How Effective Is Your Reading? (1951)

you can read much faster that way and you understand more try it with him on another paragraph well perhaps that's too fast for you to understand what you've read but you know now what it feels like to read rapidly Jim practiced until he could read rapid and comprehend he also noticed how other people read Mary for example breathing of any kind is slow for Mary because she is in the habit of forming the words with her lips as she goes she sees the words alright but she has to think of them as sounds before she really understands them and when she comes upon a difficult and unfamiliar word in try mule no this is a slow laborious way to read most of us like Jim dropped the habit of reading with our lips long ago but when we stumble on unfamiliar words well sometimes it does help to try to pronounce a new word but a better way is this venerated any idea what it means well let's read the paragraph again hmm now venerated all goats were protected perhaps worshiped perhaps well we have a general idea of what the word means taken from its context but let's be sure by looking it up here we are venerate to regard with reverential respect or with admiration and deference yes in this way Jim has been building a wider reading vocabulary as he is able to recognize more and more words at sight he is able to read faster and understand more this is the way Jim has practiced to improve his reading speed and efficiency and the best part of it all is that he is finding his study work easier to understand this let's watch Jim work through some study reading see just how he does it see the different methods of reading he uses you have the chapter heading in mind think about it how does the subject relate to your life what do you already know about how homes are heated think over what you know about the subject then skim through a chapter or section of the text do you know how to skim notice how very fast Jim is going let's skim along with him now we have a general idea of the sort of material this part covers in skimming we pick out only the key sentences and skip the rest boldface or italic headings diagrams and illustrations initial sentences of paragraphs these are the sorts of things to look for in skimming when will Jim get around to reading not yet first he wants to note down some questions he expects the chapter to answer what is conduction how does it work how is it different from convection what is radiation of heat to some heating systems use radiation now at last Jim will read the same chapter for answers to his questions and he uses the reading skills he has been practicing he reads fast but not so fast that he loses track he takes in groups of words ideas rather than single words and as he reads he watches for answers to his questions what is conduction let's read along with Jim and see uh-huh now to read carefully notice how our reading rate varied we should read at different speeds depending on the material watch Jim in reading an especially difficult passage he stops to think it through then goes back to read it once more before long Jim has finished the chapter and mastered it he checks his questions to be sure he knows the answers he has used his reading time profitably for he has applied the reading skills he has been practicing remember get ready to read by raising questions by tying the topic in with your interests and by organizing what you all bought the subject read to find the answers by skimming to see the plan of the chapter and by reading carefully adjusting your reading rate to the material itself then review your questions this is effective reading and these techniques apply to other reading besides study Jim uses some of the same skills in reading a mystery story for example he reads smoothly and fast watching for cool enjoying the mystery when Jim reads to find how to do something when he reads directions or instructions he skims the material first to get its general plan in mind and then he goes back and reads carefully analytically if he doesn't follow a certain passage he may go over it to get the exact meaning of each word and its relation to other words when Jim is reading to find specific information he uses the same skills but in another way he skims very fast he is looking for a single item a certain date in history and yes in all reading Jim uses the scares developed through careful Prats he uses them in various ways according to his purpose in reading you too can use these skills