How Long Does It Take to Read 100 Words

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Whether you're hitting the textbooks in philosophy class or reading the morning newspaper, reading can feel tedious. Train yourself to speed read to get through these tasks much faster. Reading faster does lead to less understanding, but with practice you tin can overcome some of this effect.

1. 1

   Stop talking to yourself. Almost every reader "subvocalizes," or moves their pharynx as they imagine speaking the words.^[i] This may help the reader think concepts, but it's likewise a major barrier to speed.^[2] Here are a few ways to keep this addiction to a minimum:

   • Chew gum or hum while you read. This occupies muscles used to subvocalize.
   • If you move your lips as you read, concord a finger against them.

2. ii

   Comprehend words you've already read. When reading, your eyes frequently move back to earlier words. Well-nigh of the fourth dimension, these are short movements that probably don't amend understanding.^[3] Use an alphabetize bill of fare to encompass words right afterward you read them, training yourself not to overuse this habit.

   • These "regressions" too happen when y'all've failed to understand something. If your eyes bound several words or lines back, that's a sign that you may need to slow down.

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3. 3

   Understand eye movements. While reading, your eyes move jerkily, stopping on some words and skipping others. You can only read while your eyes are stopped. If you lot learn to make fewer movements per line, you'll read a lot faster. Just be careful – research reveals limits to how much English language readers can see at once:^[4]

   • You lot can read eight messages to the right of your heart position, just but four to the left. This is roughly two or three words at a time.
   • You notice letters 9–15 spaces to the correct, but tin't read them clearly.
   • Normal readers don't process words on other lines. Grooming yourself to skip lines and still understand them would exist very difficult.

4. 4

   Train your eyes to make fewer movements. Your brain usually decides where to move your optics based on how long or familiar the next words look.^[5] You tin read faster if you railroad train your optics to motility to specific places on the page instead. Attempt this exercise:

   • Place an alphabetize card over a line of text.
   • Write an X on the card, over the first word.
   • Write some other Ten on the same line. Place it three words further for good agreement, v words for easy texts, or vii words to skim the main points.
   • Write more Xs at the same spacing, until you achieve the end of the line.
   • Read chop-chop as you lot motility the index card down, trying to only focus your eyes just below each X.

5. 5

   Ready a pace faster than yous tin can understand. Many programs merits to increment your reading speed by training your reflexes get-go, then practicing until your brain can catch upward. This has not been thoroughly studied. It certainly increases the speed you motion through the text, just you may sympathise little or nothing. Try this if you lot want to aim for farthermost speed reading, and you lot might understand more subsequently a few days of practice. Here's how:

   • Move a pencil along the text. Time this so you can say "1 ane thousand" at a calm step and finish just as you attain the end of a line.
   • Spend two minutes trying to read at the step of the pencil. Fifty-fifty if you tin't understand anything, stay focused on the text and keep your eyes moving for the entire ii minutes.
   • Rest for a infinitesimal, so get even faster. Spend three minutes trying to read at the pace of a pen that moves across ii lines every fourth dimension you say "1 chiliad".

6. 

   half-dozen

   Try RSVP software. If y'all can't reach your goals with the techniques to a higher place, attempt RSVP, or Reading Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. In this approach, the phone app or figurer software flashes text a single word at a fourth dimension. This lets you lot choose any reading speed you like. Enhance it too loftier, though, and y'all won't be able to think a large percentage of the words.^[vi] This may exist useful to go a rapid summary of a news article, but not when studying or reading for fun.

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1. ane

   Know when to skim. Skimming can be used to proceeds a shallow understanding of a text. It can be used to scan a newspaper for interesting textile, or to get the important concepts out of a textbook in preparation for a examination. It's non a good replacement for thorough reading.

2. two

   Read titles and section headings. Begin by just reading the chapter titles and whatsoever subheadings at the kickoff of large sections. Read the headlines of each newspaper article, or the table of contents in a magazine.^[seven]

3. 3

   Read the offset and end of a section. Textbooks normally incorporate introductions and summaries of each affiliate. For other texts, just read the first and last paragraph of a affiliate or article.

   • You tin read quickly if y'all're familiar with the subject field, but don't try to speed read equally fast equally possible. You're saving time past skipping well-nigh of the section, simply you do need to understand what you're reading.

4. 4

   Circle of import words throughout the text. If y'all still wish to learn more, brush your eyes rapidly across the folio rather than reading normally. Now that y'all know the gist of the department, you can pick out key words that mark of import areas. End and circle the following words:^[viii]

   • Words that are repeated several times
   • The main ideas – frequently including words from the title or section header
   • Proper nouns
   • Italics, bold text, or underline
   • Words you don't recognize

5. five

   Examine pictures and diagrams. These frequently present a lot of information without much reading required. Take a minute or two to make sure you lot fully understand each diagram.

6. six

   Read the first sentence of each paragraph, if confused. If you've lost rails of the subject, read the start of each paragraph. The first one or ii sentences will teach you the main points.^[9]

7. 7

   Written report using your annotations. Go back and look over the words you've circled. Can y'all "read" these and go a general sense of what the text is about? If you become confused at a certain word, effort reading a few sentences around that word to remind yourself of the topic. Circle additional words as yous do this.

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1. 1

   Time your reading speed. Track your progress by timing yourself daily, or each time you try these exercises. Trying to shell your best speed can provide great motivation. Here's how to time your reading in words per minute (wpm):^[10]

   • Count the number of words on a page, or count the number in one line and multiply by the number of lines on the page.
   • Set up a timer for x minutes and come across how much you lot can read in that time.
   • Multiply the number of pages y'all read by the number of words per page. Divide by ten to go your words per minute.
   • You can use an online "speed reading examination," but you lot will probably read at a dissimilar pace on a screen than on a printed folio.^[11]

2. 2

   Fix yourself goals. Your reading speed should ameliorate if yous repeat one or more of these exercises daily. Many people can double their reading speed after several weeks. Set yourself milestones to motivate yourself to keep practicing:

   • 200–250 words per minute is the expected reading speed for someone historic period 12 or older.
   • 300 wpm is the reading speed of the boilerplate higher educatee.
   • At 450 wpm, you lot're reading equally fast every bit a college pupil skimming for the main points. Ideally, you tin can do this with almost total comprehension.
   • At 600–700 wpm, you're reading every bit fast as a college student scanning to notice a word. Most people tin can larn to read at this speed with about 75% of their normal comprehension.^[12]
   • At 1,000 wpm and higher up, y'all're reaching the level of competitive speed readers. This ordinarily requires farthermost techniques that skip over most of the text. Virtually people can't remember much at this speed.

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Add New Question

• Question

  How exercise I train my eyes to brand fewer movements when I read?

  

  Read from further away. So you won't need to make that many movements, and you tin also take in sentences and even paragraphs at a time.

• Question

  Can I railroad train my encephalon to read more than 17,000 wpm?

  

  Probably not. Claiming to be able to read that fast is extremely rare. In the moving-picture show, "Rain Homo," the title character could read up to 20,000 words a minute. His left middle read the left page, right middle read the correct page, only that is something very rare. It is not associated with neurotypical people.

• Question

  What can cause someone to no longer be able to better their reading ability?

  

  When a person has lilliputian or no desire or patience, the willingness to read and amend their reading wanes. If you want to improve, you can.

• Question

  Can I learn to speed read to improve my online reading and comprehension?

  

  Yes, information technology works all the same. Even so, remembering and understanding each word you read should be summit priority as a reader. Make sure that you're reading at your pace, and practicing information technology deliberately will assist y'all.

• Question

  Can I larn speed reading if English is my second language?

  

  Nearly likely, yes. I can read 376 wpm and English is my 2nd language as well.

• Question

  Volition improving my usage and knowledge of the language in which I want to read assist with my reading speed?

  

  In my stance information technology volition. The more familiar you are with the linguistic communication, the faster you tin read and empathise the content; however, it's not only about the language - you lot can comprehend the material faster if you lot are familiar with the subject of the text also.

• Question

  Will playing music in the background help me speed read?

  

  Playing groundwork music will not assistance in this scenario. Music with lyrics volition distract your brain and make it work harder. Your brain will automatically attempt to separate the words that you are reading from those that you lot are listening to. The aforementioned can be said for instrumental music, where the encephalon will be working to separate the melodies from the words you're reading. It has been scientifically proven that white noise aids in speeding up the functioning of the brain.

• Question

  How can I amend my ability to understand what I read?

  

  Just go along in heed the important phrases, then clarify them. You will well-nigh likely make a summary.

• Question

  Could the fact that I habiliment glasses cause me to be a slow reader?

  

  No, equally long equally yous can meet, your eyesight won't affect your reading speed.

• Question

  I want to read 300 words per minute. What can I practise to achieve my goal?

  

  If yous chop-chop browse 50 words per second, 300 words a minute will be no problem. The cardinal is to focus one-half on understanding and the other is to read whole lines at a fourth dimension.

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• Take a suspension every xxx–sixty minutes. This will keep you focused and reduce eye strain.

• Practice in a quiet, well-lit environs. Use earplugs if necessary.

• Analysing and changing your reading can become difficult considering you start focusing on your reading techniques rather than understanding the text. Make sure you're not reading too fast and you properly sympathize what yous accept read.

• Read important texts when yous're alert and well-rested. Some people function well in the morning, while others recollect better in the afternoon.

• Property the page farther abroad will probably not speed up reading. Most people automatically adjust to the distance that allows maximum speed.

• If yous tin can't improve your reading speed, have your vision checked.

• "Zig zag" exercises that try to get your eye to move left-to-correct-to-left probably don't work. Most people who train this way still move their eyes left-to-right, line past line.^[13]

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• Beware of expensive speed reading products. Many of them offering like communication and exercises, or exercises non backed upward past research.

• Afterwards a point, reading faster volition always have a trade-off in less comprehension or worse memory of the text.

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Things You lot'll Need

• Reading cloth
• Earplugs (if in a noisy area)
• Stopwatch
• Index bill of fare

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Article Summary Ten

If you desire to learn speed reading, train yourself not to move your throat or your lips as yous read, since this can slow you downward. You can also use an index card to embrace words you've already read so you don't proceed reading the same thing over and over. To start speed reading fifty-fifty faster, try reading the text more apace than you can really understand them, which may eventually train your brain to process the words more than quickly. Read on to learn tips for efficiently skimming through large portions of text!

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