Speed Reading Methods

Speed Reading Daily News Method

News is redundant – previewed yesterday, detailed today, and still will be summed up tomorrow. Thus, news readers tend to not read news articles are extensively as other technical materials. Using this style of reading, called the Reading News Method, to other materials is useful. It disregards redundant information to save time.

You use the Reading News Method when you are read from a report, newspaper, magazine or newsletter. You skip what you already know and read only the new information you need.

Speed Reading Newspapers Method

In reading newspaper articles, look through the headlines and first paragraphs only. Reporters present 80% of the key information of the news in the opening paragraph. The subsequent supporting text should be read only as needed. Follow these strategies:
- Ask yourself what other specific details you want.
- Skim the article for the desired details. Don't read all the words unless you have enough time.
- When finished with an article, go on to the next. This whole process should not take more than 10-15 minutes.

Close Reading Method

Close reading is the essence of the academic learning. It aims to acquire knowledge from materials with full retention of details. It divides into a number of separate steps, each vital, but ends as a whole.
Before reading a difficult piece of writing, take a few moments to close your eyes, relax, and take 2-3 deep breaths.

This way, you can get all the comfort you will need in reading. Believe that you can read with full concentration, recognize key information, and achieve high comprehension quickly to accomplish the needs. Believe you can, and you will.

This may simply sound like "positive mental attitude." But realization of everything begins with affirmation, doesn’t it?

Exploratory Reading Method

Exploratory reading is the half-way point between skimming and close reading. It is similar to pleasure reading. You want to acquaint yourself with the subject, but you do not need complete understanding and retention. Perhaps you are reading supplementary material which you will not be held accountable for, or perhaps you only need to gain general knowledge from a text which will be available if you need to look up specific references.

Reading to Learn Method

Intensive reading or reading to learn is the style we employ when we want to gain a detailed understanding of the information contained in any reading materials, particularly educational or technical ones.

Following are some strategies on reading different academic materials that belong to this category:

Reading Computer Books

• Spend some time reading the chapter headings and sub-headings from the index page.
• Get familiar with the framework of the book – how the book is organized and broken down into its sub-components.
• Skim the book: Read a sentence here, a sentence there; look at a diagram here, a diagram there.
• Look for new terminology, diagrams, and graphs that you haven't come across before.
• After skimming the book, read the entire book through superficially. During this time, only concentrate on the sections of the book that you already know or understand, and completely skip over entries in the book that you don't.
• Lastly, read the book again and this time, study the material. This will essentially be the third time that you've looked at the book, and a lot of the content, the structure and the feel of the book will be familiar to you. You should be able to tackle the entire book much easier.

Reading Textbooks and Research Reports

• Determine a purpose. What is it that you want to get from the printed page? Terms and definitions? Problem and solution? Research method?
• Preview the printed pages to see how the ideas are organized. These include the title, the introduction, and the headings. Also, read the conclusion if there is one.
• Read rapidly, only slowing down when you approach something relevant to the purpose you set.
• Mark the lines or words that you want to remember. When you reach the end of the last page, quickly look back at the marked text for a rapid review. This should answer the question or purpose that you set before you started reading.

Reading a Novel

• Read any information on the book cover or in the foreword that gives you ideas about the content of the story or about the author's reasons for writing the book.
• Read the first chapter slowly and carefully. It should introduce the main character and the problem or conflict that he/she faces. The first chapter also develops some character traits and introduces other characters who influence attempts to resolve issues. 
• Plan how much of the book you will read at one sitting. If you become seriously restless after thirty minutes, plan to read for thirty minutes at a time. A more mature plan is to read one chapter at a time. 
• Determine what time of day you will always read making it a regular habit.
• If reading a novel is an assignment for a book report, write a summary paragraph about the events in every chapter you have finished reading. Add a comment about anything else you think is significant. After you finish the last chapter, you should have a summary of the entire book composed of those chapter summaries that you wrote. Organizing it will then give you a good and effective book report.
• You can also use a pacer such as the finger or a pen point to increase reading speed and reduce regressing back although it is not really necessary. Remember, you are reading fiction and do not need the detailed precision that you do while reading academic subjects.

Reading Math Books

• First and foremost, do homework exercises even if most professors do not require you to submit them. Home works are for your benefit, not the professor's. The exercises will train your mind and sharpen your intuition. 
• Math books are meant to be read slowly. No one speed read it and expect to get any benefit out of it at all. 
• Go over each difficult paragraph several times. If you are still uncomfortable with it, read ahead a page or so, then come back to the difficult passage. 
• Math books are meant to be read with paper and pencil in hand. Use the paper and pencil to work through any steps that the book skips over. 
• Try to see more than just procedures. Learn the concepts, and the procedures will seem obvious.

Activate Reading Method

During activation, we stimulate the brain probing the mind with questions and exploring parts of the text to which we feel most attracted. We then concentrate on the most important parts of the text by scanning quickly down the center of each page or column of type. When we feel it is appropriate, we dip into the text for more focused reading to comprehend the details. When we activate, we involve our whole brain, connect the text with our conscious awareness, and achieve our goals for reading.

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