7 Tips for How to Read Faster (and Still Understand What You Read)

By Suzanne Raga

Jul 5, 2017 | Updated: Mar 9, 2021, 12:00 PM EST

Whether you skim a blog post, peruse files for work, or browse through a book, you most likely do some type of reading every day. But slogging through dense passages of text can be time-consuming, mentally exhausting, and hard on your eyes. If you want to read faster while maintaining reading comprehension, check out these seven tips.

1. Preview the text.

Viewing a film’s trailer before watching the movie gives you context and lets you know what to expect. Likewise, previewing a text before reading it prepares you to quickly gain an understanding of what you’re about to read. To preview a text, scan it from the beginning to the end, paying special attention to headings, subheadings, anything in bold or large font, and bullet points. To get a big picture understanding, skim the introductory and concluding paragraphs. Try to identify transition sentences, examine any images or graphs, and figure out how the author structured the text.

2. Plan your attack.

Strategically approaching a text will make a big difference in how efficiently you can digest the material. First, think about your goals. What do you want to learn by reading the material? Jot down some questions you want to be able to answer by the end. Then, determine the author’s goal in writing the material, based on your preview. The author’s goal, for example, might be to describe the entire history of Ancient Rome, while your goal is simply to answer a question about Roman women’s role in politics. If your goal is more limited in scope than the author’s, plan to only find and read the pertinent sections.

Similarly, vary your plan of attack based on the type of material you’re about to read. If you’re going to read a dense legal or scientific text, you should probably plan to read certain passages more slowly and carefully than you’d read a novel or magazine.

3. Be mindful.

Reading quickly with good comprehension requires focus and concentration. Minimize external noise, distractions, and interruptions, and be mindful when your thoughts wander as you read. If you notice that you’re fantasizing about your next meal rather than focusing on the text, gently bring your mind back to the material. Many readers read a few sentences passively, without focus, then spend time going back and re-reading to make sure they understand them. According to author Tim Ferriss, this habit, called regression, will significantly slow you down and make it harder to get a big picture view of the text. If you carefully and attentively approach a text, you'll quickly realize if you’re not understanding a section, saving you time in the long run.

4. Don’t read every word.

To increase your reading speed, pay attention to your eyes. Most people can scan in 1.5 inch chunks, which, depending on the font size and type of text, usually comprise three to five words each. Rather than reading each word individually, move your eyes in a scanning motion, jumping from a chunk (of three to five words) to the next chunk of words. Take advantage of your peripheral vision to speed up around the beginning and end of each line, focusing on blocks of words rather than the first and last words.

Pointing your finger or a pen at each chunk of words will help you learn to move your eyes quickly over the text. And it will encourage you not to subvocalize as you read. Subvocalization, or silently pronouncing each word in your head as you read, will slow you down and distract you from the author’s main point.

5. Don’t read every section.

According to Dartmouth College’s Academic Skills Center, it’s an old-fashioned myth that students must read every section of a textbook or article. Unless you’re reading something extremely important, skip the sections that aren’t relevant to your purpose. Reading selectively will make it possible for you to digest the main points of many texts, rather than only having time to fully read a couple.

6. Write a summary.

Your job shouldn’t end when you read the last word on the page. After you finish reading, write a few sentences to summarize what you read, and answer any questions you had before you started reading. Did you learn what you were hoping to learn? By spending a few minutes after reading to think, synthesize the information, and write what you learned, you’ll solidify the material in your mind and have better recall later. If you’re a more visual or verbal learner, draw a mind map summary or tell someone what you learned.

7. Practice timed runs.

Approaching a text strategically, reading actively, and summarizing effectively takes practice. If you want to improve your reading speed, use a timer to test how many words (or pages) per minute you can read. As you’re able to read faster and faster, check in with yourself to make sure you’re happy with your level of comprehension.

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无论你是浏览一篇博客文章，阅读工作文件，还是浏览一本书，你很可能每天都做一些阅读。但是，在密集的文本段落中费力地阅读会很耗时、让人精神疲惫，也会对你的眼睛造成伤害。如果你想在保持阅读理解的同时读得更快，看看这七个技巧。

1. 预览文本。

在看电影之前先看电影预告片，可以让你了解电影的背景，让你知道会发生什么。同样地，在阅读一篇文章之前预习它能让你快速地理解你要读的内容。要预览一篇文章，从头到尾扫描一遍，特别注意标题、副标题、任何粗体或大字体的东西，以及要点。为了获得一个整体的理解，浏览介绍性和结束语段落。试着识别过渡句，检查图片或图表，并弄清楚作者是如何构建文本的。

2. 计划你的主攻目标。

有策略地理解一篇文章会对你消化材料的效率产生很大的影响。首先，想想你的目标。你想从阅读材料中学到什么?写下一些你想要在最后能够回答的问题。然后，根据你的预习，确定作者写作材料的目的。例如，作者的目标可能是描述古罗马的整个历史，而你的目标只是回答一个关于罗马妇女在政治中的角色的问题。如果你的目标比作者的范围更有限，计划只找到并阅读相关的部分。

同样地，根据你将要阅读的材料类型改变你的攻击计划。如果你要阅读一篇密集的法律或科学文本，你可能应该计划比阅读小说或杂志更慢、更仔细地阅读某些段落。

3.要注意。

快速阅读和良好的理解需要专注和专注。尽量减少外部噪音、干扰和干扰，当你在阅读时思想游离时要小心。如果你注意到你在幻想你的下一顿饭，而不是专注于文本，轻轻地把你的思想带回到材料。许多读者只读了几句话，没有重点，然后花时间重新阅读，以确保他们理解了这些句子。根据作者Tim Ferriss的说法，这种被称为“回归”的习惯，会显著地减慢你的阅读速度，并使你更难对文本有一个全面的了解。如果你仔细而专注地阅读一篇文章，你很快就会意识到自己是否理解了某个部分，从长远来看，这会节省你的时间。

4. 不要逐字阅读。

为了提高你的阅读速度，要注意你的眼睛。大多数人可以扫描1.5英寸的块，根据字体大小和文本类型，每个块通常由3到5个单词组成。不要一个字一个字地读，而是用扫视的方式移动你的眼睛，从一组(3到5个单词)跳到下一组单词。利用你的周边视觉，在每行的开头和结尾加快速度，把注意力集中在一块块的单词上，而不是第一个和最后一个单词。

用你的手指或笔指着每一大块单词将帮助你学会快速移动你的眼睛在文本上。它会鼓励你在阅读时不要默读。默读，或在阅读时在脑海中默读每个单词，会让你放慢速度，分散你对作者的主要观点的注意力。

5. 不要阅读每一部分。

据达特茅斯学院学术技能中心(Dartmouth College 's Academic Skills Center)称，学生必须阅读课本或文章的每一部分，这是一个古老的神话。除非你读的是非常重要的东西，否则跳过那些与你的目的无关的部分。有选择地阅读会使你有可能消化许多文章的要点，而不是只有时间完全阅读两篇文章。

6. 写一个总结。

你的工作不应该在你读到最后一个单词时就结束了。在你读完之后，写几句话来总结你读到的内容，并在开始阅读之前回答你所遇到的任何问题。你学到你想学的东西了吗?通过在阅读后花几分钟思考，综合信息，并写下你学到的东西，你将在你的头脑中巩固材料，并更好地回忆。如果你是一个视觉或语言学习者，画一个思维导图总结或告诉别人你学到了什么。

7. 练习时间。

有策略地阅读、积极阅读和有效地总结都需要练习。如果你想提高你的阅读速度，用一个计时器来测试你每分钟能阅读多少单词(或页数)。当你的阅读速度越来越快时，检查一下自己，确保你对自己的理解水平感到满意。

来自：https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83881/how-to-read-faster