Speed Reading - Consider your Purpose Before You Read

To help you determine a purpose, consider the following ideas:

• Are you looking for brief information, main ideas, complete comprehension, or detailed analysis?
• How will this text help you?
• Is this the best material to meet your goals?
• What does background or summary information provided by the author or editor predict the text will do?
• Does there seem to be a clear introduction and conclusion that can be useful? Where?
• What claims does the author make at the beginnings and endings of sections?
• Are there key words that are repeated or put in bold or italics to help you skim and scan?
• What kinds of development and detail do you notice? Does the text include statistics, tables, and pictures or is it primarily prose? Do names of authors or characters get repeated frequently?

Look for Specific Words

• Scan a section for key words.
• Skim to the words that provide meaning and may be useful for you and your purpose.

Fairly logical isn't it? Before you leave home in your automobile, you generally have an idea of the purpose, even if it is nothing more than just driving for the fun of it. Likewise, it makes sense to have a goal and a defined reason before you begin reading. This is particularly true when you are getting ready to read technical material.

Next Page Become an Impatient Reader