10 Days to Faster Reading Page 13
Skimming
Use skimming when you are looking for the general or main ideas of a reading. Skimming is a deliberate method of reading that results in a solid overview with selected details.
You skim when your purpose is:
To pull out the main ideas from a large amount of material.
To test whether a passage can be safely skipped.
To locate material that needs to be read thoroughly.
To obtain a general, bird's-eye view without the mastery of detail that thorough reading pro- vides.
Appropriate material for skimming includes, but is not limited to, Web sites, e-zines, magazines, newspapers, nonfiction books, and manuals.
Skimming is similar to pre-viewing with one difference. You now add more to the process than just reading the first sentence of a paragraph. Though the first sentence usually gives you the main idea of a paragraph, many times you get important details in other parts of the paragraph without reading it all. If you feel the first sentence is not helpful, add a phrase or two from the second sentence. Then let your eyes quickly swing down the rest of that paragraph looking for names, dates, numbers, and any other details that relate to your reading purpose. Occasionally, if the first sentence plus these details do not give you enough about what the paragraph contains, then, and only then, should you read the last sentence of the paragraph. Continue doing the same for the next paragraph and so on. To make this process work and to avoid reading it all, you must proceed with a very clear idea of what you are looking for.
This technique takes more time to describe than do. You must keep your skimming fast and flexible so it feels like you are sprinting on tiptoe down an obstacle course. On page 88 is an example of the eye movements involved in skimming. Move your eyes as quickly as possible to the words.
How to Skim
Fast Tracks: Skimming a Passage
Locate an article from a magazine or a chapter from a nonfiction book that you want to read. Decide on your purpose and responsibility. Your purpose could be as simple as wanting to try skimming and your responsibility is to find as much detail as possible, for your interest level, without reading it all. Follow the skimming passage presented on page 87 and in "How to Skim" above. Give yourself about fifteen to thirty seconds per page, even less if you are willing to get the most information in the least amount of time without reading it all. When you are done, evaluate your experience. Did you get the gist? Were you able to go fast enough? What would you do differently next time you skim? Remember, you will become skilled through trial and error.
Scanning
The opposite of skimming, scanning is used when you are looking for something specific, a particular piece of information. You probably scan all the time but may not realize that is what you are doing. Some examples of scanning are when you:
Do research on the Internet.
Look at the TV listings to see what time your favorite show is on.
Look for a specific topic in an index or table of contents.
Look for the baseball scores in a daily paper.
Look up a phone number in a telephone book.
Frequently, readers skim and scan the same piece of material. In a newspaper, you might skim the headlines looking for a story that is of interest to you, then you may scan it looking for specific details such as who it concerns, when did it happen, or how much did it cost. On a retail Web site, you might skim the home page and links, getting the gist of what is offered and how the site is set up. You then go to a linked page scanning for a specific detail such as description of an item, cost, or availability.
The easiest way to become efficient at scanning is to place a pen or pencil vertically, from top to bottom, on the center of a column or page. Let your eyes make two stops per line of print, one to the left of the pen and one to the right. Narrower columns may permit one stop while wider columns may need three. Your scanning may be more accurate if you look at the white space be- tween the lines rather than the lines themselves. Your attention is spread more evenly throughout your field of vision and not concentrated on single words.
Once you master scanning, you can stop putting the pen on the reading. The pen is meant to re- mind the untrained reader not to slip back into word-for-word reading.
Comprehension while scanning is either 100 percent or 0 percent. If you find what you are looking for and document it accurately, you get 100 percent. If you don't accurately find what you are looking for or don't document correctly, you get 0 percent.
Turbo Comprehension: Scanning
Here is a telephone list and a series of ten questions, or pieces of information, to look for from the listing. With the help of a pacer, your hand, or finger, pull your eyes down the page looking for the answer. Notice how your eyes distinguish information only when you stop them. Try using your peripheral vision to see above and below your stopping point. When you find the answer to a question, quickly and accurately document the answer, including first names and middle initials as shown. Since all have the same last name, save yourself time by not writing it down.
To really make it a challenge, time yourself. Read the questions carefully.
1. Whose phone number is 531-7379?
2. Who lives at 2 Grigg?
3. How many listings does 296 Palmer Hill Rd have?
4. What is the business phone of Joseph L. Hayes, Jr?
5. Whose phone number is 661-3383?
6. Who lives at 182 Taconic Road?
7. What is the phone number of 205 S Water?
8. What is the address of Richard A. Hayes?
9. Whose phone number is 868-1391?
10. Who lives at 795 Lake Ave?
868-5178 Hayes A M 56 Oak Ridge
532-7968 Hayes Anne M Mrs 80 Henry
632-1023 Hayes Antique Shop 179 Shore Rd
868-2933 Hayes B W 7 Gaston Farm Rd
629-9016 Hayes Barbara S
637-4810 Hayes Basil & Christine 10 Owenoke Way
637-8993 Hayes Beryl 296 Palmer Hill Rd
661-1248 Hayes, C 790 Lake Av
637-4208 Hayes C Webb Colonial La
531-9084 Hayes Christopher B 4 Hawthorne
531-7379 Hayes Claude H 92 Bowman Dr
629-4785 Hayes Clem 83 Mason
531-0225 Hayes & Co 250 Mill
637-7561 Hayes David 5 Pilot Rock La
531-7231 Hayes David J 54 Mead Av
622-0279 Hayes Davidson D 58 Cliffdale Rd
868-1114 Hayes Elizabeth C North Maple
637-1286 Hayes Francis S 35 Marks Rd
868-6084 Hayes Frank D 14 Brookridge Dr
637-0635 Hayes George & Kathi 24 Lake Drive S
661-7175 Hayes Geo R D 133 Otter Rock Dr
531-4228 Hayes Gwynne 43 Deep Gorge Rd
637-8993 Hayes Howard O Jr Dr 296 Palmer Hill Rd
637-0848 Hayes –Children Phone 296 Palmer Hill Rd
629-2331 Hayes J Bryan III 10 Bolling Pl
637-1766 Hayes J R 34 Druid La
661-7187 Hayes John F Vinyrd La
868-1391 Hayes John I 91 Prospect
868-1995 Hayes Joseph L III 50 Bush Av
661-9283 Hayes Jos L Jr 141 Ovrik Dr
868-6800 Hayes Joseph L Jr rl est 32 Sherwood Pl
868-2892 Hayes Joseph S Tinker La
868-6800 Hayes Josephine C rl est 32 Sherwood Pl
531-5061 Hayes K & R 171 Henry
868-8376 Hayes K R 182 Taconic Rd
868-3800 Hayes Karen L atty 100 Fieldpoint Rd
531-1941 Hayes Keith 40 Nutmeg Dr
625-9443 Hayes Ken 16 Lexington Av
627-1687 Hayes Lincoln A 44 Laddins Rock Rd Old
698-0870 Hayes Lou 5 Ferris Dr
661-6856 Hayes M V V 6 Stanwich Rd
531-6025 Hayes Marjorie 1165 King
939-9307 Hayes Martin 11 Pearl Pt Chstr
629-2341 Hayes Philip 155 Field Pt Rd
625-0671 Hayes Philip J 2 Grigg
661-3383 Hayes R E 140 Field Point Rd
531-8570 Hayes Richard A 6 Thistle La
531-7282 Hayes Roger J 15 Prospect St W
868-9198 Hayes Staunton Jr 184 Parsonage Rd
868-4286 Hayes Sydney M 795 Lake Av
531-6233 Hayes Thos R 205 S Water
Go to the Answer Key and check your answers. If you took three minutes or less to do this exercise, then your scanning speed is quite good. If you had nine out of ten correct or a perfect score, then your accuracy is on target. If it took you more time or you got fewer correct, you need to pay attention to either your scanning speed or accuracy.
Skipping
Skipping means leaving something unread altogether. You skip when you realize at any point in your reading that the material is unnecessary, repetitive, or filler. A skilled reader accurately knows when it is safe and desirable to skip.
Skipping is a selective way to read. The key point when skipping is in what you do read, not what you leave out. You often are faced with numerous pieces of material that could be relevant to your purpose. If a portion of the material can be skipped how do you choose? You can skip reading altogether if:
It contains nothing new.
It covers nothing you need.
It's too difficult.
If you read varied material on the same topic in newspapers, Web sites, and magazines you most likely are getting the same information presented in different ways. For example, just about every book and article on pregnancy discusses the importance of folic acid. If it's information you already know, you can skip it or read it again to reinforce what you already gained from the reading. Pre-viewing or skimming also helps you quickly identify areas you can safely skip.
To learn how to skim, scan, or skip effectively, you need to consider the following:
1. Always identify your purpose for reading. Remember that without knowing why you are on the road, you waste time, get lost, and become frustrated.
2. Pre-view everything you read. Pre-viewing gives you the background knowledge to decide whether the reading is worth your time and helps you refine your purpose.
3. Overcome your fear of missing material. There is more than enough reading material to last a lifetime and your job is to q-u-i-c-k-l-y find what is most valuable to you.
Time Trial No. 8
Once again, it's time to test your engine. It should take you five minutes or less. Re- member to add pre-viewing into the process.
On the following practice reading, experiment with some of the information you have learned about. Try using key words, phrases, key phrases, or a pacer. Insure an appropriate environment for uninterrupted successful reading.
1. Pre-view the reading first. Time yourself for a maximum of only thirty seconds, allowing yourself to quickly look at the introduction, the first sentences of the paragraphs, and the questions you will be answering.
2. Time yourself. See how long it takes to read the passage "Books Join the Electronic Wave" below. Write your total time in minutes and seconds in the space provided at the end of the reading.
Books Join the Electronic Wave
By John D. Whitman
Today, I read a book that wasn't there.
Well, the text was there, but the book wasn't. You see, I have one of those electronic organizers called a personal digital assistant, or PDA. Not only does it keep track of my address book, it also provides a host of other functions. For example it has the ability to store books on its memory. And not just tiny books. This device, which fits into a shirt pocket, can hold the complete works of Shakespeare, novels by Charles Dickens, or the Bible. Now you can have King Lear in your carrying case, Pickwick Papers in your purse.
Now, I'm not a technology nerd. So my first reaction to learning about "ebooks," as they're called, was "This is surely the end of civilization as we know it." So, just to be spiteful, I decided to try this ebook feature and downloaded F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby.
I quickly learned that my expectations were wrong: E-books are actually a wonderful tool for reading on the go. In fact, they remind me of a time when the words were more important than the printing. You see, what we call "writing" began as oral tradition, stories passed from generation to generation before the advent of written language. In Western culture, it wasn't until the Greeks borrowed writing from the Phoenicians that stories were set down on papyrus, er, paper. The works of Homer, in fact, marked the transition from oral to written culture, but those early "books" emphasized the words themselves rather than the written medium.
Before the invention of the printing press, handwritten books were so rare that they took on a value of their own. The monks who created many of these early works labored so carefully that we call their works "illuminated manuscripts" because of the glorious artwork inked onto every page. Even today, when books are printed quickly and inexpensively, they hold a place of reverence.
But, in truth, we revere the ideas and language, not the books them- selves. Reading Fitzgerald's classic novel on a small, electronic screen, I was struck just as powerfully by his ideas and insights as I would have been if the words had been in ink. Just as Homer's Odyssey transcended the scrolls on which it was written, great writing rises above the electronic format. It doesn't matter whether the text is ink or ether; printed or digital; excellent writing makes for good reading.
➞ Mark your reading time on a separate piece of paper: (minutes) (seconds).
3. Respond to statements. Immediately answer the following statements to the best of your ability WITHOUT looking back at the reading. Estimate the number of answers you believe are correct and put the number in the blank provided.
Comprehension Statements
Without looking back at the reading passage, respond to the following statements by indicating whether the statement is True (T), False (F), or Not Discussed (N).
1. A PDA is a professional digital assistant.
2. A PDA can store addresses.
3. Only technology nerds enjoy reading e-books.
4. An e-book screen is easier to read if the original text is taken from a hardcover book.
5. The author tried reading fiction on his small electronic screen.
6. When books are printed in electronic form, the language loses some of its power.
7. Before the printing press, monks hand wrote books called illuminated manuscripts.
8. E-books are less expensive than printed ones.
9. Only classical fiction is available on e-books.
10. It's not "books" we revere, rather the ideas and language.
Now, estimate how many of these answers you believe you have correct out of ten.
4. Check your responses. Turn to the Answer Key. If you have any incorrect, mark the correct response and return to the reading passage to try to understand where you had a problem.
5. Figure your comprehension percentage. Add the total number of correct responses you have and multiply by 10. Write your comprehension percentage in your Personal Progress Chart.
6. Figure your words per minute. Look at your reading time and round off the seconds to the nearest 10-second mark. Turn to the Words per Minute Chart and find your Words per Minute next to your reading time. Write your Words per Minute in your Personal Progress chart.
7. Track your Time Trial scores. Go to your Personal Progress chart and make sure you've recorded your Words per Minute, comprehension percentage, and the date you did the exercise. It's also helpful to document other details such as time of day, any preoccupations, strategies used, and so on.
Reading On A Computer Screen
Race car drivers, and all drivers in general, are likely to drive slower in unfamiliar territory, or terrain that is new to them. For readers, the same is true when navigating the unfamiliar or less-than- ideal terrain of reading from a computer screen. Anyone who reads on a computer screen intuitively knows it is not the same as reading on paper.
Research has shown that people experience a
30 percent reduction in speed when reading from a screen. So if your reading speed averages 250 words per minute on paper, your reading speed on a screen may go down to 175 words per minute. Also, comprehension, concentration and retention are reduced when reading from a computer screen. Extensive research by Paul Muter, from the psychology department at the University of Toronto, identified 24 reasons to partially explain why reading from a computer screen is not the same as on paper, some of which may be responsible for the decrease in speed, including: