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Active reading with the pen

Keep paper and pen within reach. Before beginning to read, think about the purpose for the reading. Why has the teacher made this assignment? What are you supposed to get out of it?

Use the cursor on computer like a magic wand as you read text. Underline reading text. The cursor becomes a finger, and instinct kicks in - your eyes follow for moving object. This increase information perception on 50%, and add that important 10% to memory and concentration.

So that's it, you're on the way to improved knowledge acquisition. Want to know why the most intelligent people hate reading? It slow and boring and their brain is moving at the speed of sound.

Use a guide (pencil, finger, ruler) to stop regression. Train yourself to bypass your automatic response to mentally speak each word. Reading groups of words and phrases at a time, using our peripheral vision. Specifically, taking in a sentence in three gulps, not ten, which is typical for educated professionals. But now you have the first two steps.

When you are reading it is often useful to highlight, underline and annotate the text as you go on. This emphasizes information in the mind, and helps you to review important points after you have finished studying the text. Active reading helps to keep the mind focused on the material and stops it wandering.

This is obviously only something to do if you own the document or book. If you find that active reading helps significantly, then it may be worth copying information in more expensive texts. You can then read and mark the photocopies.

Marking & Underlining in a Textbook

• First read a section.
• Review the section, marking and underlining selectively.
• Underline information as if you were preparing brief notes from which you could study.
• Underline all definitions of terminology.
• Mark or label examples that represent main ideas.
• Circle and box special vocabulary words and transitional words and phrases.
• Number important or sequential ideas.
• Jot down paraphrases, questions, and summaries in available space within the text.

Readers should use a pen or finger to trace each line of text as they move down the page to keep track of where they are reading.

Use index and middle fingers to run across the text. Switching fingers with each line previews the next, and you can grasp the information better. The eye sees the next line.

Subconsciously, the eye will skip around a page of text, which is why reading can take so much time.

Always read with a pen in your fist underlining each word of a sentence as you think. You will increase speed reading in 50%, and add 10% to concentration and memory. It's an instinct - our eyes follow a moving object. It's what saved our cave-dwelling ancestors from sneaky dinosaurs and enemies next door. Be free in reading

What is speed reading.

• What people say about speed reading
• Test yourself how many fixations do you make
• 'Simply reading' exercise
• Reading methods
• Some tips for developing good eyesight
• Zig zag reading
• Simple speed reading experiments
• How people read
• Who can improve there reading?
• Five types of reading
• Simple speed reading experiments
• Some of the things that reduce reading rate
• Reading of foreign language texts
• Readers' opinions
• Reading Speed Calculation