Reading is an important skill. It helps you learn new concepts and ideas, which are crucial to success in any field. But reading isn’t always easy. There’s so much information out there that it can be hard to get through what you want to read. As a result, people often find themselves trying to figure out how to read faster while still understanding the material they’re reading. By using these strategies, we’ll give you some tips on how to read faster and remember more of what you’ve read.
How to read faster and remember more?
Here are the strategies to follow:
Skim the text
Skimming, also referred to as “scanning,” is a technique used to get an overview of the text. The idea is to skim the text to find the main ideas and points without reading every word. In this way, it helps you get an idea of what you will read before actually reading it.
There are 3 main ways you can skim a text:
- Read the headings or subheadings
- Scan for keywords and phrases in boldface or italics
- Look for lists (bulleted/numbered)
Once you’ve skimmed your text or topic, it’s time to start reading!
Gather the main ideas
You should read the text a few times to gather the main ideas. Underline or highlight the main ideas and write them down in your own words. Use mind maps to help you organize your notes and remember information for longer.
When you take notes, use the acronym ‘SQ3R’ to help you do so. This stands for: Survey, Question, Read and Recite. The survey is the first step and involves looking at the titles and sub-headings of each paragraph. Write down a summary of what it’s about, then underline or highlight keywords within the text that relate to this topic.
Write down keywords for the main points
For example, you may choose to jot down the words “in general” if the author is talking about something that’s true for most people or most of the time. This will help you remember what was said in that part of the text, which can be particularly useful if you’re studying for an exam and need to know how many times certain ideas were mentioned by the author.
Write down too few words, and it won’t help your memory very much. It might just distract you from remembering other information in your notes. On the other hand, if you write down too many keywords, they’ll overwhelm your mind with information; this could make it hard for you to figure out what information is important when reading through your notes later on!
Write down the examples, facts, and evidence
To improve your reading comprehension, you should write down keywords for supporting examples, facts, and evidence.
Write down the main points of the text. This can be done in any way that is comfortable for you, but some people prefer to use bullet points or numbered lists.
Write down the supporting examples, facts, and evidence. This will help you remember those details later on when you are reviewing what you have learned from reading a particular passage.
Use a highlighter to mark keywords in the text that may be relevant later on during your review process so that they stand out when you’re trying to recall this information!
Summarise
You should also write a summary of what you’ve read. A good way to do this is to summarise in your own words the main points of the article and then write down keywords for supporting examples, facts, and evidence.
If you’re not sure what a précis is, it’s a summary of what you’ve read. It should be about 3-4 paragraphs long and it should include the main points of the article but also some supporting evidence.
A précis is an important tool in your arsenal, as it gives you a chance to review what you’ve read and think about how it relates to the rest of your work. If you don’t have time to write one up, then jot down a few keywords from the article and make sure that they’re included when writing your essay.
Read your notes and study them
After you have studied your notes, you should be able to discard them. Reviewing your notes regularly will help ensure that you do not forget the information. When you cannot remember the information, it’s time to re-write your notes or start fresh with new ones.
If you have time to review your notes before an exam, do so. While reviewing, ask yourself questions about the material and try to answer them. This will help solidify what you already know and allow you to understand concepts better.
If you are pressed for time, a good rule of thumb is to review your notes within 24 hours before an exam. If you have more time, review them as often as possible. The more you review the material, the easier it will be to recall on test day.
A good way to remember
A good way to remember what you’re reading is by summarising it in your own words and then studying those summaries.
Here’s how:
- Read the text and summarise it in your own words (this is called ‘reading for meaning’).
- Write down the main points, then write down supporting examples, facts, evidence, etc. that you’ve noticed while reading (this is called ‘underlining’ or ‘highlighting’).
- Summarise what you’ve read by writing a précis (summary of the main points) in note form which will help you remember key ideas/messages from a text as well as provide an easy reference point when studying again later on.
The important step to summing up is to read the text. Read it aloud if you can. This helps you understand the flow of words and ideas. This will also help with remembering what you’ve read later.
By using these techniques, you’ll be able to read faster and more effectively and also remember what you’ve read. This will help you save time and improve your grades.