So what exactly is Speed Reading? Think back to pre-school/kindergarden, if you will. You first started reading by recognizing the sounds that the various letters represent. Next, you pronounced those sounds in succession according to the order of the letters. Once we are familiar with numerous words, we can pick up the pace and read words at a time. Now, here is where we begin. The next step is to read sentences at a time, and then paragraphs at a time. Don’t worry, it is possible, just not using the techniques and habits you have formed over the years. Speed reading programs aim to increase your reading speed by breaking you of these habits.
I do not expect anyone to be able to read 25,000 wpm, I merely pointed out the story of Mr. Berg to give an example of what is possible. For our purposes, we are aiming for somewhere around the 500-600 wpm range, far below a world record but enough to allow you to become a more efficient student. Your reading pace is more or less governed by what type of material you are reading. For example, an engaging novel can be read with a speed of 600 wpm, whilst a Biology textbook can be read by the same person at around 350 wpm (These numbers are just examples). The connection between how much of the information needs to be comprehended, and the speed read becomes apparent. In short, the faster you read, the less you comprehend. This can be avoided by slowly building up your skill. Think of speed reading as learning to ride a motorcycle. When you first ride, you dare not to go 120 mph, but rather you start at a low speed and as you become more experienced, you increase your speed and comfort level.
Now to the nitty gritty.
1. First of all, figure out your current reading speed. There are several websites that will test your reading speed and comprehension, but the easiest way is to pick a solid passage of text from any sort of material and read it. Time yourself, then count how many words were in the text. Here is your general equation for finding out your reading speed:
(Number of Words read ÷ Number of Seconds) * 60
2. Practice Scanning. The method of scanning includes skipping unnecessary words such as ‘a’,‘the’, & ‘and’. So if you read a block of text that read, “The man walked into the store and bought some milk. He then walked to the front to pay for the milk”, you would read it as, “Man walked into store bought milk. Walked front pay for milk.” Of course there isn’t an exact list of words you should avoid, the point of this is to train your brain to piece together the story on its own, allowing your eyes to obtain information faster.
3. This step is one of the most important. When we are young, we are taught to pronounce our words aloud. As an adult, we rarely experience an occasion where we need to pronounce our words while reading to ourselves. When your take in text information with your eyes, the information travels to your larynx, where it is voiced and then sent to your brain. Eliminating the link between your eyes and larynx in your reading process will easily double your speed. The “speaking with your eyes” method is known as subvocalization. So how would you go about this, you say? Well it’s easy, just keep your mouth shut! Just focus on not speaking while you read. Start slow at first, then once your get more and more conformable with the idea, speed up a little.
4. These next steps are meant to be less about training your eyes, and more about keeping your focus during reading. They are also extraordinarily simple. The first is called the “Pointer Method”, developed by Evelyn Wood. Can you guess what this method entails? Being the geniuses you all are (if you’ve read any of my other articles, this statement leans more towards truth than sarcasm), you would have guessed that you would need something to point with. Your index finger is perfectly suited for the job, however if you were taught pointing your finger was rude, a pen will work just as well. Just follow the words with your pointer while you read. This will keep you focused on the sentence you are reading.
5. “Regression” is the habit of re-reading material you have already read, usually by skipping a sentence or two backwards in an attempt to re-learn information. If you need to do this, you are either 1) reading two fast, or 2) not paying attention. Obviously, this would decrease your reading speed tremendously. This is a simple fix. Take a sheet of notebook paper (I personally use my bookmark) and cover the text already read, leaving the current visible. This usually covers the previous two lines, making it impossible to re-read previous text. Sooner or later, you will break yourself of the “re-reading” habit and will be able to use the pointer method more effectively.
As with anything, practice makes perfect. This is not an overnight process, and is something that you CAN forget, if not used often. However if you being the ideal college student, studying every night and in-between classes, you should not have a problem keeping this skill at tip-top shape! There are claims that if you practice everyday, taking a break every 30 minutes, you can increase your reading speed by 3 times as much in 3 weeks.
In short, learning to read past the ‘word-by-word’ stage will help you read faster. Although your comprehension rate will suffer a bit, learning the process slowly and at a comfortable pace will help to reduce the amount sacrificed. Breaking the habits of regression, and implementing new habits such as Subvocalization and Scanning, will dramatically increase the rate in which you read. Lastly, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!
Next week will be a busy week for me, so the next Studying blog will be posted in two weeks. Of course if it gets done earlier, it will be up ASAP. I will also be posting a questionnaire note, asking things such as how helpful the blogs are and what direction the readers would like the topics to go in. These will most likely be email responses, and thank you in advance for answering. Happy Studying!
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