How to Speed up Reading Without Forgetting Everything

Cramming for exams doesn’t work – it’s always better to plan consistent and rigorous study sessions. However, sometimes you are in a hurry to learn; It happens to the best of us. And you can make the most of it by speed reading effectively. There are ways to browse that can still help you learn and retain some information, which is, after all, much better than nothing.

Try the “pointer method” to speed up reading

If you’re new to speed reading, try the “pointing method,” which involves following words with your fingertips as you read them, much like a child would. There are a few words for this, like “hand step” and “meta-guide,” but the point of it (pun intended) is to keep you focused, reading intentionally, and focusing on the words and their meanings, even when you’re moving quickly. This keeps you engaged and focused on the task at hand. If this doesn’t give you the desired effect, try underlining the sentences with a pen as you go.

Review headlines and other important context clues.

Skimming is often used as a first step to deeper critical reading techniques such as SQ3R . Just as when preparing for more advanced techniques, you should look at headings, subheadings, chapter titles, tables, image captions, words in bold, or anything else the author intended to stand out.

Chapter titles, headings, and subheadings can give you a clear idea of ​​what is covered, and that may be all you need to understand what you should be thinking about or paying attention to in class.

Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph.

Try reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph as they set the stage, and then make a point of what the paragraph is saying. You can do this after going through all the subheadings and headings. For additional benefit, read the entire first and final paragraphs of the chapter or section for the same reasons.

Try not to read too much

Even if you’re short on time, try to quickly read one chapter at a time instead of reading multiple chapters or sections at once. When you speed read, you still want to grasp the overall concept and theme, so try to avoid situations where you absorb too much of it. Ideally, this should be reserved for when you need to get a feel for a topic—say, before a lesson or a big meeting—so, as much as possible, focus only on the ideas and concepts you need most at the moment. Everything else should be learned more efficiently and thoroughly over time, but that’s a whole other battle.