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SPEED READING - GETTING THE MAIN IDEA

Getting the main idea in reading is central to effective studying.

You must learn what the author's central idea is, and understand it in your own way.

Every paragraph contains a main idea. Main ideas are perfect for outlining textbooks. Make it a habit to find the main idea in each paragraph you read.

Extracting important details

Extracting important details mean that you locate in your reading main and most significant ideas.

There is usually one important detail associated with every main idea. The more important details you can identify, the easier it will be to review for examinations because you have made a link between an idea and information that supports it.

The more links you can make between details and ideas, as well as ideas themselves, the more powerful will be the efforts of your study.

The first things to ask yourself are: "Why you are reading the text? Are you reading with a purpose or just for pleasure? What do you want to know after reading it?"

In other words, identify your purpose.

Once you know this, you can examine the text to see whether it is going to move you towards this goal.

An easy way of doing this is to look at the introduction and the chapter headings. The introduction should let you know whom the book is targeted at, and what it seeks to achieve.

Chapter headings will give you an overall view of the structure of the subject.

After grasping ideas from chapter introductions, ask yourself whether the book meets your needs.

Ask yourself if it assumes too much or too little knowledge.

If the book weren't ideal, would it be better to find a better one?

Take 1-2 minutes to skim through the article to find the core idea. Know what is being expressed. Do you need more details? If not, find another article.

Read lightly and flexibly. Know what you need. Slow down to fulfill your purpose, answering questions that are most important to you.

Since very few words carry the meaning, speed up to pass redundant or useless information.

4 BRILLIANT TIPS FOR SPEED READING

Many people, particularly students, would love to be able to absorb information faster. But before retaining information, they have to go through the first stage of learning, which is reading.

For many individuals who are pressed for time, speed reading has become a necessity. However, it's not just the reading part that is important. Equally essential is for the reader to fully understand the words coming out from the book or paper.

Here are some great tips to read and comprehend faster:

1) Relax.

If you're in the stressed mode, it would be much more difficult to concentrate; hence, it would just be a lot harder for the information to sink in.

2) Know what you want.

Focus on the areas that you really need to learn. Some people read all parts of a book, when all they need to know is a specific chapter.

Know your priority. If you need to find out about a certain subject, go to the Table of Contents and search for the heading that best suits your need. If you need to learn more, then adjust accordingly. The important thing is to weed out the stuffs that you don't currently need.

3) Get rid of the structure words.

Did you know that around 60% of the words we read are structure words? Examples are the words "the, or, and." They are essential in the structure of the sentences; but when you ignore them, they basically mean the same thing. They only serve to beautify, yet you can understand what you are reading even without them. Try not to focus too much attention on structure words.

4) Practice, practice, practice.

When I started exercising with weights, I can only lift the lighter ones. As the time goes by, I slowly add more and more weights as my body tends to adjust and become more comfortable carrying heavier ones.

The same concept goes for speed reading. Set a goal. Figure out how fast you can read, then create a plan to increase your ability.

If you can read 200 words per minute, set a goal to read 250 words a minute. After accomplishing this feat, set a goal to read 300 words per minute.

This takes time and practice, but the effort is all worth it. If this is your first time to set such a goal, read first those materials you are familiar with.

Carry on with more difficult ones as you progress. This way, you're not overwhelming yourself with understanding different new words and at the same time developing your speed reading skills.
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