Before Speed Reading

How many times have you promised yourself to read more but just never found enough time? If only you could do it quickly and more efficiently.

Effective and efficient readers learn to use many styles of reading for different purposes which include skimming, scanning, and critical reading. Before reading, you need to identify the purpose why you’ll be doing such activity: Are you looking for background information on a topic you know a little bit about already? Are you looking for specific details and facts that you can marshal in support of an argument? Are you trying to see how an author approaches her topic rhetorically?

Knowing your purpose in reading helps focus your attention on important aspects of the text. Before turning those pages, take a moment first to reflect and clarify what your goal really is.

There are a lot of ways to familiarize yourself with the background of the text, and gain a useful overview of its content and structure before actually absorbing and digesting the text. Seek information about the context of the reading, its purpose, and its general content. Look for an abstract or an author’s or editor’s note that may precede the article itself. Read any background information that is available to you about the author, the occasion of the writing, its intended audience, and more useful information.

After viewing the title and noting general ideas that are accessible to you as a reader, you can continue to browse pages and scan paragraphs in order to get the gist of what material the text covers and how that material is arranged. As soon as you finished looking over the text as a whole, read through the introductory paragraph or section, noticing that some authors will provide an overview of their message as well as an explicit statement of their thesis or main point in the opening portion of the text. Considering the background information, the messages conveyed by the title, note or abstract, and the information from the opening paragraph or section, you should be able to proceed with a good hunch of the article’s direction.

In order to become aware of your reading situation, ask yourself questions like:

What do I want (or need) to know and learn?

In which context do I want (or need) this?

Which texts could suit these needs?

What made me choose this text?

How deeply an understanding of the text do I need?

How much time have I got?

How do I want to proceed?

Speed Reading Home

Speed Reading Articles

Recommended Speed Reading Books

Free Speed Reading Course

Introduction to Speed Reading
◦ Improving Reading Rate
◦ Speed Reading and Comprehension
◦ Speed Reading - Basic Conditions for Increased Reading Rate
◦ Reading Rate Adjustment

Before Speed Reading
◦ Consider Your Purpose In Reading
◦ Become an Impatient Reader
◦ Speed Reading Tips
◦ Speed Reading - Knowing How Deeply to Study the Material

How People Read
◦ Short Reading Exercise
◦ Reducing Fixation Time for Speed Reading
◦ Speed Reading Techniques
◦ Reading by Skimming
◦ Reading By Scanning
◦ Light Reading
◦ Word by Word Reading
◦ Reading to Study

Radically Increasing Your Reading Speed
◦ The Key Speed Reading Insight
◦ Speed Reading Technical Issues
◦ Self-Pacing Techniques in Speed Reading
◦ More Speed Reading Tips
◦ What Causes Slow-Reading?
◦ Tips for Increasing Reading Rate

Brief Suggestions for Increasing Speed and Effectiveness of Reading
◦ Reading Methods
◦ Reading and Subvocalization
◦ Do You Vocalize Words in your Mind as you Read?
◦ Reading Tip - Chunk Four Words and Use Pen and Finger

Speed Reading - Getting the Main Idea
◦ How So What Questions Help in Speed Reading
◦ Speed Reading - Be an Active Reader
◦ Limit Points of Fixation to Speed Read
◦ Tips to Developing Good Eyesight for Speed Reading
◦ Speed Reading Calculating
◦ Why Double Your Reading Speed
◦ Speed Reading - Knowing What You Need To Know

Conclusion to Speed Reading Course

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