| A big element of effective speed-reading is only | | | | To help you be more effective and get the most |
| reading those pieces of text that you actually | | | | out of both skimming and scanning text it can be |
| need to read and not reading that which you don't | | | | useful to know what your purpose is for reading |
| need to read. | | | | the book. Knowing why you are reading a book |
| To help you find the information you actually need | | | | and what you are looking for will help to get your |
| to read and to avoid the information you don't | | | | brain alert for any information that your are |
| need to read it is important to practice skimming | | | | looking for in the text as you read. |
| and scanning when reading text. | | | | This is because there is a part of your brain |
| Skimming and scanning are actually two very | | | | involved in controlling your attention and |
| different ways of going through text. Scanning | | | | awareness levels, which is know as the "reticular |
| while speed reading is the process of looking for a | | | | activation system"(RAS) and is activated by goals |
| specific piece of information, like looking up a | | | | and purpose. |
| word in the dictionary for example. You don't read | | | | Your RAS is so powerful that it can actually block |
| every word; you "scan" through the text to look | | | | out information you have not made clear you |
| for what you want and stop once you have | | | | want from the text, and it can also alert you to |
| found and absorbed the information you are | | | | information you are actually looking for. It dose |
| looking for. | | | | this by controlling your perceptual filters, which |
| Skimming on the other hand involves going | | | | helps to filter out any information you don't need |
| through the book page by page just looking at | | | | and alert you to what you do in the text. |
| chapter titles and sub titles and categories and | | | | So that is why it is so important to know why |
| pictures and diagrams to get a general feel for | | | | you are reading information and what you need |
| the text and its layout to familiarize yourself with | | | | or want from the text before you begin reading |
| its structure. And to also help get an overview of | | | | because if you are not totally sure of what |
| the subject matter the book is on. And to get a | | | | information you need you are unlikely to find it |
| general impression of what the text contains. | | | | and could actually miss it without even knowing. |