Speed Reading for Study – Get it on Kindle NOW
The term ‘Speed Reading’ means ‘reading fast’, and it can encompass various techniques people use in order to read faster than traditional slow reading. We (Susan and Jan) have developed a system which includes many additional strategies and techniques, specifically for focusing on getting the information you need from a text. Often the person who knows all the shortcuts will reach the destination before the person who has the fastest car. We call our system SpdRdng, and that’s what we’re sharing with you in this book. For ease of reading, however, we refer to ‘speed reading’ throughout.
This book gives you lots of speed reading techniques, strategies, and tips, and shows you how to use them individually – and in combination – for stress-free, successful studies. If you follow the instructions, you should at least double your reading speed and be getting 10 times more information from your reading, thereby saving lots of time which you can use for relaxing, or for working more to get higher grades. The speed reading techniques will help you remember more too – so you’ll be learning quickly and easily.
You’ll learn the techniques more quickly if you try them out as soon as possible – with either digital or paper texts. We show you immediately how to apply them to study more effectively (because the techniques work) and more efficiently (so you save time).
We’d like you to put our first tip into practice right away. The tip is:
Overview before detail – see the big picture
“Great study guide for students and anyone who needs to pass exams, etc
I am a student mentor and I’ve used successfully the workbook The Speed Reading Bible by the same authors. Speed Reading for Study is a shorter ebook and therefore quicker to use. It took me less than 15 minutes to go through this ebook and get lots of very useful and practical tips for studying faster, writing essays, preparing for lectures, background reading and preparing for exams and passing them successfully. (actually, you can get through this ebook in 5 minutes just by reading the top tips). The syntopic processing technique for gathering info for essays is just brilliant. Highly recommended and very good value for money.” Bozena Latek, Five star review from Amazon Kindle
INTRODUCTION
The term ‘Speed Reading’ means ‘reading fast’, and it can encompass various techniques people use in order to read faster than traditional slow reading. We (Susan and Jan) have developed a system which includes many additional strategies and techniques, specifically for focusing on getting the information you need from a text. Often the person who knows all the shortcuts will reach the destination before the person who has the fastest car. We call our system SpdRdng, and that’s what we’re sharing with you in this book. For ease of reading, however, we refer to ‘speed reading’ throughout.
This book gives you lots of speed reading techniques, strategies, and tips, and shows you how to use them individually – and in combination – for stress-free, successful studies. If you follow the instructions, you should at least double your reading speed and be getting 10 times more information from your reading, thereby saving lots of time which you can use for relaxing, or for working more to get higher grades. The speed reading techniques will help you remember more too – so you’ll be learning quickly and easily.
You’ll learn the techniques more quickly if you try them out as soon as possible – with either digital or paper texts. We show you immediately how to apply them to study more effectively (because the techniques work) and more efficiently (so you save time).
We’d like you to put our first tip into practice right away. The tip is:
Overview before detail – see the big picture
Your brain works best if it knows the overview before looking at the details. You can understand what something is about even if you haven’t got all the details, so we always recommend that you start by getting an overview – whether that’s of a book, an article, or a new subject. You can often get an overview of a book from a summary or a review, or the contents list – or you can preview it (we explain this shortly).
What we would like you to do now is spend about two to five minutes previewing (looking quickly through) this book to see what it contains, how the speed-reading skills are linked with study strategies, and how the skills build up – as well as which bits you don’t know or understand yet.
Have you ever asked yourself what reading is? We think reading is using your eyes and your brain to absorb and interpret written information. So speed reading is not an end in itself – the aim is to understand and use the information. Speed reading is also less to do with your eyes and very much more to do with your brain, so all the speed reading suggestions we give are designed to help you learn and approach your studies in the way your brain most likes to learn.
Enjoy the journey.
Susan and Jan
First One-minute TEST (before using the techniques) • with traditional slow reading
Before you start learning the speed reading techniques, we suggest that you find out your current reading speed by doing a one-minute test, so you can compare it later, when you’ve started using the approach.
Get a book for your test – preferably one you haven’t read before, with uninterrupted text.
Set your timer for one minute. Then read as you normally do, with comprehension. Don’t take notes.
After one minute, stop, and write down the number of lines you’ve read.
Do it now, or as soon as possible.
FOUR-STAGE APPROACH
Use speed reading techniques to work with a text four times
Instead of reading sequentially from cover to cover – and slowly – we recommend that you take a four-stage approach to reading a text. You can speed read really quickly four times in less time than it takes to read once in the traditional way and you’ll get much more information. The important thing is to know what to do each time you read. We’ll be explaining as we go along the different techniques you can use in each of these stages.
Stage One: Preview
Preview (ie look through) the material for two to five minutes to understand basically what it’s about.
Stage Two: Work Session
Work with the text with a clear purpose and taking notes as you go. This will be the stage where you collect the most information from texts.
Stage Three: Rapid Reading
Rapid read the material – which means looking at every page very quickly for background reading, or to find information you may have missed previously.
Stage Four: Review
Review important information every so often to keep it fresh in your mind.
TOP TIPS
We start with some key strategies which apply to everything else you’ll be doing.
Speed read with purpose
Always approach reading and studying with an active prepared mind. Know why you’re reading, what specific information you want – and know what you want to do with the information.
Typical purposes for reading might be
• to collect all the information I need for the essay I’ve got to write – I’ve got four books and I’ll do it in 70 minutes. Or …
• to prepare for the next lecture in 20 minutes
By the way, we tell you the precise purpose of every technique suggested in this book. Note that some techniques can be used for more than one purpose.
Read for information at your best comprehension speed
Your brain understands better when you’ve got more information. When reading for information, your aim is always to read as fast as possible while still understanding the meaning. We call this your ‘best comprehension speed’ – which is probably a bit faster than you’re comfortable with initially. (We’ll be giving you techniques as we go along.)
Looking for answers to questions gives you a purpose for reading …
and helps you find and remember information. While you’re reading this book look specifically for how to …
- 1. Read all the books on your reading list in two to three hours
- 2. Summarise each of your lectures on one page
- 3. Speed up your brain so you can think and read more quickly
- 4. At least double your reading speed
- 5. Remember everything you need from your reading
- 6. Dramatically cut down the time you need for revision
Get ahead of the game – and stay relaxed
The key thing with any course of study is to get ahead of the game. The alternative, as most students find to their cost, is that they’re always playing catch-up.
Your motto should be: Be prepared.
You’ll be expected to read up to 30 books a week on most courses, which is almost impossible if you don’t use speed reading. Luckily, with speed reading, it isn’t difficult to do, and every hour you spend in preparation will save you at least two or three later – usually much more. And you’ll be avoiding stress and anxiety because you’ll be saving time, work will be done in good time, and you won’t get overwhelmed by the amount there is to do.
Speed Reading for Study: Speed reading techniques tips and strategies for studying fast and passing exams is available on Kindle
Speed Reading for Study – Get it on Kindle NOW
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
First One-minute Test (before using the technique)
FOUR-STAGE APPROACH
COURSE OVERVIEW
STAGE ONE: PREVIEW
Preview your reading list
Newspaper Technique (skimming for meaning)
STAGE TWO: WORK SESSION
20-minute session
Purpose • Newspaper and Search Techniques
Preparing for lectures and tutorials
Thought shower
Mindmapping
Essay writing
Tips for essay writing
Syntopic Processing
Patterns: Underlining and Super-reading
Speed up your reading
Get into a good state
Focus on concentration point
Speed up your eyes and your brain
Super-duper reading
Second One-minute Test (after using the techniques)
STAGE THREE: RAPID READING
Background reading
STAGE FOUR: REVIEW
Revising and passing exams
TOP TIPS
GLOSSARY
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
RESOURCES
Speed Reading for Study: Speed reading techniques tips and strategies for studying fast and passing exams is available on Kindle