College Prep: How to be a Speed Reader
If you pay close attention, you’ll discover that you are constantly reading. How many times every day do you use your ability to read? A lot! Yet, most people can only read about 100 or 200 words per minute. Imagine how much more quickly you could absorb information if you could double that number. Well, it’s possible! Speed readers can read up to 700 words per minute. Here, we’ll take a look at how you, too, can become a speed reader and how speed reading can help you be a better student.
What is speed reading?
Speed reading is exactly what it sounds like: reading fast! However, speed reading is NOT the same as skimming. When you skim an article, you only pick up bits and pieces. When you’re done skimming you’ve usually only grasped the big picture of the information. In contrast, speed reading includes reading every piece of the article and comprehending it, just at a very quick pace. While most of read each word individually, many speed readers are skilled enough to register full phrases or sentences at a time, which results in an incredible reading pace.
How do I become a speed reader?
Like any craft, speed reading will take practice, practice, practice. You aren’t going to become a speed reading master overnight, but there are some techniques you can start using right away. Here are a few key aspects to speed reading that you can start trying to incorporate into your everyday reading:
Stop “saying” the words you read in your head. This is called subvocalization. It’s totally normal to basically say every word in your head as you read because this is exactly how we were taught to read. We all learned to read by being read to aloud and also by reading aloud ourselves. It’s no wonder that this leads to a silent reading pace that naturally reflects our reading aloud pace. If you want to become a speed reader, this is the first habit you’re going to have to break. Your brain can recognize and comprehend words and phrases way faster than you can express them aloud. Next time you’re reading, notice how you have a natural reading voice in your head that follows along with the words and try to get it to not follow along. Move your eyes over the words faster and focus on registering each one without subvocalizing it. Eventually, you’ll be able to take this even further and you’ll register and comprehend full phrases and sentences without having to read the words one by one.
Pay attention. Ever read something and then realize that you didn’t actually retain or understand anything you just read? You end up starting all over and trying again. This type of distraction or side-tracking is exactly what you need to eliminate. This is definitely easier said than done, but there are some things you can do to help yourself stay engaged with what you’re reading. One thing you can do is practice making mental pictures in your head. Think about how much more memorable a video tends to be when compared to a written article. That’s because a video has both a visual and audio component that is naturally engaging. While it will take a lot more effort than turning on a video, you can create this type of imagery in your head while you read as well. Focus on sensory details - colors, shapes, scents, sounds. Pause throughout your reading to analyze your mental picture. Does it match the story details? This is a technique that can be applied to anything - even textbooks for school. If you mentally envision the process of how a plant goes through photosynthesis, you’ll have an easier time recalling and understanding that process later compared to simply trying to memorize steps composed of words on paper.
Use your finger as a guide. This can be helpful in two ways. First, keeping your finger moving at a constant pace will help you keep your quick speed as you learn to speed read. Second, this method can help motivate you to stay engaged. Tell yourself that you’re not allowed to move your finger backwards — you have one chance to understand each word, each phrase. Once you’re past it, there’s no going back.
Start with something easy. You should not take your first stab at speed reading with your AP US History textbook. That’s a sure way to make sure you hate speed reading because you’re not going to absorb half of what you read. Instead, pick an easy novel, maybe something you liked reading years ago, and make it a habit to speed read that book at a few different intervals over a few days. Slowly work your way up to your textbook over time.
Speed reading & the ACT/SAT
Both the ACT and SAT college admissions exams include sections dedicated to reading. While the two tests have some big differences in terms of types of passages and types of questions asked, both examine students on their ability to comprehend information and make inferences based on written passages. Both tests will require students to recall details from written passages, and both tests will ask students to analyze on a deeper level, attempting to understand things like the symbolism behind certain objects, or inferring why a character completed a specific action.
Most students would say that the majority of the passages found within both the ACT and SAT tests aren’t usually that difficult to understand, and the questions aren’t too terrible to work through, either. What’s really difficult, for most students, is the pace at which they have to move through the passages. With the tight time constraints of the tests, there’s not time to read information over twice, to go back and double-check information, or to slowly think through the questions. Being able to speed read these passages and comprehend them at the same time will be extremely valuable, as it will allow you more time to think through the questions. Remember that the key is a balance between comprehension and speed. If you’re not understanding as you read, it does you no good to read faster. Practice all of the techniques outlined above, and find the speed reading level at which you’re still able to understand what you’re reading. Each and every one of these techniques can be applied to the ACT and the SAT, and we highly encourage taking a stab at them. If your reading and understanding speed is holding your ACT and SAT reading scores back, speed reading just might be your golden ticket!
Speed reading & college
If you think you have to read a lot in your high school classes, wait until you start college. The amount you will be expected to read increases exponentially in college. No matter what area you decide to study, you’ll be constantly reading and absorbing information, whether that be academic essays, scientific studies, or 19th Century novels. Speed reading can help you more quickly read and understand all of these types of text. Being able to read and understand more quickly will make you a more efficient student. It will free up so much time that you can spend doing something else!
Speed reading + reading comprehension
As we mentioned earlier, there is no way to quickly become a pro at any new craft. As with anything else, speed reading and reading comprehension take a lot of practice and dedication to really master, and the two go hand-in-hand. After all, what good is the ability to speed read if you don’t understand anything you’re speed reading? No matter how skilled you become at speed reading, there will forever be some texts that you can read faster than others. There is a fine balance between the overall speed and comprehension because, ultimately, comprehension is the key. If you find that you struggle with reading comprehension, you’ll want to work on your reading comprehension skills before worrying about speed reading.
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