Reading - Make It Effective

The main problem for a reader is the volume of information made available in print: information overload. The reader needs to be able to select the relevant source from the mass of sources available, the relevant ideas or facts from the bulk of the material and even, in order to speed up the process, the relevant words from the general flow of written English. If you want to improve the efficiency of your reading, therefore you need to improve the speed and accuracy of this selection process. How fast do you read, and how much do you take in? The average adult apparently reads between 200 and 300 words per minute (word per minute) but it is possible to read much faster than that, up to 1,000 (word per minute) reading faster actually means that you are concentrating more closely on the task in hand, so more, rather than less, information can be absorbed.

READING STRATEGY

You are simply reading for pleasure? You can afford to take your time and relish every detail this is rarely the case however, in study or work. You will at some point be faced with in-tray full of material requiring attention, or a book list for assignment what will you do? if you simply start at the top and read until your concentration falters or eyesight fails you may find that you may have:

• Read items in the wrong order; or
• Not completed the required reading; but
• Covered a lot of material that may eventually prove irrelevant

OBJECTIVE

Your reading objective is the first and most important thing. Reading for pleasure or some professional task?

SCANNING

In all the essential writings it is very important to understand the underline purpose of reading which is scanning first. Scanning allows you to get a fast overview of a piece of writing so that you can asses its value as a whole and select relevant parts if necessary. Scanning is not reading actually word by word or phrase by phrase but it allows the reader to get the background of the entire text and concentrate on the key expressions which are of some relevance. Scanning basically allows the reader to look for the most relevant data.

SKIMMING

Skimming is another way of reading faster. It is basically a general overview about the content and jest of the text which make it easier for the reader to find out the relevant data. Another purpose of skimming is to eliminate the irrelevant details in the form of stories or charts but to highlight the headings, sub-headings and those ideas which are of importance. Another remarkable aspect of skimming is to run your eyes as fast as possible in order to cover large details of information in the shortest possible time.

READING

When you finally get down to reading,

• Remember to be an active receiver of information,
• Not a passive receiver of data

1. Read carefully
2. Read intelligently
3. Concentrate
4. Plan to minimize problems