How to Speed Read With Better Comprehension
Scan your text before reading., Plan out what you’d like to get from the reading., Focus on nouns and verbs.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Scan your text before reading.
Whether it’s a chapter or a few pages, if you can identify what the author devotes a majority of the attention to, you can speed up and slow down where appropriate.
Try reading just the first sentence in every paragraph to get a general sense of what’s occurring.
Scribble paraphrased notes on the first sentence or just the headings.
You’ll be able to skip right over some unimportant or purely supplementary sections.When reading for pleasure this may not be as effective, since small details may be crucial to the story.
One study showed reading comprehension improvement for the majority of a class when skimming beforehand took place. -
Step 2: Plan out what you’d like to get from the reading.
If you already know the general topic of the article or book, you likely know to which section you need to devote more attention and time.
By noting the contents beforehand, you’ll be able to determine which parts can be skipped.Based purely on header structure, you’ll be able to focus more on things you believe to be important. , Some examples show that comprehension is largely sufficient if the noun and verb combinations, and some crucial prepositions, are understood thoroughly.
By skipping over the other words, the general content of the text is understood.For example, “Hitting a baseball is about transferring kinetic energy by shifting weight toward the rear foot and coiling the body” could be shortened as, “Hitting baseball…transferring energy…shifting weight…rear foot…coiling body. -
Step 3: Focus on nouns and verbs.
Detailed Guide
Whether it’s a chapter or a few pages, if you can identify what the author devotes a majority of the attention to, you can speed up and slow down where appropriate.
Try reading just the first sentence in every paragraph to get a general sense of what’s occurring.
Scribble paraphrased notes on the first sentence or just the headings.
You’ll be able to skip right over some unimportant or purely supplementary sections.When reading for pleasure this may not be as effective, since small details may be crucial to the story.
One study showed reading comprehension improvement for the majority of a class when skimming beforehand took place.
If you already know the general topic of the article or book, you likely know to which section you need to devote more attention and time.
By noting the contents beforehand, you’ll be able to determine which parts can be skipped.Based purely on header structure, you’ll be able to focus more on things you believe to be important. , Some examples show that comprehension is largely sufficient if the noun and verb combinations, and some crucial prepositions, are understood thoroughly.
By skipping over the other words, the general content of the text is understood.For example, “Hitting a baseball is about transferring kinetic energy by shifting weight toward the rear foot and coiling the body” could be shortened as, “Hitting baseball…transferring energy…shifting weight…rear foot…coiling body.
About the Author
Justin Lopez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: