Reading Effectively - Part 2
Contents

Part 1

DIFFERENT READING SKILLS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES

SKIMMING
SCANNING
READING FOR UNDERSTANDING

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES TO USE NOW: SQ3R

Part 2

READING FASTER: WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED

 
READING FASTER: WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED

Before you are able to read faster you might need to look at some of the things which might be slowing you down:

Do you say the words in your head (or even move your lips) when reading?

TRY humming a note while you read

Do your eyes move a number of times across a line of print as you focus on each word separately?

TRY focussing on one group of words at a time

Do you focus on the beginning of each line?

TRY starting just a little way in – your eyes will still see the beginning

Ways to increase your reading speed

The following steps can also help you to improve your reading speed.

Underline the words with your finger

Underline quickly, faster than your normal reading speed, forcing your eyes to keep pace. At first, you may not feel your understanding is keeping up, but this will improve if you practise

Do not focus on the beginning of a new line

Remember that when you focus on a word, 95% of your vision is on either side of that word, so with one “eye-fixation” it is possible to take in a number of words. Fewer eye fixations will mean you can read faster and not get as tired

Don’t stop if you don’t know the meaning of a word.You can probably work out the meaning from the rest of the sentence. Look up the word later if you need to

Try using a metronome while you’re reading – increase the speed of the beat each time you read, and your reading speed will get faster too