SPEED READING

Salam again!


Last time i have promised someone to ‘copy n paste’ from an e-book entitled ‘LEARN MORE AND STUDY LESS’. Its about holistic learning, a way of genius students’ applied in their study at most.

Now, a good beginning for a premedic student, is to let you know how to speed reading. It brings you a lot of benefits, insyaAllah..


Read the following words:

“I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am.”


What is the point of reading all these words? There is a lot of redundancy as many
words are repeated. You could have simply read: “I am. x6“ and that would have
contained exactly the same information.

Reading requires that you consume the purest information possible. Simplicity means you acquire the information with the lowest amount of redundancy.



Speed Reading

If you can read faster, you can acquire more information. That’s just common
sense. But speed reading is more than just speed. Simply trying to read faster usually
results in lost comprehension. But by practicing with different reading techniques and
changing how you read, you can read faster with better understanding.
Speed reading could easily be divided up into enough techniques to fill another
entire book (and indeed it has: Breakthrough Rapid Reading is one of my favorites).
But I’m going to focus on three main sub-techniques you might want to try:

1) Using a pointer.
2) Practice reading.
3) Active reading.


Using a Pointer

Your eye doesn’t actually stay in one place on the page as you read. Instead, it
constantly makes tiny movements that slow your reading speed. Using a pointer can improve your reading rate simply by focusing your eye onto one part of the page–the part you want to read. A pointer has the added benefit of allowing you to control your speed by changing the speed you move the pointer. Speed reading involves more than just reading fast, as sometimes you will want to slow down to carefully examine one section, and skim over another that is less important. To start using a pointer, grab a book and place your index finger right below the line you want to read. Move it across the line as you read before going to the next line.

Although some speed reading experts advocate using a pointer everywhere, I tend to
only use it for books. Online articles and short sections of print don’t usually benefit
from the extra control a pointer offers.
Using a pointer will feel uncomfortable for the first two weeks. Until you get into
the habit of reading with a pointer it will probably seem slow and awkward. However,
once you adapt to using your finger to scroll through the page, it will make sense. The
extra control and focus it provides when reading is invaluable to boost your reading rate


Practice Reading

Another aspect of speed reading is practice reading. Practice reading isn’t the same
as reading in the same way jogging on the spot isn’t running. When you practice read,
you expect to absorb almost none of the material you are reading. The only purpose of
practice reading is to train yourself to comprehend at a faster rate.

1) You can practice read by getting a book you haven’t read before. Mark a point
in the book and set a timer for three minutes. Then read through the book (with your
pointer) slightly faster than you can understand all of the material. When the timer
goes off, mark the line you finished on.

2) Count the number of lines you read and multiply that by the average words per
line on the first paragraph and divide by three. This should give you your approximate
words per minute (assuming you read for three minutes).

3) This exercise can test your flexibility with improving your speed of reading.
Another exercise is directed towards improving your comprehension. Similar to
the above exercise, read for three minutes using your pointer. When you are
completed, start a paper writing down every major or important idea you read in the last three minutes (without looking back at the book).Write as many ideas as you can think of that come directly from the book.
Next,go through the book again and make a second list of important ideas. Take the number of ideas you correctly wrote down after the three minute session and subtract the ones you remembered incorrectly. Then divide this number by the total meaningful ideas
you gathered in your more detailed search.





Active Reading

Although I’m grouping active reading under the category of speed reading, it could
be described as the opposite of speed reading. Active reading slows down your reading
rate while greatly increasing your comprehension ability. Active reading goes beyond
simply highlighting your textbook and writing small notes in the margins, but fully
integrating ideas as they hit you.

To start active reading, begin with your book and a notepad. On the notepad write
the heading for the chapter and any subheadings for the section you are reading. After
finishing reading a subsection (using your pointer!), turn to your notepad and make a
few notes.
During your active reading you should note down:

1) What the major points are from the section.
2) How I can remember the major points from the section.
3) How I can extend or apply the major points from this section.


The first question simply gets you to acquire the information fully. The second
question forces you to link, visualize or metaphor the information. The third question
gets you to move beyond this and apply the information in a different context. These
three questions force you to move each major point through the understanding, explore
and finally application phase of holistic learning.

For example, let’s say I just finished reading a chapter in psychology about classical
conditioning. The major points might be:

- Discovered by Ivan Pavlov
- Connects a stimulus with a response


I might remember this by:
- Picturing Pavlov’s dogs which drooled at the sound of a bell.

I might extend this by:
- Remembering how I feel compelled to answer the phone if I hear a similar
ringtone on a television program.


Dats it...so i hope you can apply this method soon.

Actually, you need to practice every day for 15 minutes per day for about 2 months...so that, you form the habit
well, then you can apply it naturally in your study.

Good luck then!!!