You have a pile of books on your shelf that you haven't had time to read? Or work in the office requires you to read long texts? Learning how to speed read, or speed read, can be a very profitable skill in this regard. However, before making an effort to increase your reading speed, measure your current average reading speed, then you can apply some methods to increase your reading speed.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Measuring Reading Speed
Step 1. Find the average reading speed for adults
The average student can read between 200 and 300 words per minute if they are reading fiction or non-technical reading material. Better readers can read 500-700 words per minute and great readers can read 1000 words per minute. This means that ordinary readers can be considered five times slower than good readers and ten times slower than great readers. If you are a regular reader or maybe a good reader, and want to increase your reading speed, that means you should try some techniques to increase your reading speed and be willing to practice increasing your reading speed for a certain period of time consistently. While your reading speed fluctuates depending on the type of text used and how familiar you are with the reading material, in general it can be said:
- A bad reader has a speed of 100-110 words per minute.
- The average reader has a speed of 200-240 words per minute.
- A good reader has a speed of 300-400 words per minute.
- A great reader has a speed of 700-1000 words per minute.
- Please note that foreign language readers may struggle to sustain more than 200-300 words per minute when reading text that is not written in their native language. Many educators argue that foreign language readers should try to maintain a slower reading speed to ensure they can understand the text.
Step 2. Notice the relationship between your reading speed and your level of comprehension
Being a fast reader doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to grasp the small details or important points in the text. In fact, your ability to understand text may decrease as your reading speed increases. Lesser-known words or long words take longer to read and understand. Reading the text quickly can cause you to skip important words so that the level of understanding of the text will be reduced.
Many linguists argue that increasing vocabulary and expanding knowledge by recognizing various types of writing is also important to consider, in addition to increasing reading speed. This step ensures the level of reading comprehension will remain the same or even increase along with reading speed
Step 3. Test your reading speed
Measure reading speed using exercise texts and timers. Use a minimum of five to ten pages of text printed on quarto-size paper.
- Count the number of words from the five lines of writing in the exercise text. Divide the word count by five and you'll get the average word count per line in the text. For example: 70 words/5 lines=14 words per line.
- Count the number of lines of text on all five pages of text and divide this number by five to get the average number of lines per page. Then, multiply the average number of lines per page by the average number of words per line and you will get the average number of words per page. For example: 195 lines/5 pages=39 lines per page. 39 lines per page x 14 words per line = 546 words per page.
- Once you have the average words per line and words per page, set the timer for one minute while you read the text. Try to read as fast as you can, but also make sure you understand the important ideas or points in each sentence.
- After one minute, stop reading and count how many lines you have read in one minute. Multiply the number of lines you read by the average number of words per line to determine how fast you are reading the number of words per minute. For example: You managed to read 26 lines in one minute. 26x14 words per line=364 words per minute. Your speed is 364 words per minute, which means you are a good reader.
Part 2 of 2: Increase Reading Speed
Step 1. Do exercises to build speed
This exercise will help you to read the text and understand it faster. The goal of this activity is to quickly reread the “old” text and move on to the new text until you can read and understand it more quickly. You will need exercise text, a minimum of 1-2 pages and a timer.
- Set the timer for 60 seconds and try to read as much text as possible. Stop the timer after 60 seconds.
- Reset the timer for another 60 seconds and start rereading the text from the beginning. Try to read more text during the second 60 second period than you read in the first reading period.
- Repeat this exercise three or four times. Try to read more of the text during each exercise until you actually manage to read most of the text during the fourth exercise.
Step 2. Read the text over and over again with the same time period
This is a longer activity and you will read the same short text over and over again until you have increased your reading speed. Keep in mind the reading speed you have achieved after completing this exercise and use it as a benchmark. Try increasing your reading speed so that it gets faster each time you reread.
- Start with a paragraph of 100 words. Set the time to two minutes.
- Try reading the paragraph four times over a two-minute period. Set a reading speed target of at least 200 words per minute.
- Once you are able to read this 100-word paragraph four times in two minutes, move on to reading the 200-word paragraph eight times in four minutes.
- As you continue this reading practice, your reading speed will increase.
Step 3. Use a ruler or pen to mark the text you want to read on the page
You may slow down when you reread or read backwards, or when you repeat a sentence or term because you can't follow the lines of text on the page properly. To help the eye follow lines of text more accurately and efficiently, you can use a pen as a guide.
- Hold the pen in the hand you use to write, with the cap attached. Hold the pen under your hand flat on the page. Set the timer for one minute.
- Use the pencil to underline each line of text as you read. Point your eyes over the tip of the pen. The pen will serve as a useful marker on top of the page and will help you maintain a consistent reading speed.
- After one minute, count the number of words per minute based on the number of lines you read. See if your reading speed increases with the help of a pen as a guide.
Step 4. Try not to read aloud
Many readers tend to voice the words they read, meaning they move their lips and say the words out loud. You may also read silently, meaning you say the words in your mind while reading silently. Both of these habits can slow down reading speed because speaking is a relatively slower activity. The average speech rate is 250 words per minute, which is not considered a very fast reading speed.
- Limit your reading habit so that it only engages the eyes and brain instead of speaking as it should. Vocalization will slow you down and cause you to try to do two things at once instead of focusing on the text.
- Poetry and drama are texts that are written for performance, therefore it is difficult not to voice them when reading this kind of text. In fact, voicing the words while reading this kind of text can help you understand them better. You may find that saying dialogue in plays or lines of poetry can improve your understanding. However, keep in mind that saying words aloud tends to slow down reading speed.
Step 5. Research the text before you read it in full
If you are aiming to increase your reading speed and comprehension level, you can research the text for 30-60 seconds before reading it in full.
- Start by reading the title of the text, such as the chapter title.
- Read all titles and subtitles.
- Pay attention to text that is marked, italicized or bold.
- Pay attention to every picture or illustration, as well as any charts or graphs.
- Read the first sentence of each paragraph, especially the first sentence of the first and last paragraph of the text.
- After you have researched the text, ask yourself: What is the main topic of the text? What is the author's purpose in writing the text? What is the writing style: formal, informal, medical, legal? You should be able to answer these basic questions if you research the text properly.
Step 6. Cut the text into sections
Trimming text is done when you group words in the text into short phrases, which have meaning and contain three to five words. Instead of reading every word, and risking forgetting the beginning of the sentence once you reach the end of the sentence, you can cut the text into word groups that will help you understand the text quickly and effectively. Many teachers will use this text cutting technique in class to help students understand long texts. You may be given a statement of purpose to guide as you go through the text and look for specific passages that you can cut out.
Please note that excessive truncation may limit or reduce your understanding of the text. Try to use the statement of purpose provided by the teacher to guide you as you cut up the text
Step 7. Read the text with a goal in your head
Approaching a text with questions or with a questioning attitude can make you a better reader and perhaps a faster reader. Look at the text as if you were looking for something, or trying to reach a goal.
Read the headings or chapter titles and turn them into questions. For example, if the title of the chapter in the text is “Causes of Global Warming”, you could turn it into a question, such as: “What causes global warming?” That way you will approach the text with a single aim, and will look for the answer key to this question in the text. Your reading activity is now purposeful so that it allows you to read faster, without losing your ability to understand what you are reading
Step 8. Test your reading speed by practicing with more difficult texts
Once you notice an increase in reading speed using texts given from school or from books that are considered appropriate for your reading level, try to practice with different types of texts to increase reading speed. Trying different types of text can also expand your vocabulary and help you avoid repeating or pausing at certain terms or words as you read.
Keep in mind that legal and medical texts are not meant to be read quickly, so it is difficult to maintain a high reading speed when you are practicing with these types of text. Don't rush when reading this type of text and work to improve your reading speed slowly, over time
Tips
- Read the table of contents first. This step is very important to save time while you are reading the most valuable and important text content. Once you know the chapters and topics that are important, you can avoid spending too much time reading the unimportant sections.
- Stop voicing the words you read in your mind or saying the words aloud while reading. If you want to read very fast, the speed can be achieved only as fast as you can pronounce it. For speed reading, you must mute the sound.
