Science

Learning Lists for Science 2
How to Read Better and Faster

Abstract

This page is a checklist of ways of reading better and faster
Page Tags: How to, Read Better, Read faster
Site Tags: svg art contra Celsum tarot Solomon God’s Truth Jesus Essene Persecution argue Christianity dhtml art crucifixion Christendom Belief Judaism Conjectures Hellenization
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Exceptional people have a sense of the “seamlessness” of the unity of the world.
John Bleibtrue, The Parable of the Beast (1968)

© Dr M D Magee
Contents Updated: Wednesday, 03 December 2003

Reading faster can be a big advantage, but you need to take it in

A. Reading Problems

  1. Too slow
  2. Can’t concentrate
  3. Don’t remember.

B. Better Reading

  1. Need for active reading: use POPQR3.
  2. Look for main ideas—key sentence in each paragraph:
    • first sentence
    • last sentence
    • sometimes none, eg novels, general description.
  3. Look for important details:
    • clarification, examples, evidence, proofs
    • at least one to each main idea
    • study all the illustrations, graphs, diagrams, etc.
      • ideas/evidence not mentioned in text
      • teach better than words—replace words
      • aid understanding
      • visual—help memory.
  4. Guidance to main ideas/details:
    • visual signposts
      • italics, bold type, underlines
      • numbering and lettering.
    • verbal signposts
      • link words/phrases eg for instance, however.
  5. Evaluate text:
    • Be skeptical:
      • are facts correct?
      • are facts and opinions distingushed?
      • any limitations?
      • any exceptions?
      • any contradictions?
      • any counter arguments?
      • does conclusion follow from evidence?
      • any equally valid conclusions?
      • do you agree with the argument?
    • Is it useful?
      • can you apply it?
      • does it tie in with experience?
      • any useful analogies?
  6. don’t ignore difficulties even if you skip them at first reading:
    • Why not?
      • undermines confidence
      • hinders further learning
    • Work on it:
      • read again
      • refer to other books
      • discuss with colleagues
      • make a note to ask tutor.

C. Faster Reading

  1. Faster reading improves comprehension.
  2. Five basic steps:
    • do you need specs?
    • stop saying words mentally
    • force yourself to read faster
      • broaden recognition span
      • reduce fixations
      • don’t look back
      • read twice at speed not once slowly.
    • read in thought-units—related words
    • improve vocabulary
      • read widely
      • look up new words
      • note their meaning
      • use them as soon as possible
      • make a glossary of technical words.
  3. Practice
    • 15-20 minutes each night
    • start on light, short, magazine articles
    • time yourself—find words per minute
    • check, comprehension—recall main ideas
    • keep progress chart
    • read all study material faster—but vary pace:
      • faster for light material
      • faster in seeking main ideas
      • slower for complex arguments
      • slower in seeking details.

Reference



Last uploaded: 20 December, 2010.

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Before you go, think about this…

One and a half millennia after the triumph of Christianity — only four centuries ago, but before the enlightenment — Queen Anne was the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain, obviously as privileged a human being as it was possible to be, and with the best medical care money could buy.
In the last seventeen years of the seventeenth century, she was pregnant eighteen times. Only five children were born alive. Only one of them survived infancy. He died before reaching adulthood, and before her coronation in 1702.
Carl Sagan, The Demon Haunted World (1996)

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