Notes on Speed Reading and Reading Comprehension Short Class

Fall 2011 at Sonoma State I. Introduction A. Procedure - Deciding what approach to take for a specific text: 1. def - defining my READERS PURPOSE - why and what goals do I have for reading this book? Am I trying to learn a professional skill? Am I trying to extract basic concepts for a college class? Etc. 2. Determine weather the material is in a format that is relatively accessible or one that is relatively dense. 3. Look for any features to the material like study questions, an introduction or margin notes and determine how/if they can help me with my READERS PURPOSE II. Components to better reading techniques: A. Speed Reading - techniques to help me read faster. 1. Key ideas: a) Reading faster is all about tracking the material with my fingers so that my eye has something to follow. b) Also, I need to consistently push myself to read more quickly so that I can engage my brain in the material and so that I can prevent my mind from wandering. 2. Techniques for fully reading a text: a) The Line Underline technique is using four fingers to underline the line Im reading as I read each line. This is for beginners. b) The Long-Smooth Underline technique is using two fingers to guide my eye under each phrase of words Im reading. This is for intermediate readers. (1) This can also be done with narrow columns, as on the Kindle or in a newspaper. c) The Short Smooth Underline simply shortens the movements under each line Im reading - I wont underline the whole line with my hand. This is for advanced readers. 3. Speed sprints will help me improve my reading time. Every so often, I need to push myself to sprint as I read so that my eye can get used to reading more quickly. 4. Timing speed reading: a) Time how many lines I can read in one minute b) Then, count all of the letters, spaces and punctuation marks on a line in the material Im reading and divide by 6 - rounding to the nearest whole number. These are the amount of words per line for this material. c) Multiply the lines per minute by the words per line 5. Technique for skimming a text: a) First, remember to preview so that I know for which ideas, phrases or key words Im looking b) Then, take two fingers as my eye-guides and diagonally guide them left to lower right over three lines of text, scanning for those key components to the text. Then,

reset the fingers to the upper-left of the subsequent top line of the next three-line segment and repeat. This will result in the Zig Zag Skimming technique. 6. For a hybrid method between skimming and full reading of a text, I can use the First Sentence Skimming technique. With this, Ill fully read the first sentence of each paragraph and then use the Zig Zag Skimming technique for the rest of that paragraph. This will be repeated for each paragraph. It should result in a fuller comprehension of the text but not as much as fully reading it. B. Previewing - preparatory techniques for improving comprehension and efficiently getting to my READERS PURPOSE 1. Why preview? a) Ill usually be able to recognize the main ideas of the material before I start reading. b) Also, sometimes Ill find that I can skip certain sections that dont apply to my READERS PURPOSE c) Also, I can decide which speed reading strategies to use. 2. Key ideas behind previewing: a) Identifying what the thesis / subject of the material is b) Learning about the author - looking at their goals and what their credentials are c) Identifying how the material is organized 3. Procedure - steps for previewing a non-fiction book: a) Define my READERS PURPOSE b) Read the front and back cover c) Look at everything before chapter 1. Pay special attention to the table of contents. d) Look at everything after the last chapter. e) Identify which non-body components would help me achieve my READERS PURPOSE and read them. 4. Procedure - how to preview a chapter in a textbook: a) Recall that your READERS PURPOSE will be to learn and retain the information in the material b) Read the chapters introductory materials (including things like lists of vocabulary words) c) Identify what each section in the upcoming chapter is about d) Look at the end-of-chapter material to see what additional features the textbook has for you to ensure that youve understood the material (study questions, vocabulary words, summaries) 5. Procedure - how to preview a longer professional article (journal article, trade publication or government document etc.) a) Define my READERS PURPOSE b) Read the abstract. Especially look for the articles goals and its scope c) Flip through the document, looking at graphs and headings. Here, pay special attention for information about the authors/publishers d)Read the conclusion/summary if it exists

6. Procedure - how to read a shorter professional article (trade publication article, long blog post etc.) a) Define my READERS PURPOSE b) Read any introduction or overview offered c) Scan the document quickly for any headings or graphs and read the first sentence of each section. Sometimes Ill have to read the second sentence as well. d) Read any conclusion or summary offered C. Reporting - techniques to improve the long-term retention of material I read 1. Oral reporting a) def - I need to use TELLBACKS periodically to retell myself what Ive been reading. Generally, material will develop a main idea (usually in non-fiction reading) or a plot (usually in fiction reading) and Ill want to keep track of where the development of this idea is periodically. TELLBACKS are summaries that I generate periodically that are in my own words. My brain likes its own phrases and ideas, so it will retain the summaries that I generate much more efficiently than the summaries the book offers. b) def - If the material is particularly dense - like a journal article - I need to do MAIN IDEA SUMMARIES as I read. After each paragraph or section of the material, I need to do brief summaries in my own words that recount the main ideas only. These main ideas are sometimes signaled in the text by bold words or italics. 2. Note-taking a) First, note that any notes I take should be connected to my READERS PURPOSE. If Im reading material on which Ill be tested - I need to make sure to mark down things that I could be tested on. If Im looking to extract strategies, then make sure my notes focus on that, etc. b) Taking notes on less-dense material: (1) Generally, its best to take notes on less-dense material in the margins of the book or with my Kindle note-taking technology. (2) Especially, I need to take notes as key ideas or the plot develops. c) Taking notes on dense material: (1) For this, its best to take notes on a separate piece of paper or on a computer, building an outline of the development of the ideas. (2) Simply, Ill write the chapter number or section number for each segment, then organize sub-ideas and supporting details below. Like I usually take notes. I should put as many ideas as possible in my own words as I read. d) Taking notes on comparisons of different sub-groups in some category (1) This is called a note-taking grid (2) Here, Ill decide which information I want to record - this is connected to my READERS PURPOSE and then write down in column A the different subcategories (often, countries, states etc.) (3) Then, Ill decide which variables I want to record and Ill put those in row 1, columns B-n) III. Active reading: the end goal

A. The goal of my reading is to use active reading techniques to read more quickly and to extract the information necessary to achieve my READERS PURPOSE B. Procedure - Building the reading plan for a given piece of material. This can be done formally for longer or important projects, informally for casual projects or very quickly for things like blog posts. 1. Define my READERS PURPOSE 2. Preview: a) Write down (or not, for casual projects) the authors purpose(s) / thesis. This will be the MAIN IDEA / PLOT that the material should develop. b) Identify the authors credentials. 3. Build the outline - look at the way the material is organized and connect that to the idea the material will develop and my READERS PURPOSE. See if I can skip any sections and/or if I should read any non-body sections like the afterward, the introduction etc. 4. Decide which speed reading technique(s) are appropriate for this material 5. Decide the type of reporting Im going to use: a) Oral reporting: TELLBACKS (non-dense) vs. main idea summaries (dense) b) Note-taking: informal (margins) or outline 6. Decide what key questions I should ask myself while I read the text so that I can achieve my READERS PURPOSE IV. Specific approaches A. Procedure - Reading government reports 1. Define what (type) of information I need to extract 2. Identify what organization is publishing the material and read any summaries/ conclusions available 3. Look at the sections and graphs and get an informal outline of the material. See what I can skip (if any). 4. Find a place to take outline-style notes for the information I need 5. Define my speed-reading strategies appropriate for the different sections 6. Decide on expert questions related to my READERS PURPOSE 7. Read, using a combination of TELLBACKS and main idea summaries B. Procedure - fiction/pleasure reading 1. Ask myself - what do I want to get out of this book? 2. Preview: a) Read the front and back cover and look for any helpful non-body sections. b) Identify the authors purpose or perspective and the plot (if possible) 3. Use the long-smooth speed-reading technique, doing TELLBACKS every so often to see how the plot / main idea is developing. Use margin notes if necessary. C. Journal/professional articles 1. Define what information Im trying to extract and for what purpose - my READERS PURPOSE 2. Get out some way to take outline-style notes. 3. Preview:

a) Read the abstract and any conclusions available to determine the thesis of the piece b) Scan the document for headings and any graphs to get hints about how the thesis will be developed c) Identify who the authors / publishers are and what their goals are with the piece 4. Identify the appropriate speed-reading techniques for each section 5. Use the main-idea summarizing oral reporting technique as I read. 6. Take notes on the development of the thesis as I read D. Blog posts 1. Identify my READERS PURPOSE 2. Preview: a) Scan the headers and graphs of the post b) Identify who the author is and what their goal / thesis is for the piece c) See how the thesis will be developed with each section of the blog post 3. Establish any expert questions I may have for the post. 4. Use the long-smooth technique to read, taking no notes. E. Newspaper articles 1. Preview the piece: a) Read the headline and look for any graphs or supplementary material b) Identify the perspective of the publication 2. Use the long-smooth technique to read the article