Read With Speed

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

All of us on a daily basis read, read, and read some more. We read our psychology, our sociology, our math, our microbiology, and our infamous A&P. While I don't know for sure, I would place a safe bet that a majority of people either don't enjoy reading, enjoy reading but don't remember what they just read, or more likely, don't enjoy reading and don't remember what they just read. Me personally, I'm alittle bit of all three types I've proposed. I enjoy reading, and remember, or comprehend some of what I've read. Ofcourse, the subject matter is a factor as well. I'll easily remember a passage from a newspaper article, but without significant study, I probably won't remember the finer details of my A&P, or heavy, complicated material.

As I've gone through my classes, I've noticed my lack of comphrension. And I'm sure most of you have as well. We spend hundreds of hours studying thinking we will pass that big test, or hope we will.

So I began to wonder "How could increase my reading speed while increasing comphrension?" Tough question, that I found out isn't easily answered. I did some simple research on google, and typed in "speed reading techniques." I came across several products that claim increasing readers speed to thousands of words a minute. Now, having been in sales, I know when something sounds too good to be true, it always is. Always a catch! After further research, I came across a free e-book by Peter Shepherd and Gregory Unsworth-Mitchell. The content in the e-book is what is important here, but they still deserve their credit. The e-book "The speed reading course" seemed short of 40 pages, so I read it. The book intially goes into the neural anatomy, and how our memory consalidates, etc. But I didn't want another Psych lecture, I wanted the good stuff. The "cream filling" in a sense. I continued to read, and I was very surprised at the methods the authors proposed. So myself being a curious fella, I tried it out. I took a free reading test online before using the methods in the book, as a "control." My words per minute(WPM) was 425. The average is 200-250 depending on the source, so I'm not too bad. But like I said, I tried the methods out. I nearly doubled my reading speed to 835WPM and increased what I remembered. This was astonishing to me. Now, this wasn't an instant change. I started practicing on magazines, newspapers, even Cosmo. lol Yes, now I know how to give a guy that special massage, thanks to Cosmo! But more importantly, the practicing on the easy stuff carried over to my textbook reading. I read the chapters faster, and I am able to recite information days after unlike before. I mean, I was able to before, but my studying took a great deal of my time, without being very efficient.

All I'm saying is, are you tired of endless reading, only to forget nearly everything the next day? Do you want to save an extraordinary amount of time?(Sounds like an informercial lol) I'm sure most are saying "yes" right now. I would say by reading the e-book, your reading experience, as well as your learning adventure will be much more fruitful, and worth the time you are already spending. Seriously, take the hour or so, and read the e-book. Don't worry too much about the brain, and neuroscience mumbo-jumbo, but some it is semi-interesting.

The next paragraph is a concept from the e-book, that I wasn't aware of. It is summarized, but you'll get the point.

For instance, when we are taught to read as youngster, we learn to read word for word for word for word for word for word for word for word for word. Last sentence tedious huh? Well, that's how most people read. There is no reason to read every single word, because our brain can comprehend language much, much quicker than that. Also, when we read like this, we "subvocalize." Meaning we move our lips as we read. Ultimately, this drastically slows our reading to a slug's pace. Notice this, whenever you are reading, and you come to something that is difficult to understand, notice if you are using your lips. More than likely, you are. This is a habit that roots from our grade-school days, that is good for then, but not now. We revert to subvocalization because that is what we were taught to do, to better understand something. While that is good for youngsters, we as adults with fully capable and mature brains, have no use for it.

Finally, I haven't always enjoyed reading, because there didn't seem to be any "fun" involved. As I got older, I've grown to liken reading. All I'm saying is, if you are willing to spend hours in the gym, study for a test, hone your skills in a sport, or really, practice anything, why not practice and invest a meager amount of time in reading skills? Ultimately, your small investment in these skills, will pay off in your educational and occupational career.

By the way, I have to say "results may vary," simply because it worked for me, doesn't mean it'll work for everybody else, but it's worth the try!

P.S. For those of you that absolutely despise reading, you never know, you may grow to enjoy reading afterall.

-Andrew

3369-eBook-Speed-Reading.txt

[Michaelxy]

Funny how you would make such a long verbosely written post for people that do not like to read...:)

Your right, it does sound like an infomercial...

[itsmejuli]

Wow, I had to speed read thru the OP's post to get to his point.

Wonder if he talks as much as he writes? LOL

[Saysfaa]

Short version: Don't see "t".... "h" ...."a" ...."t", see "that" as one chunk.

Don't see "This" ... "is" ...."how" ..."to" ..."read".... "faster", see "This is how to" as one chunk, and "read faster" as one chunk.

Maybe the ebook tells how to do that?

So far explaining that is what to do hasn't worked with my husband or kids. Some of my kids do it now but they didn't get there by explaination. They got there by reading books that were well beyond their reading levels but were so interesting that they read them anyway. It is possible I just haven't used the right explainations.

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

Funny how you would make such a long verbosely written post for people that do not like to read...:)

Your right, it does sound like an infomercial...

lol Yes, it is a bit long and yes it does sounds like an infomercial. However, anything worth while takes some time to learn and understand. If that wasn't the case, I suppose we would go through nursing school in a breez, or better yet, show up to class, get a membership card, and be an official nurse after a ribbon cutting that took ten minutes. I'm not baggering you, just saying.

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

Short version: Don't see "t".... "h" ...."a" ...."t", see "that" as one chunk.

Don't see "This" ... "is" ...."how" ..."to" ..."read".... "faster", see "This is how to" as one chunk, and "read faster" as one chunk.

Maybe the ebook tells how to do that?

So far explaining that is what to do hasn't worked with my husband or kids. Some of my kids do it now but they didn't get there by explaination. They got there by reading books that were well beyond their reading levels but were so interesting that they read them anyway. It is possible I just haven't used the right explainations.

There is a section in the e-book that goes over the concept, I think you are talking about. Chunking. It goes into how to utilize our peripheral vision, as well as our ability to comprehend several words at one time, which gives rise to this chunk-reading ability.

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

Wow, I had to speed read thru the OP's post to get to his point.

lol no, I write more than I talk. If I did though, I think it would be exhausting for myself, but even more so for the listener.

[Shiningstar05]

I'm going to look into it because it takes me hours to read one chapter in my A&P book. In a few days, I will begin a new quarter taking 4 courses which includes A&P II. It's crucial that I complete these courses now so I stay on track for my school's BSN program. I am really nervous about taking all the courses together, so I'm sure this will help. Thanks for the post :)

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

I'm going to look into it because it takes me hours to read one chapter in my A&P book. In a few days, I will begin a new quarter taking 4 courses which includes A&P II. It's crucial that I complete these courses now so I stay on track for my school's BSN program. I am really nervous about taking all the courses together, so I'm sure this will help. Thanks for the post :)

No problem, hopefully it helps you as much as it has helped me :)

[Michaelxy]

I feel that my reading speed is adequate to get me through any study session, the problem I have is staying focused on the subject as my mind often wanders if I lose interest. As an adult ADHD sufferer I have discovered that I need to find many tools or aid if you will to assist me in keeping focus. One such aid that helps me study is this tip I found on the internet.

While working on a project that requires sustained concentration, set the alarm. When the alarm goes off, hit the snooze button and refocus on the task at hand. This regular reminder will bring you back to task. Continue to hit the snooze for as long as you need to bring yourself back to the project at hand.