Recently, I wrote a blog post explaining the difference between speed reading and effective reading. I thought about what I wrote about effective reading and I think that I needed to add a few more details and emphasize others. The problem is that when you’re close to something you assume that others will understand exactly what you mean, so you’re likely to omit what might be critical information.
Have you read?
Learn the Difference Between Speed Reading and Effective Reading, Which is Better?
Here’s how I defined effective reading:
“Effective reading is reading as much of a nonfiction book you need to, to get the maximum understanding of the text.”
In writing this article to go into more details about effective reading, I found this definition that I’d like to share with you.
“Reading effectively means reading in a way that helps you understand, evaluate, and reflect on a written text. As you might guess, these skills are very important to college students, no matter what field you’re going into: you’ll be doing a lot of reading. The more effectively you read, the easier it’ll be, the less time it will take, and the more you’ll enjoy the experience.”
Source: Read Effectively
In my definition of effective reading, I implied, because I assumed that the reader would know that it meant understanding as well as evaluating and reflecting on the text. I’ve stated this in other blog posts, yet I didn’t do it here.
Going Deeper: What You Need to Know About Effective Reading
As usual, my focus is on reading nonfiction books, even though I do read a lot of fiction. I think that if you learn how to read nonfiction more effectively, you’ll start to apply some of the strategies to fiction as well.
Prepare your mind before you start to read. This is a critical step in the process. You want your mind to absorb the information like a sponge. Spend about five minutes or so doing exercises that connect both sides of your brain. It would be great if you could get your hands on a used copy of Brain Gym: Simple Activities for Whole Brain Learning
. After you perform the exercises, you want to get into the alpha brainwave state which is the ideal state for learning. I listen to a binaural beats audio track which is just as good
Write your one-sentence purpose for reading the book. Think about why you want to read the book, then write down your reason. The reason should be concise, yet clear. Doing this activity will help you when you need to decide which sections of the book to focus on.
Write down questions you want the book to answer. There are three reasons for reading — entertainment, information, and understanding. When reading for information and understanding, you usually have questions that you need to answer. Make a list of your questions.
Preview the book before you start to read it: You want to get the helicopter view of the book before you get into the details. Although you’re previewing the book, you want to read the:
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Preface, Foreword, Introduction, Table of Contents, and you want to look at tables, charts, maps and so on.
- You also want to quickly scan the index. The terms with the most references tell you what the author considers to be important.
- When you’re reading the Table of Contents, place a check mark beside chapters and sections of the book that you want to dive deeper into.
Read the important sections of the book: The important sections of the book align with your purpose for reading the book in the first place. And they answer the questions that you have. There should be a check mark beside these pieces of information in the Table of Contents. Read the important sections of the book with care. You want to understand the text. Think about what you’re reading and question it.
- What does the author mean?
- Is she making assumptions and what kind?
- What do you agree and don’t agree with?
As you’re reading, tie the new information to what you already know. Connect it to your world — your situation.
Effective Reading and the 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 Rule says that you can read 20 percent of a book and understand 80 percent of the text. Previewing the book before you read it allows you to decide which 20 percent of the book to read. This is not about skimming a book. This is about effectively reading a book so you understand what the author is saying. You're also dipping beneath the surface to see what others who are reading superficially will miss.
Now it’s important to point out that the 80/20 Rule is a benchmark. The numbers do not have to add up to 100. What this means is that you could read 30 percent of a book and understand 90 percent of it. Keep that in mind because you want to read as much as of the the books that you need to, so you get the greatest understanding of the text.
I also want to mention that in the online PhotoReading course that I took, course developer Paul Scheele mentions that typically on a page in a book, only four to 11 percent has important information. This is worth thinking about.
If you follow the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to digest most nonfiction books in 30 to 60 minutes. Most books have a lot of extraneous information. Why should you read all that extra information if it doesn’t add to your understanding of the text?
Do you see how see how the strategies outlined aid effective reading?
How Avil Can Help You!
If you do not want to gamify your reading, I invite you to Join the Performance Accelerator Plan that walks you through the process of learning key skills and more. You’ll be reading books to build skills and develop intercultural awareness. Get more reading and learning tips here.
In December 2020, I published two books on Amazon. I would greatly appreciate your support if you bought my two short e-books Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon and Performance Accelerator Plan: Guide to Learning and Mastering Key Skills for the Future.
Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon is not about speed reading. It’s about approaching every book differently and reading only the sections that align with your purpose.
The Performance Accelerator Plan book is a stripped-down version of the paid reading challenge of the same name. Obviously, you won’t get all the resources that come with the program that I sell on my website. But if you are a self-directed learner, it will help you tremendously.
If someone clicks on a link and buy something from Amazon, the company will pay me a small commission.
