote down? Accurately reference them.

Taking Notes From Your Reading

1. 
   Make notes during your reading at the Recall stage because:
   • it keeps you active and concentrating (so you learn and remember better);
   • they provide a written record for revision.
2. Some general advice about note taking includes:
   • Record the source of your notes exactly (author, title, date, publisher and page numbers) and the date on which you wrote them.
   • Write clearly or type on loose-leaf paper of A4 size.
   • Use a logical and memorable layout on the page, e.g. a new page for each set of notes - label clearly; leave plenty of space and wide margins; use colour, diagrams, capitals, underlining, etc.
   • Work out a set of useful abbreviations for commonly occurring words in your subjects.
   • Make use of standard abbreviations such as:
     e.g. - for example
     i.e.  - that is
     c.f. - compare, remember in this context
     N.B.  - note well, important
     =  - equals, is the same as
     =/=  - does not equal, is different from
     <  - is less than
     > - greater than
     .^..  - therefore
     ^..^. - because
   • Content should include:
     1. author's main ideas and any important details
     2. the logical structure of his/her argument (in a diagram where possible)
     3. any important references s/he mentions.
   • Use your own words - don't just copy down undigested chunks of textbook or speech. Use a skeleton outline (bullet points) rather than continuous, paragraphed prose. Notes should not simply be a shorthand copy of the original. They should be the 'bones' of the text.
   • Notes should not be too lengthy (or you might as well re-read the original). Warning - Reading in depth and taking detailed notes can seriously damage your morale.
   • After you have finished taking notes read them through and write a summary (notes on notes). NB Only underline or highlight a passage in a text if it is yours to keep.
3. Store your notes in a loose-leaf folder. This gives you maximum flexibility to re-write sections of your notes and re-arrange them into more useful groupings as your understanding of a subject develops. Always file notes together by topic, rather than in the order in which they happen to be written.