Developing reading skills is important to better assimilate any type of content at college, school, work or leisure. Some very simple reading tips can make this process easier and more enjoyable.
If you are looking to enjoy the benefits of reading more quickly, without neglecting your understanding of the text, discover below 8 very popular techniques that have proven to work.
1. Active reading
Active reading is an interesting method for those who suffer from lack of attention and forget those chapters that have already been read. Going through this can be boring and discouraging, right?
The first step to developing active reading is to understand the content beforehand. Start by reading the summary, the abstract and the conclusion — in cases of professional reading or for study. In the case of reading for hobby , remove the third tip, since receiving a spoiler of the book may not be the most pleasant thing .
As you read, remember to live up to the name and do activities such as:
- look up terms you don’t know the first time you see them;
- pay attention to the highlighted sections (in bold and italics, for example) and understand why they received this type of edit;
- use post-its or mark important passages with a highlighter;
- imagine practical situations that can help you understand some theoretical concept.
2. Concentration
Concentration is very important to develop reading skills, making the material read be assimilated by our brain. But we know that not everyone can concentrate easily, and that’s okay .
Nowadays, there are a number of methods that can help with concentration. One of the most famous is the Pomodoro method, in which a person reads for 25 minutes and then takes a 5-minute break. The cycle is repeated until the set goal is achieved.
The Pomodoro works for any activity that involves a desire to increase concentration and productivity . It wasn’t created especially for readers, but it works very well.
An interesting fact: when you search for the term “ study with me ” on YouTube, you can find a series of videos with people reading or doing work at home, at college or school. The idea is that you watch this type of content and feel more focused and stimulated.
3. Vocabulary
Understanding words and what they mean is a big part of being able to read. Basically, it will be hard to understand what we’re reading if we don’t understand it.
Reading is a great way to help your knowledge grow. That’s because reading helps you learn new things, meet authors from different backgrounds, and find words and sentences that don’t make sense right now.
Reading out loud is another way to pick up new words. You should write down any questions you have and look up things you don’t understand when you stop reading.
4. Rereading
The same text can generate completely different reading experiences. When reading for the first time, you are entering unknown territory , so expectations are aligned and the brain assimilates the information as new.
However, when you become familiar with what you have read, your reading skills improve because you can pay attention to details that may have been missed along the way. Want an example? It’s simple! Think about the first time you had to travel to a part of your city that you didn’t know yet.
While the first journey may have been difficult and slow, requiring you to pay close attention to the directions, the other visits provide space to observe the landscape and get to know the neighborhood. Or, to move more quickly, since the route is no longer a mystery.
5. Skimming
The term comes from English and means something like “to drain”. This is because this technique consists precisely of extracting the main content before understanding whether the reading adds anything or not.
This dynamic reading technique can save you a lot of time in those frustrated reading attempts, when you realize that the content was irrelevant to you at the time after having read 90% of the material.
To skim , look for the main information in the text, such as:
- title and subtitle;
- main topics discussed;
- publication date;
- author;
- images or graphics, where applicable.
6. Scanning
The Scanning technique , which can be understood as the ability to quickly scan through the text in search of specific words . Almost as if it were a scanning process, with fast reading.
It should be adapted in cases where it is possible to give up part of what was written by the author. Reading as a hobby is compromised in this case, since the intention is precisely to know the whole story.
But in cases of reading for college or work, when we come into contact with technical materials in search of specific concepts, Scanning comes in as a great ally.
7. 50 page rule
The 50-page rule is recommended for those who want to improve their reading skills as a hobby . This is because its essence is precisely to abandon those books that you don’t like after reading the first 50 pages.
Many people “suffer” from procrastination when reading, not because they lack concentration skills, but because they are not interested enough in the book. And that’s okay! Instead of forcing yourself to continue with something that doesn’t generate curiosity or interest, practice detachment and move on to the next title.
In the case of readings for college, for example, the rule makes no sense, since these are mandatory materials.
8. Group of words
This is another study method that improves reading skills in a dynamic way. In it, the brain is trained to recognize groups of words, making it easier to understand the text.
As time passes and skill develops, it is as if our head zooms in on the letters in reverse and opens up the field of vision.