Let's get real. How many of us start to study for big tests waaaay to late? Yeah me too.
Here are some tips to become a faster reader
1. Eliminate vocalization or sub-vocalization as you read (sounding out the words either out loud or in your head). Vocalization will dramatically reduce yourreading speed as your lips need time to sound out each word. However, while eliminating vocalization will increase your speed, it will most likely decrease your comprehension, so there is a small trade-off initially (until you grasp some of the other techniques).
2. Instead of reading word by word, read in chunks of words, or even full sentences. The longer you spend on each word the more slowly you read, so it is important to read phrases of multiple words so as to increase your speed. Slow readers often take long pauses between words, thus slowing them down. Try practicing on a newspaper with columns that are four or five words wide, so as to get a better sense of reading in chunks of text.
- Don't pause for periods and commas, just read all the way through.
3. Try to lightly skim the text either before or after reading it. Read only a few words per line and try to glean a general meaning out of the text. Skimming before reading will help introduce you to the topic and the author's purpose and will help you read faster. Skimming after reading will allow you to draw key points out of particularly dense or hard to read material.
- Keep in mind the focus of the given text and what the author is trying to achieve. Doing this will often help keep your mind on track.
4. Don't reread text that you have already read. Doing so will only disrupt your brain's flow and will slow you down.
5. Be realistic about how much faster you can read before losing the meaning.For many, faster reading will result in a loss of at least some comprehension, so it is important to balance speed and comprehension so as to maximize reading efficiency.
6. Choose a particular method to help you learn to read faster. As you get better at the method, try moving your placeholder faster and see if your eyes can keep up and remember to try to keep both your eyes and your placeholder moving in one constant motion. A list of methods you might like to try follows after this step.
- It is recommended that you try all of the different methods to see what works best for you or what works best in your given situation.
Good luck, break that test!
xoxo Lihini
