Speed Reading Strategies to Learn Faster and Comprehend More

Contrary to popular belief, reading quickly does not necessarily relate to poor understanding. In fact, some of the factors and strategies that help people read faster have been shown to actually increase the level of comprehension. In order to read quickly and efficiently, with a high level of retention to boot, follow these guidelines.

First, do your best to focus on reading alone. Worrying about whether or not you will understand and remember the information you are looking at will only distract you, it will actually decrease comprehension. When you concentrate solely on why you are reading, such as gathering main ideas or getting answers to your questions, you improve the quality and speed of your reading.

Your goal should not be to get through a given chapter as fast as possible. It should be related to understanding and remembering its material as fast as possible. So, don't measure your progress with page numbers, measure it with subheadings. Going through them after the chapter and being able to explain them shows a clear retention of the material, and signifies good learning.

To read faster and better, skip rereading individual words and sentences. This both slows you down and distracts from the central goal of reading - which is to understand the material. Instead, scan the entire chapter's headings and subheadings first. Then reread the sections whose subheadings you haven't retained yet. Quitting this habit can be difficult, but a helpful tip is to use your finger to keep a constant pace in the text, and stick to it no matter what.

While reading, pay attention to the amount of space the author devotes to a certain topic. If it is lengthy and includes many footnotes, graphs, or pictures, pay close attention, and perhaps go back after reading the whole chapter. These sections often represent the "meat" of what you're leaning, and what you should know for exams. Also, read the opening sentence of each paragraph very closely, because they represent the main ideas of the following sentences.

Finally, learn how to combine all three of these reading strategies and incorporate them into a method that works for you. For example, start by eliminating all distractions during reading, pre-read the chapter - looking carefully at headings, read through the chapter quickly and attentively while avoiding rereading, and go back after the chapter to read the material under headings you can't explain. By properly executing this process in a way that works for you, you can save time and expend less energy during reading, while genuinely comprehending the chapter's material better.