Don’t Read It all – Fast Reading Techniques for High Volume Exams
Studying subjects like geography takes lots of time as there is a large amount of reading material and information to go through. The high volume of reading results in low achievements for many students in history exams. However, there are ways in which students can adopt for them to go through a large volume of information in much faster. Naturally many prefer to read the entire book which is great but, this sort of reading is time consuming. As a matter of fact, students who read literature books word by word grasp less compared to those who read words in blocks.
The alternative to reading word by word is what is known as fast reading. In this technique students are reading chunks of words block by block and understand the meaning of certain group of words. Digital images are made of millions of pixels that can only make sense when viewed together. This also applies to reading material. When you are reading, try and practice combining several words into phrases that make sense together. Your reading speed will be much faster if you are able to read more words in a block.
Most students have a habit of pronouncing words when reading. This reading habit is known as sub-vocalizing. This habit develops by students as early as kindergarten this reading technique was encouraged. To acquire better reading skills, you need to stop this bad reading habit. Pronouncing each word consumes a lot of time than is required. It is difficult using this technique when reading a literature book that has thousands of words. You need to practice reading without saying words in your head. It might be difficult at first, but it is essential you will be able to read without sub-vocalizing.
Students are taught to read linearly, which is responsible for slow reading. This means that they read by taking in every word, paragraph, page, and chapters in the given order. However, when you do this, you take in a lot of details that are not relevant. The solution to this problem is to read by scanning pages for bullet points, headings and subtitles. Although most people prefer to read from start to finish, this method will not produce good results, especially if you don’t have much time left before the exam.
Another reading habit is re-reading a page. This habit is known as regression and it slows down reading. When you re-read words you have just read, you are slowing down your reading. Moreover, regression harms your understanding of a given subject. For you to read faster, you have to stop repeating sentences or words. You can use a pointer to guide you in reading forward. As you read, your eyes will follow the pointer allowing you to have a smooth reading flow. The key to reading faster is to practice, practice and more practice. Although it might take time, you will not only become a fast reader but also your understanding.
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