How to Read Fast

Reading slowly can impact your ability to work or perform well in school. However, you can improve your reading speed. It will take some practice, but you can reorient your approach to reading and train yourself to incorporate some effective study habits that will increase your pace and understanding when you read.

Things You'll Need

• Quiet, comfortable place to read

Instructions

How to Read Fast

1. Eliminate distractions. The key to reading fast is concentrating all your attention on the task at hand. Turn off your cell-phone ringer, radio, TV, Facebook, Twitter, etc. All these things divert your attention from the text.

2. Settle into a comfortable chair with good lumbar support. Make sure you have enough light to read without straining your eyes. Fidgeting and straining to see distract from your primary focus. While you may be technically able to continue reading, your attention will be divided.

3. Skim the article or chapter before you begin a close reading of the text. This will give your brain some clues about what to expect from the text, thus improving your reading speed and your understanding of the material. Make note of headings and subheadings; they provide useful guidance and structure. Often it is also useful to skim the introduction and conclusion before proceeding to the main article.

4. Reading fast takes practice, and some texts are harder to skim through. However, textbooks are very easy to skim. In fact, you may be able to get the gist of the information by reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph, the bold or highlighted terms and the section summary. Textbooks are meant to provide information in a highly accessible way.

5. Use a card or ruler to underline the text as you read. Blocking out text not yet reached will help keep your brain focused. As you move, slide the card or ruler down the page, keeping your eyes and brain in check. This will improve your comprehension as well as your speed.

Tips & Warnings

• Read headings, subheads, summaries and highlighted words before you begin reading the text closely.

• Fast reading may be great for fiction and textbooks, but it isn't recommended when you're analyzing texts or writing analytical papers.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish