In today's world, we have easy access to information on
almost all subjects through internet, books, journals, newspapers, and so on
and we all are required to read a lot of stuff on a daily basis. While there is easy accessibility to
information, most people are finding it difficult to read because they do not
have time. They read half of the
information or do not read at all. Many books
lie on the shelves waiting their turn to be read. In order to overcome this problem, many
reading techniques have been developed and followed by many, which they claim
to be helpful.
Some techniques are given below for readers like you through which, I am sure, you will be able to increase your reading speed and save a lot of time.
To begin with, when you first get your class books, read them like a storybook, from beginning to end. Do not stop in between the paragraphs or chapters if you do not understand something, and do not try to remember anything, just keep reading and finish in a few days' time, preferably in three to five days' time depending upon the size of the books. This will help you to get an overall idea about what the chapters are all about, and believe me, most of the things will get stored in your subconscious mind without even you realizing it. Finish all your books reading like a storybook.
After you are done with reading the whole book, come to the first page of the first chapter or other chapter per your choice and read it at your normal pace. As you read on, tick the important facts with a pencil, like dates, names, phrases, anything that you feel are important. In short, underline the "keywords" that make up the body of the paragraph. Always use a pencil to do that so that you can erase it later if you like. After obtaining the keywords on the first page, go to the next page and do the same and close the book. After a few hours, open the page you read but do not look at it. Just try to recollect the keywords that you had marked. I am sure you will be able to recall quite a bit of information, if not all. See the paragraph below and assume the underlined words you have marked as your keywords.
Some techniques are given below for readers like you through which, I am sure, you will be able to increase your reading speed and save a lot of time.
To begin with, when you first get your class books, read them like a storybook, from beginning to end. Do not stop in between the paragraphs or chapters if you do not understand something, and do not try to remember anything, just keep reading and finish in a few days' time, preferably in three to five days' time depending upon the size of the books. This will help you to get an overall idea about what the chapters are all about, and believe me, most of the things will get stored in your subconscious mind without even you realizing it. Finish all your books reading like a storybook.
After you are done with reading the whole book, come to the first page of the first chapter or other chapter per your choice and read it at your normal pace. As you read on, tick the important facts with a pencil, like dates, names, phrases, anything that you feel are important. In short, underline the "keywords" that make up the body of the paragraph. Always use a pencil to do that so that you can erase it later if you like. After obtaining the keywords on the first page, go to the next page and do the same and close the book. After a few hours, open the page you read but do not look at it. Just try to recollect the keywords that you had marked. I am sure you will be able to recall quite a bit of information, if not all. See the paragraph below and assume the underlined words you have marked as your keywords.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica France French First
Republic and led successful campaigns
against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France Russia Leipzig ;
the following year the Coalition invaded France ,
forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba Battle of Waterloo Saint Helena and he died
on May 5, 1821.
In the above paragraph, important facts have been marked. As you can see there are about 180 words in
that paragraph and you cannot remember all and there is no need also as you are
not going to write them all in your exam papers. You can go through the marked portions or
keywords whenever you want to in a very short period of time instead of going
through the whole paragraph. This will
save you a lot of time as you are not reading the unnecessary things. To make it further easier, follow the
following point.
Shorten further the facts that you have marked by using them
as abbreviations. For example, you can abbreviate
"Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769" to NB B Au 15, 1769. Here, NB means Napoleon Bonaparte, B means
born, and Au means August. You can write
down these abbreviations in your notebook or on the empty space of the book on
the left hand side and read them occasionally, writing them in full sentences
in your exam papers.
Try speed reading techniques. When you first started going to school, you
were taught to read letter-by-letter.
Gradually, as you grew older, you learned to read word-by-word and
probably you are still continuing the same style of reading. Avoid word-by-word reading as it takes a lot
of time and has many disadvantages, instead incorporate speed reading techniques
into your study plan to step up your reading speed. Below are two techniques you can follow for
speed reading:
1. Use your middle
finger as a pointer while reading. Make
sure the word that you are reading is directly above your middle finger. Read at your normal pace. Do not read out loud or read them in your
mind. Just see the words as a
picture. First day read only two pages
applying this method, next day 3-4 pages and then increase your speed and read
more pages. At first, it may be
difficult for you to follow what you are reading, but gradually with practice,
you will have better finger-eye coordination and your reading speed will
definitely improve and you will have good comprehension too. Remember, this is the most efficient method
of speed reading and everyone can follow this technique while reading class books,
newspapers, novels, storybooks, web pages, and so on.
2. Use eye-span
method to read faster. In this method,
3-4 words are seen or read together with one eye span. Look at the first 3 or 4 words of a sentence
with one eye span, then 3 or 4 words with next eye span. See the example below,
"We are delighted to seal a deal with James and see him
as an important part of our club."
First eye span We
are delighted
Second eye span to
seal a deal with James
Third eye span and
see him as
Fourth eye span important
part of our club
To follow this method, instead of your middle finger as a
pointer, now you will be using your four fingers together, excluding the thumb,
as a pointer. Place your four fingers
together below the first set for 3 to 4 words and move your fingers together as
you read the next set of words and continue doing so and finish at least 1-2
pages on the first day, gradually increasing over the next few days. This method will prove beneficial if you practice
regularly.
Apart from the above, always keep in mind the following
points:
- If you are a student, read the chapters beforehand marking the important facts with a pencil that your teacher is going to teach on that day. Listen carefully to what your teacher is explaining. As you already have a general idea what the chapter is all about, it will be easier for you to follow and remember things.
- Read through the paragraphs as quickly as possible to get the general sense.
- Read a page or an answer to a question thoroughly, get up from your chair, walk in your room for some time, and try to visualize what you have just read. Do not try to remember anything word by word, just try to have a gist of what you have read. This will not only help you to remember things but also to write the information in your own words and this in turn will help you develop your writing skills.
- After reading a page or a chapter, do not try to recollect what you have read immediately, instead try it after 10 to 15 minutes.
- Repetition is essential to remember things as it helps the brain to store things for a long time. Repetition means retention. More you repeat more you will become conversant with the topic.
I myself have taught the above techniques to my students and
the result is astonishing. Many of the
students have taken it seriously and have been able to score good marks. The main benefit is that they are also able
to write the subject matter in their own words and also remember a lot of
information easily.
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