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Contents
Contents
Module 1:
Module 7:
Module
Introducing Memletics
Effective Speed Reading
Lets set the record straight. T his section discusse s some hype and f acts a bout speed
reading. We then look a t the second pa rt of spe ed reading thats often ignored
comprehension. We consider some common misconception s about speed reading
before getting into the six parts of effectiv e reading. Lastly, we kick off y our reading
improvement course by measuring your current reading speed.
If you believe you have good reading speed already, it may because you skip words
without realizing it. You may find your core reading speed is slower than ave rage,
but you make up for it by skipping words. This habit reduces your comprehension.
The t echniques in the fluency cha pter will help you inc rease your co re reading
speed while maintaining comprehension.
Some people will tell y ou that you need machines, software, or expensive training
to learn to read faster. Not true. Each of these has their own issues. For example,
often t hese systems s et a fix ed p ace. You wi ll see in thi s book yo u n eed to va ry
your pace a s you read. Other systems don't tr anslate skills well from computer to
paper (consider that most of what we read is still on paper). The techniques below
are ju st a s ef fective, if not more, t han mo st of these tools. I have not yet fo und a
properly co nducted study sho wing that s uch d evices ar e any more ef fective than
the simple techniques taught in this book.
Lastly, so me peo ple will tell yo u that re ading speed s of anywhere from 2,000 to
25,000 words a minut e are po ssible. They will tell yo u your natural ability is
within y our r each. Th ese p eople might be selling yo u so me system that regular
scientists d ont understand yet. They wi ll happily charge you $200 to $800 to
learn what they know.
Companies that have made millions selling these systems seem unwilling to spend
any of that on relia ble studi es to show their syst ems wo rk. Start ex ercising your
critical thinking skills now and ask why? For example, a quick search on a major
research journals database fou nd 3 68 re search ar ticles on re ading speed. There
was non e, however, o n PhotoR eading, image streaming and ot her similar
topics.
Lastly, loo k at the results from t he 200 3 Sp eed Reading World Cha mpionships,
held in the UK:
Position
1st
2nd Andre
3rd He
Entrant
Raw
WPM
Comprehension
Effective
WPM
2284
56.30%
1285
w Havery
1108
56.30%
623
nry Hopking
1330
45.80%
610
Anne L. Jones
Which met hod does A nne Jones teach? The sam e simp le reg ulator technique I
teach you i n this boo k. If systems such a s PhotoReading work, w hy dont w e see
much higher results in these types of events?
Remember the M emletics pr inciple of t here are no silver b ullets. P ersonal
development comes from time an d effo rt. M ake s ure you s pend th at ef fort on
techniques that work.
sentences and paragraphs before they finish them. You can easily increase your
core reading sp eed, wi thout skipping word s, and still p reserve (or i mprove)
comprehension.
I need to read all o f a boo k. Not true. B ooks are a way of capt uring and
transferring som eone's id eas and knowledge. Book s a re ine fficient at d oing
this, however they are easy to
make available to a wi de a udience. O ften
publishers force autho rs to bulk out section s with "fl uff" because it will help
sell mor e c opies. W hile the a uthor may know their topic well, they might not
know how to express their tho ughts we ll in written fo rm. In addition, the
author's reasons for writing might not be the same as your reasons for re ading.
Keep th ese in mind wh ile yo u search for your gems. I f yo u're not fin ding what
you need to make yo ur time invest ment wort hwhile, ha ve the courag e to ski p
sections, chapters or even entire books!
I already read well. There's no po int tr ying to im prove my readi ng
speed. Not tr ue. Resear ch shows that s peed reading training and drills do
improve eye movem ents, resulting in hig her s peeds w hile comp rehension
remains st eady. Even i f yo u are a good re ader, som e o f t he drills provided in
this course will still help you increase your reading speed.
Comments
1 - 100
wpm
100 - 200
wpm
200 - 250
wpm
250 - 350
wpm
350 - 500
wpm
500 - 800
wpm
800
1,000
wpm
Current
Target
1000
1200
wpm
1200+
wpm
Summary
In this introduction youve seen some common speed reading myths. Weve also
discussed c omprehension and that spee d re ading is just one part of le arning
faster. Yo uve seen t he six pa rts o f th e Me mletics E ffective Reading System. We
introduced the additio nal course materials a vailable to you, and tested yo ur
current reading speed.
In the following fi rst module fo r the co urse, covering Al phabetics, y ou wil l gain
some knowledge on how we read. Well also test your eyesight and look at how you
can optimize your computer screen.
Important notice
This boo k is for info rmational purposes only. It s yo ur sole respo nsibility t o
decide th e usefulness, applicability, compl eteness and co rrectness of the conten t
in this boo k. By reading this boo k you agree to the Memle tics Terms of Use
described in the front of this book. If you do not accept this, dont read the book.
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
12
Module
translations with less effort. T echniques are unlikely to h elp improve this specific
skill. It just takes time and repeated exposure to the words themselves.
What you can do though is make sure your eyes and brain have the best chance of
recognizing words quickly. In this module we look at a few ways of doing this,
including:
Check and p rotect your e yesight. Do three tests to d etect some common
eye issues, and find out how to protect your eyes.
Optimize pri nted te xt. Find o ut the best way to print text for ease of
reading.
Optimize your computer screen. Set u p your comp uter sc reen for id eal
onscreen reading.
In this section, we have severa l eye test s along with so me information on how t o
protect you r ey esight. You can d o these te sts by r eviewing them on t he comp uter
or printing them out. If you ar e vi ewing on scr een, make s ure your scr een
resolution is at least 800 by 600. If you are printing them out, make sure your
printer res olution is at least 300 d ots per inc h. Choo se wh ichever dev ice h as th e
highest resolution.
If you al ready hav e glasses y ou us e for read ing, ma ke sure you use
these duri ng the te sts. You might like to try the t ests wit hout glasses after
youve done them with glasses first.
These tests are for educational use only and by no means replace specialist advice.
A pa ss or fa il in an y of these t ests does not represent any fo rm o f d iagnosis. You
should see a specialist if you have any concern about your eyesight.
All th ree te sts ne ed you to co ver one eye w hile t esting t he oth er. U se a separate
sheet of pape r to cover each eye. Practice placing it over one eye at a time. Do not
close one eye w hile d oing the t est. This can affect th e o ther e ye because man y
people squint when they close one eye!
This first t est ch ecks for H yperopia, or long- sightedness. Hyperopia results from
light focusing behind t he retina (the back of the eye) rather than right on it. This
causes blurred vi sion. This condition af fects about 10% of the population above
40, however many people have this condition without knowing it.
Prepare for the test
To do this test , you need the test itself, a rul er, two more pieces of pa per, and a
pen or pencil. If possible, have somebody help you with the test. They will use one
sheet of paper to write down the letters and words as you read them.
Make sure you have enough light while doin g the test. If you are doing the test on
screen, minimize any gl are or reflections. Be sure not to look at the words before
starting the test.
14
15
Vision
Scale
Visual
Effectiveness
1 20/100
50%
2 20/70
65%
3 20/50
75%
4 20/40
85%
5 20/
6 20/20
30
90%
100%
You may benefit from having yo ur vi sion corrected if you scored less than 20/20
or 100% fo r on e o r both eyes. Sc oring less t han 20/20 may suggest Hy peropia
(long-sightedness) or another vi sion pr oblem. Glas ses or contact lenses can
correct Hyperopia can in most cases. See your specialist.
Remember, this test does not replace the need for regular vision testing.
16
Calibration line
4 in. (10.2 cm) on paper. View at 16 in. (40 cm)
6 in. (15.3 cm) on screen. View at 24 in. (60 cm)
17
Group 1 example
18
19
21
22
23
Margins: If your print outs will be lying flat (i.e. not ha rd bound), t hen
large margins dont af fect readability. Margins are useful for bound b ooks.
The binding ofte n cu rves the pape r and text near the ins ide bor der. This
reduces readability.
Draft versus normal printing modes: While draft mode might save
time and ink, lighter text reduces readability.
Application
Suggestion
LCD
CRT
Either
CRT
CRT
Overall
Good LC D monitors provid e bett er readabil ity of online text for the same size
screen. However, a larger CRT screen is often better than a smaller LCD screen. If
25
Learn how to adjust t he settings o n your monitor. Mod ern displays have digital
controls to help you adjust brightness, contrast, screen size and other settings. Its
usually b etter to h ave high er contra st and lower brightn ess, however thi s wil l
depend on your workplace.
A common problem i s people who ha ve bo ught large C RT monitors do not kno w
how to size the screen image. The result is unused screen space around the display
image, wa sting perha ps half to one inch o f monitor size! S ee your monito r
manual, or ask someone to help, if youre not sure.
Firstly, le ts u nderstand what s creen re solution, r efresh rate and DPI me an. Th e
image on your comp uter screen compri ses of tho usands of tin y pixe ls. Th e
resolution refers to ho w many pixels ma ke up your viewi ng area. A reso lution of
1024x768 means there are 1,024 pixels across your monitor, and 768 pixels down.
The refresh rat e r efers to how m any time s t he i mage o n the screen re freshes.
Numbers from 50-120 hertz ar e c ommon h ere. Lastly, t he DPI setting r efers t o
Dots Per I nch. Som e oper ating sy stems al low you to set higher DPI s ettings
when you h ave hi gher re solutions. This incr eases th e si ze of sc reen elements so
they are easier to see.
The s ettings and di splay q uality y our ov erall machine supports d epends on t he
features of your computer and your monitor. You may need to work with someone
knowledgeable to follow these instructions.
Note: These instructions are specific to Windows XP. Win dows 2000 and 95 have
similar settings b ut may diff er. Again, cons ult your docu mentation or ask
someone knowledgeable if you have problems.
26
27
the resolution settin gs to get an image t hat doesnt ap pear flat o r narrow (aft er
adjusting y our monito r). U sually these resolutions wo rk b est on C RT monitors of
standard sizes: 1024x768, 1200x900, 1360x1020, and 1600x1200.
If the screen is now hard to read
because the fonts ar e small, thats
fine. Well fix that in a moment.
For LCD m onitors you only have
one cl ear c hoice wh en it com es t o
resolution. Ch eck you r
LCD
monitor d ocumentation for t he
native o r p rimary display
resolution, then c
heck yo ur
settings to make sure they match.
Setting the refresh rate
Once youve resi zed yo ur screen to
the maximum resolutio n, check to
make s ure th e i mage i snt
flickering or shimm ering. I f so ,
your refresh rate may b e too low.
Click on the Advanc ed button in
the dialog above, and then click
the Monitor tab.
Make sure the chec
kbox titled
Hide mod es thi s mo nitor cann ot displ ay option i s ON, otherwise yo u can
damage your monitor (or worse, start a fire!).
Write down your current setting, t hen click th e S creen refresh rat e d rop
down box (that says 72 Hertz in this diagram). Choose the highest r efresh rate
thats available.
Click apply. You may need to resize your image again using your monitor settings.
Setting DPI and font size
If you have a recent model monitor and computer of good quality, its likely you
now have a high screen resol ution set. You might find tho ugh the font s, icons and
other screen elements are too small. The next settings to change are as follows:
If both the icons and text are too small for you, you need to change the DPI
setting. Click on the General tab of the advanced settings dialog box, and
you wi ll see a dialog box like t he ones on the right abo ve. Write d own
your curr ent s etting. Set the DPI setting to a larger nu mber. If you r
resolution is 1200x900 or 1360x10 20 (o r similar), try sett ing it to Large
Size (120DPI). If your resolution is 1600x1200 or higher, try Custom Size
15 0% (1 44DPI) o r higher. Clic k O K and close al l th e display setting
dialog boxes. Restart your comput er and view the n ew display se ttings.
Keep going thro ugh the rest of these in structions before trying alternative
settings.
28
29
Resolution
Colors
Refresh
Rate
DPI
Font
size
1024x768
Min 16 bit
Min 72
Hertz
1200x900
Min 16 bit
Min 72
Hertz
Large size
- 125%
Normal or
Large
On
1360x1024
Min 16 bit
Min 72
Hertz
Large size
125%
Normal or
Large
On
1600x1200
Min 16 bit
Min 72
Hertz
Custom
150%
Normal or
Large
On
Normal Normal
or
Large
ClearType
Off/on
30
Summary
Well done! Thats the first module complete. Most of you sho uld have fo und tha t
the tests indicate your eyesight is fine for reading. I suspect though, for some, you
might have found these test s uncovered a problem yo u were not awa re of. I
strongly en courage yo u to se e so meone quic kly. Fo r e veryone, yo uve al so s een
some important information on symptoms that could indicate problems, and some
tips on how to protect your eyesight for the rest of your life.
Next I went thro ugh so me tips on how to opti mize yo ur c omputer sc reen for on screen reading. Yo u understand th e di fferences be tween LCD and CRT monitors ,
and when one performs better than the other one. You also now ha ve information
on how to configure your monitor to get the best performance from the equipment
youve purchased.
In the fo llowing mod ule, we disc uss ho w your voca bulary af fects yo ur reading
speed. Yo ull al so s ee some surprising infor mation on how vocab ulary infl uences
success in y our life. Yo ull l earn how a simple d evice, t hat you probably a lready
have, can make a big difference!
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
31
32
Module
33
Level
Presidents, vice presidents
Average Result
236
Managers 168
Superintendents 140
Overseers 114
Floor bosses
86
These are scores from a vocabulary test, o ut of a possible score of 272 points. Its
clear that those in higher positions have command of more words. In another
study, the only consistent factor across thousands of people was successful people
scored hig h in vocabul ary te sts. O ther st udies link a stro ng vocabu lary to strong
scores in IQ tests.
Spend a few second s trying to wo rk o ut the meaning from the context of the
sentence, before progressing to the next step
2. Lightly underline the word, and put a small box in the ma rgin with an n next
to it (for new word). Write the page number in the front of the book.
3. Make a decision: Do you need to know the meaning of this word now, or can
you look it up later. If the word is important to the topic you are reading, look
it up now. When yo u find it in the dict ionary, also ci rcle or hi ghlight it. Thi s
will help yo u lat er. Write a small d efinition so mewhere near the word in the
book.
4. When you finish reading the book or chapter, go back through the page
numbers and look up any words you didnt look up before.
Lets g et so me practice. As sume yo u havent seen t he wo rd di scovery wh en you
read the following sentence:
Megans discovery surprised the whole family!
Now go thr ough t he steps abo ve. How long d oes it ta ke you to find a pen and
dictionary? What words come before an d af ter d iscovery? Ar e th ere any ne w
words you havent seen on the same page of the dictionary?
If you n eed some motivation to do this , re member that every new wor d you look
up might add $50 or more to your annual income one day!
34
Meaning
Examples
-able, -ible
capable of
portable, teachable
anti- agai
-ar, -ary, -ory
nst, opposed
relating to
bio- life
together, with
conspiracy, cooperate
de-
from, away
demote, depart
dys-
ex-
out, from
geo- Ear
th
nctional, dyslexia
express, exhale
geologist, geography
-gress
go, move
egress, progress,
hyper-
hyperthermic, hypersensitive
hypo-
hypothermic, hypodermic
-ic
having characteristics of
Linguistic
inter- between
interstate, international
intra- within
intrastate, intranet
-less witho
-logy s
macro- large
ut
tudy of
heartless, careless
Biology
macroeconomics, macromolecule
35
microchip, microscope
send
non- not
nonsense, nonetheless
omni- all
peri- around
-phon-
sound
port- carry
portable, portfolio
post-
after
pre- before
re-
back, again
-rupt
break
-scope view
microscope, telescope
semi- half
semicircle, semester
spect-
see, look
sub- u
spectacle, spectator
nder
super- over
submarine, subversive
, above
tele-
supersonic
far
trans-
across
un- not
, opposing, reverse
under-
below, beneath
therm- heat
Some wo rds a re simple com binations o f these prefixes and suffixes. Try loo king
up th e parts o f t hese words in the table above: Microscope, bi ology, t elephone,
of th ese fo r a d ay an d
Many of the wo rds in the Engli sh language come from Latin, a language thats
thousands of y ears ol d. Latin heavily in fluences t he p refixes and suffixes tab le
above. Here are some more examples of words with Latin roots:
36
Latin Word
Meaning
Examples
avis
bird
cumulare
to build up
accumulate, cumulative
dens, dentis
tooth
denture, dentist
flare, flatus
blow
deflate, inflate
gerere, gestum
to carry, to bear
judex, judicare
judge
locare, locus
to place, place
putare
to think, estimate
computer, reputation
vita
life
-mit, -miss
Good dictionaries often have information on the origins of each word you look up.
Study th em and you ll remember the word for longe r. You mig ht li ke to w rite the
history into your word journal as well.
Summary
This mod ule ha s helped you understand the role voc abulary pla ys in reading
speed. Youve seen that a strong vocabulary helps you read faster, and youve seen
that your vocabulary also plays a role in how successful you are in life and work.
Youve learned two to p techniques for significantly improving your vocabula ry.
The firs t is to us e a dictionar y frequently, and the second is to keep a new wo rd
journal. Youve seen how many w ords use common prefixes and suffixes, and that
word history can often help you understand modern words.
In the following module, youll learn how to i mprove your core reading speed, i.e.
the speed you read individual words and phrases.
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
37
38
Module
L MC RTZ-Q Y -MBGC
Now that weve c hecked your basic fluenc y skill s, lets loo k at some wa ys to
support fluency. Its probably been a while since you learnt to read, so some of
these yo u may ha ve simply fo rgotten over time. You can easily do these straight
away, whereas the to pics we di scuss after these point s will take more time to
develop.
Get in g ood Mem letic St ate. Make s ure you ar e co mfortable a nd relax ed.
Remove distractions, a nd check y ou have go od light and ventilatio n. See t he
Memletic State chapter in the Memletics Manual for more help here.
Position th e book. Have the book squarely in front of you, preferably lying
flat. If necessary, help the book stay open by opening it near the front and
pushing it flat. Wo rk t hrough the book 20-40 pag es at a time and push it flat
each time. Take care not to damage the book.
Keep your head still . Use your eyes to move acro ss th e pag e. Yo u may tu rn
your head from side to side to read each page.
Dont voc alize. Do not read th e word s al oud ( unless its fo r so me oth er
reason). One o f th e first k ey steps to imp rove your reading s peed i s t o en sure
you a re not reading each wo rd in dividually. Firstly, thi s means keeping yo ur
voice quiet while you read. However, you also need to check you are not moving
your lips or voice box. If you a re, you limit your reading speed to how fast yo u
can talk (which is far slower than the mind c an think). An easy way to chec k
your voice box is still is to put your hand on it while you read. If you feel any
movement, you are still vocalizing. Focus on reading without moving your voice
box or lips.
Dont regress. Average readers often go bac k over the same material without
realizing it, sometimes more than 30 times on a single page. This is different to
when you deliberately go back to review some thing you didnt unde rstand
(which is acceptable). Regressing is a habit from when you first started
learning to read. You went back over the text to make sure you read it correctly.
Once you d evelop core readin gs skills, yo u dont need to do this but the habit
often remains. To break this habit, read with a small piece of card or paper,
and run it d own the pag e above the current line you are reading. This will hide
the text youve read and prevent regressing. Practice for a few minutes each day
for a week, then as needed aft er that. Th e techniques below will also help with
this.
40
normal pac e. Dont t ry to speed up during this first read. At the end of 10
minutes, mark your finish point. Now go back to your starting point and reread
what you just read. This time, aim to read the same amount of material in 5
minutes. Us e yo ur regulator to ma ke s ure yo ur eyes mov e ov er every word o f
every line, but j ust do it fa ster. Keep up an even pace so you finis h within fiv e
minutes. If you go over, just redo the exercise at a faster pace next time.
Register a s many wo rds a s yo u ca n durin g th e f ast s ection. Fo r thi s drill don t
worry if yo u dont register all of th em. At the e nd of the ex ercise, write in you r
course booklet. You only need to do this once a day, however feel free to do it a
few times a day for maximum impact.
Basic sp eed dr ill 2 (20 m ins). This dri ll is essenti ally t he sam e a s basic
speed drill 1, with one small addition. At the e nd of your 1 0-minute read, write
some si mple note s th at desc ribe w hat you read. Use a notepad o r so me oth er
spare pape r. Take about one to tw o mi nutes. Then do t he fi ve-minute read .
After that, spend another minute adding a few more notes to your list.
Intermediate speed drill 1 (15 mins). This is si milar to basic sp eed drill 1.
After completing the five-minute read, reread the mat erial in two minut es.
Make sure you read every line, but keep up the pace.
This is also a good time to start u sing speed paths from stage 4 b elow. Choose
one of th e sp eed path s and us e i t d uring this drill. Fo r instance, run your
regulator down the page, not across every line.
Intermediate speed drill 2 (20 mins). Same as intermediate speed drill 1 ,
however add the review task. Aft er each ten, five and two minute read, spend a
minute writing some simple notes.
Advanced speed drill 1 ( 25 minutes). Mark a st arting spot and start
reading at your normal pace. After five minutes, stop and mark the ending
spot. Count the number of pages and multiply this by three this is yo ur target
page count. If you read a page and a half, then your target page count is about
four and a half pages. Mark a sta rting spot in new mat erial, count y our ta rget
pages forward and ma rk yo ur end spot. St art reading an d aim to fi nish first
time in 1 2 minutes. You will n eed to read slightly faster. At the end, spend one
minute writ ing som e notes on what you read. Then, reread the mat erial in 6
minutes. Add to your notes.
Advanced speed drill 1 (4 0 mins). Do advanced speed drill one with these
differences. Multiply your ta rget page count by 5, complete the first reading in
20 minutes, and the second reading in 10 minutes.
Stage 4: Choose your speed path
As your speed increases, you ma y find yo ur regulator has trouble keeping up wit h
your ey es. You can no w choos e a sp eed pat h for you r r egulator th at suit s yo u.
Instead of moving your regulator across underneath each line, try moving it in one
of the following paths. Down the middle of the page, down the margin, in a large S
or Z pattern down the page, or several Z s down the pag e. For online reading, t ry
running th e mo use d own th e middle o r sid e o f t he text. C ombine yo ur
experimentation with more speed drills for 10-15 minutes a day for a week.
43
Previously you were using your regulator to keep your place on each line. Now you
are u sing y our regulator to k eep your plac e on the page. Yo u sti ll read each li ne
though.
No one path is better than the others are. Choose one you find most comfortable.
You might also try changing your regulator depending on which reading mode you
are in (e.g. fast or slow). For example, you might go back to the line-by-line
pattern while reading complex or important passages.
Summary
In this mod ule, yo uve discovered how to imp rove you r f luency. Yo uve ch ecked
your basic fluency skills, and learned ways support your current fluency. The main
part of this module though focused on how to develop and improve your fluency.
Youve le arned a simple and effective technique fo r develo ping fluency the
regulator t echnique. Youve s een h ow to apply the regulator tec hnique and then
how to do the speed drills needed to pick up your pace. Youve also learned some
speed paths that help you as you increase your reading speed.
Dont let the simplicity of the regulator tec hnique fool yo u. Take the time to do
the speed drills and you will see a dramatic increase in your reading speed.
While yo u work on develo ping yo ur flue ncy, you can continue wit h developing
more skills that improve your reading speed. The next module teaches you how to
skim read. Skim reading is anot her important techniq ue fo r effective reading,
however you need to know the right time to use it. Read on to find out more.
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
44
Module
45
46
The Practical
Persons Guide to
Saving Money
By scannin g the t ext on the fron t cover, yo u can pick out word s that fit the
purpose of finding a book th at f its yo ur needs practical, guide, saving,
smart, easy. T he t ext on the front cover i s promi sing so now yo u look at t he
back cover of our imaginary book to get a little more detail on the content.
The Practical
Persons Guide to
Saving Money
Ready to get serious about
getting control of your
finances? Well show what
to do in the following
areas:
Create an effective
budget.
Save money painlessly.
Get control of your
credit card debt.
Plan for the future.
and Much, much more
The back cover text shows you that the book will explain how to create an effective
budget, hel p you sa ve money, and get cont rol of credit card debt. So, based on
your skimming o f t he te xt o n the tw o c overs, you c an be reasonably sure th at the
book will gi ve you th e answers yo u n eed, and it s wo rth your w hile to chec k t his
book out from the library or buy it from a bookstore.
Table of Contents
The Table of Cont ents gives you the autho rs organ ization of his o r her subject
matter. The table provides a gen eral und erstanding of what that author feels i s
important t o underst and and remember. You can bui ld on that organi zational
information to read smart; t hat is, conc entrate yo ur r eading on th e a reas that
will gi ve yo u the mo st informatio n in th e least amo unt of time. B elow, weve
provide you with a partial sample of the Table of Content for our imaginary book.
47
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Control of Your Money .........................1
Analyze your spending habits.......................................1
Track expenses..........................................................3
Sample budgets.........................................................6
Chapter 2: Reducing and Eliminating Debt ...................... 10
Debt overload.......................................................... 10
Ridding yourself of credit card addiction ...................... 12
Ordering credit reports from the Big Three ................ 14
Finding help with overwheming debt ........................... 16
Debt consolidation and bankruptcy ............................. 19
Index
The index provides an alphabetical s ummary o f th e f acts, people, and plac es that
are most im portant in a books cont ent. For example, an im portant event, person
or date will have many references in the index. That tells you that the autho r
considers those items very impo rtant. Th ese will ne ed y our f ull attention wh en
you read t hat inform ation. By skim read ing this section, youll have a bett er
understanding of the vi tal el ements of th e tex t. For exa mple, be low i s an exce rpt
from the index of the imaginary book.
C
Credit bureaus, 21
Credit cards,
Credit counselling agencies, 35-36
Finding lower-rate credit cards, 30
Hidden risks of, 25
Interest rates, 31-32
Missing payments on, 29
Monthly debt obligations, 17
Paying off, 52
Statements,
30
Six steps for cutting back on, 31
The pa rtial listing un der the C cate gory show s the informatio n availabl e
concerning credit cards. By ski mming it, you discover that ther es qu ite a bit of
information availabl e o n the hid den d angers of cred it car ds, how to f ind cheap er
interest rates for those cards, and other important subjects relating to credit card
usage.
The presence of an index can also be a good indicator of the quality of the book. If
there is no index, you might want to consider using other references if possible.
48
Its clear from the bold-faced major heading that the author considered cutting up
credit cards very important. From that heading and the following bold faced
second-level headings, its easy fo r you to d etermine that the in formation in this
section is designed to show you how to reduce debt by taking some very specific
steps.
and make it diffic ult for t he re ader to pick out and und erstand key c oncepts. In
such cases, it will call for a closer read than is provided by skim reading. Below,
read the first and la st sentences from a paragraph in our imaginary book and see
how th ey p rovide a go od id ea of the ma in thrust o f the info rmation in this
passage.
Summaries
Summaries at the end of articl es, chapters, a nd books gi ve yo u an informationpacked snapshot of the key ideas in the content. Quickly reading a summary is a
great way to understand and review concepts considered important by the author.
For example, look at the summary created for our imaginary book.
Summary
In this chapter, you saw that credit card or other debt can
become a crushing burden on your financial house unless
you take charge of your finances. You also saw that the first
step in reducing or
eliminating debt is t
o set up a
household bud get so yo
u can carefully control
expenditures. In additi on, yo u l earned that a fa st way t o
pile up debt is through addiction to credit card spending. I
gave you six steps for getting control of that addiction. The
best advice I can give you at this point is: fo llow tho se six
steps im mediately! Take action right now. The only thin g
you have to lose is stress!
A quick read of the summary tells you that the author believes there are two main
ways out of de btsetting up a budge t and getting rid of credit card addiction. So,
you know promptly the main ideas presented in this chapter by the author.
50
Other organizers
Other o rganizers incl ude n umbers, d ays, dates o r tim es, proper nam es, and any
other specific clues which indicate that t he author considers this informatio n
important. For example, a ssume t he a uthor p rominently listed a r esource in ou r
fictional chapter on reducing and elimin ating debt. Thi s fictiona l resource i s
called T he Internatio nal Fo undation for Co nsumer C redit, and t he a uthor lists
this organizations address, phone number, and web sit e link. Because the autho r
has l isted all thi s contact inform ation, he o r she has let you know that this
knowledge is vital for you to know.
Use full screen mo de: Use the full screen mode if possible to minimize
scrolling. Itll reduce both finger fatigue and eye fatigue. Both Adobe Acrobat
and Microsoft Word provide full screen views.
Minimize mouse usage: Try to minimize use of a mouse or alternate it wit h
other regulator devices (pencil or pen, for example). Overuse of this device can
lead to repetitive strain injury (RSI ) and ca use pain in the wri st, arm o r
shoulder.
Print it out. Text on paper is often easier to skim read than on computer.
For more tips on optimizing your computer screen for reading, see the
Alphabetics module in this co urse. A well configured sc reen will a ssist in s kim
reading.
Summary
This mod ule taught yo u the skim readin g t echnique. Youve learn ed that when
reading structured m aterial in which there are or ganizing clues , you use
skimming to get a birds eye view of structured information or to review
information youve already studied. When reading unstructured material with few
headings, bullets, or other organizing clues, your purpose is to absorb the gist of
the authors messages and key ideas.
Whether skim reading structured or unstructured material, remember that the key
idea i s s peed. Yo u fo rce you rself to ke ep up the pace. Read front and back,
introductions, and summaries at your standard r eading sp eed, but then pic k up
the pace while reading the content pages. Remember to sp end no longer than 5-7
seconds per page, adjusting for the size of the page and print.
53
When you need to spend a lot of time reading new material, it helps to think about
the ap proach you wil l us e. T he n ext mod ule t eaches you how to develop specific
strategies to help you read and understand new material faster.
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
54
Module
L MC RTZ-Q Y -MBGC
Next, ask questions about the mat erial youre reading. To ask those questions, use
a combination of fast reading and skim reading to gather this information.
What do I already know about this subject?
How difficult is this material for me to understand?
How well structured is the material? How is it organized?
How has the autho r o rganized the chapt ers? Are the chapters interrelat ed o r
independent? Do I need to read the chapters in order, or can you read them in
order?
Does the introduction or foreword match my objectives?
Are there summaries, reviews, tests and exercises?
Is there an index? Will I need to create my own?
Is there a glossary? Can I use this as a starting point for my new word list?
What d o I know a bout t he au thor? I s th e au thor l ikely to p resent fa ctual or
biased information?
Are there other books or materials I need before reading? While reading?
Do I own the material? Can I write in it?
For mat erial you need to learn and memo rize w ell, yo u ne ed to mak e s everal
passes through your reading material. A r eading path is how you move thro ugh
the material to maximise your understanding of it. A rea ding mode is a speed
you u se on a particula r pas s. You can improve yo ur understanding by making
several passes through the material at higher speeds, then slowing down as you
56
"drill down " into the material. A t the end, you can then review the material at
higher speeds again.
First we will look at reading paths. The context read, fast skim, context skim
items yo u will see below ar e th e re ading m odes. I disc uss t hese a fter r eading
paths.
Chapter 1
1.
Context read
2.
Context read
Chapter 3
3.
Context read
Chapter 4
4.
Context read
Chapter 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
22.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
1.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
22.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Chapter 3
1.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
22.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Chapter 4
1.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
This metho d allows yo u to judge the qualit y of the cont ent as it relates to you r
overall reading objectives. It h elps prevent wasted time on information thats not
related to those objectives and keeps you focused on essential content.
The Crossways Path
Use the crossways path when th e chapters are tightly related. For example, if yo u
need knowledge of earlier chapters to make sense of later chapters, you should use
57
this technique. The crossways path means skim read to deeper levels across the
entire book before reading each chapter in detail.
As s hown i n the flowc hart b elow, you fa st sk im, context skim, and context re ad
across al l t he c hapters first. You t hen explore, collect an d review ea ch chapt er at
time. You might also choose to do t he chapters in a different order, base d on your
initial readings.
Chapter 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
16.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Chapter 2
1.
2.
3.
7.
8.
9.
16.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Chapter 3
1.
2.
3.
10.
11.
12.
16.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Chapter 4
1.
2.
3.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Fast skim
Context skim
Context read
Explore
Collection
Review
Refresh
Using this path gives you a bett er und erstanding of the re lationships between
topics. Like the downwards pat h, i t also allows yo u to g et a good sense of t he
content and make choices about what information you need to concentrate on.
58
Reading Mode
Purpose
Overview
Fast Skim
Context Skim
Context Read
Exploration Read
Collection/Extraction
Read
Refresh Skim
road condition, so you have to adjust your reading speed to match the material
youre reading. In other words, when you encounter material thats difficult to
understand and its an uphill battle to understand it, youll n eed to shift yo ur
reading g ear into lo w to get more po wer. When it s s impler mat erial and ea sy
going, then youll shift into a higher ge ar to drive faster and more effici ently
through the content.
A mark of effective readers is their ability to adjust reading speed to the
nature of the material theyre reading. This i mproves und erstanding of the
material an d makes the overa ll reading pr ocess m uch easier. To he lp you va ry
your reading s peed appropriately, w eve p rovided bo th g eneral and s pecific
guidelines for your study.
You may want to decrease your speed in the following situations:
Unfamiliar words. For example, assume you r un into the wo rd lethargy (a
feeling of ti redness, drowsiness, or lack of energy) and happen not t o know it s
meaning. First, you can slow down and try to understand it from t he way it s
used in the sentence or paragraph. Second, you can read on and return to it
later. (Suggestion: underline the word so you can find it again easily.)
A lo ng and involv ed sentence and para graph stru cture. Slow down so
you can untangle th e structure and get an accurate id ea of what the autho r is
saying. Not every a uthor i s a goo d, clea r w riter so you may need t o work at
uncovering the meaning in a particular passage.
Unfamiliar or abstract ideas. Some ideas are difficult to understand with a
quick readi ng. In suc h cases, slow down to lo ok fo r examples or illustrations
which explain them more clearly. If th ese tactics dont work, find someone who
will help you understand. In any case, demand that the idea make sen se to you.
And nev er g ive up unti l you do understand the idea b ecause itll make reading
the material following it that much easier to understand.
Detailed, t echnical material. By its nature, technical material
demands
that yo u slow down t o read and und erstand it. T echnical mat erial oft en
includes complicat ed direction s, abst ract principles, diagrams and other
content in which you might not have much background.
Content you really want to remember. To memorize content, you need to
study it ca refully, so speed is not the key in this situation. Instead, you need to
emphasize organization and r ecitationread the mat erial out loud to fix it in
your mind.
You may want to increase your speed in the following situations.
Simple material with few ideas new to you. Make the best use of your
time by co ncentrating on any unfamilia r i deas whil e moving ra pidly over
familiar materials.
Unnecessary exa mples a nd illustra tions. If e xamples and i llustrations
clarify ideas you already know, why waste your time? Skip over them quickly.
Broad, ge neralized ideas. Usually, th ese i deas can b e und erstood quickl y
even when you use scan techniques.
the chart, youll see examples of pivotal words and phrases and how they can help
you read and learn more quickly and effectively.
Pivotal Word and Phrases
What to do
In summaryIn
conclusionSummarizingIn
briefSumming up, etc.
In other wordsTo
repeatAgain, etc.
Examples
Lets look at som e ex amples to highlight th ese pi votal words. In t he fol lowing
passage on the Co riolis Ef fect, t hink a bout wh ether y ou wo uld i ncrease o r
decrease your reading speed.
The Coriolis Effect is the apparent acceleration of a moving body
on or near t he Earth as a result of the Earth's rotation. An object
on the Earth's s urface move s fa ster at the equator than it does
away from the equator. An object near the equator is moving
through a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilomet er) circle in 24 hours.
But, away from the equator, it tr avels in a smaller ci rcle in th e
same 2 4-hour p eriod. The Co riolis Eff ect alt ers th e pat hs of any
projectile or moving object on Earth eg bullets, aeroplanes etc.
This is technical material. If youre unfamiliar with it, you should decrease your
reading speed to understand any complica ted direction s, abst ract principles, and
other content in which you might not have much background.
In the follo wing passage on the natural rate of e mployment, I ve us ed ce rtain
pivotal wo rds. See if you can pick out t hose words and t hen thin k about t he best
method for reading this passage.
How is t he natural rate of unemployment determined? The basic
answer is that peo
ple keep changing thei r minds! First,
consumers change their mind s. Th e re cent tr end toward e ating
more veg etables and l ess meat m eans jobs a re lo st in t he meat
61
62
Fast skim b oth of you r chosen cha pters, one a fter th e oth er j ust looking
at headings.
Skim read the first chapter.
Read the first chapter.
Skim the first chapter again, re-reading any sections you found difficult.
Write some notes on the first chapter.
Skim read the second chapter.
Read the second chapter.
Skim the second chapter again, re-reading any sections you found difficult.
Write some notes on the second chapter.
Stop the timer and note the time and the number of pages.
After you ve d one the d rill, review the mat erial once more and see if you mis sed
any key points. Repeat the drill a few days later using two new chapters.
Crossways path drill
Again, were not going to set a specific time target for this drill. Just keep track of
the time taken and number of pages, an d aim to impro ve yo ur ti me p er pa ge
over successive drills. Pick two chapters and follow these steps.
Read the book covers, table of contents, index and introduction.
Start the timer.
Fast skim b oth of you r chosen cha pters, one a fter th e oth er j ust looking
at headings.
Skim read the first chapter.
Skim read the second chapter.
Read the first chapter.
Read the second chapter.
Skim the first chapter again, re-reading any sections you found difficult.
Write some notes on the first chapter.
Skim the second chapter again, re-reading any sections you found difficult.
Write some notes on the second chapter.
Stop the timer and note the time and the number of pages.
After you ve d one the d rill, review the mat erial once more and see if you mis sed
any key points. Repeat the drill a few days later using two new chapters.
Summary
This module ta ught you ho w to d evelop a st rategy for reading any new material.
Youve seen how to analyze your objectives and materials by asking various
questions. Youve seen thre e r eading paths , and you kn ow when t o us e th em.
These p aths a re th e straight th rough pa th, t he downwa rds path an d crossway s
path. Yo uve a lso seen s everal r eading mo des, such as the fas t sk im mode , the
context read mode and the refresh skim mode, and again when to use each.
We also discussed when and how to vary your reading speed while you read, and
youve l earnt to be on the loo kout for pivot al wo rds and ph rases. L astly, yo uve
seen some e xercises to bring together your improved reading speed, skim reading
skills and reading strategies. These help you practice all three.
63
Youve nearly fini shed reading this course. The la st module, I mprove yo ur
Comprehension, follo ws. This module will teach yo u how to impro ve yo ur
concentration and attention, how to colle ct the right material fo r learning, an d
how to explore material to increase your comprehension.
What did you thin k of this mod ule? Do yo u have s ome suggestions? Let us know
your thoughts using our online survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
64
Module
L E A R N
Memletic Process
Locate
Explore
Arrange
Reinforce eNqui re
Reading a book mainly falls in the Locate step of this process. Some well-written
books will also help you explore the content, so you can improve your
understanding. Once you have this understanding though, it wont last. Thats
why you need to Arrange the material for memorization, Reinforce it using
memory techniques, then review your progress using the eNquire step.
65
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual provides details on all these steps
and more. Ive included a summary of the entire manual in the next chapter.
In this section, Ive provided three complete extracts from the manual related to
comprehension. These are on Attention and Concentration from the State chapter,
and the Locate and Explore steps from the Memletic Process chapter.
As you can see, learning to read effectively is just one part of effective learning. I
couldnt hope to cover all the ways to improve comprehension through better
learning skills in this chapter. The Memletics Manual is 220 pages of material
devoted to just that. The following material is the most relevant from that book. If
your goal is to improve your overall learning performance, I strongly suggest you
read the Memletics Manual with this course.
colleagues know that you are studying and would prefer no interruptions for a
while. Use a do not disturb signbut dont overuse it!
Be awa re of unwant ed noise in yo ur environment, including noise from overhead
lights or electrical equipment. Consider using light background music to mask this
noise if you are unable to control it.
Also, b e a ware of visual d istractions, even if th ey a re only in you r p eripheral
vision. Fo r example, w hile in a lib rary sit facing a wa ll in a secluded area, rather
than near a passageway or door.
Even in t he be st-planned en vironment, yo u may sti ll have interruptions. T rain
yourself to pause for a moment before responding to an interruption. During that
pause mak e a note, me ntally or o n pape r, of whe re yo u are. It s th en ea sier t o
regain your concentration when you return. How do you train yourself? An idea is
to ask someone to help you. Role-play the interruption and your action!
L E A R N
Memletic Process
This is a
complimentary
extract f rom th e P rocess
Locate
Chapter of the M emletics
Accelerated L
earning
Manual. A ttentiveness is on e part o f s ixteen par ts o f Me mletic State - th e
optimum state for learning.
The locate step involves gather ing the content you need for learnin g. Sometimes
this ma y b e ea sy. Th e c ourse may prescribe t exts and mat erials fo r y ou. At oth er
times yo u may b e l earning som ething th at f ew oth ers have, so you have to forge
your own w ay. Yo u ma y be somewhere in the mid dle, wit h som e t exts p rescribed
for you and some further research to do.
Lets look at some typical content sources, as well as some general tips for locating
content.
Content sources
There are many sources of content for learning. You may find some materials
already wel l organi zed, for exam ple well- written books o r course manuals. Yo u
may also fi nd unstructured content. For exam ple, content may be ins ide someone
elses head. Its your job to locate this content and prepare it fo r the next stage of
the learning process.
Some common sources for content include:
Books, texts and manuals. Books ar e stil l the mo st common so urce for
content. L ook be yond the standard r eferences thou gh. What other r eferences
may be useful? Whe re can you ge t th em? Which sho uld you buy yoursel f,
versus which s hould you borrow? I recommend you buy a t least the c ore set of
texts or re ferences. Y ou should the n ha ve no hesitatio n to write notes o r
highlight text in them.
Instructors or lectur ers. Often you g ain content f rom a kno wledgeable
person. Yo u may have one-to-one access to an instructor. For other courses,
you may need to spend time in lectures. Either way, make sure your note taking
skills are good and you have a system for organizing and referencing them later
(some tips are on page 71).
68
The Internet. Over the past de cade, the Intern et ha s made mo re and mo re
information avail able t o us. O ften you can find further in formation relat ed to
your training topics. Be mindful of the source though. Not everything you find
is legitimate.
Computer-Based Training. Comp uter-based training co urses, o r C BTs, have
become mor e popu lar re cently. However, many are in effective. Sittin g in front
of the com puter doing a CBT is n ot usua lly enough to learn the con tent well.
You still need to go t hrough t he process of exploring, a rranging, reinforcing
and reviewing. After doing many CBTs myself, I recommend using them mainly
as a so urce of content. Treat them like a lect ure o r book, and write y our own
notes. Aft er completing the CB T, cont inue with t he Memletic Process to
explore, reinforce and memo rize t he cont ent. Its also ea sier to refer to you r
notes later, rather than trying to restart the course to find what you are looking
for.
Other students. Often you can gain good cont ent by talking to other students.
They may have helpful references you havent come across. They also have tips
and techniques theyve learned from different sources. Share some of your own
experiences as well.
Others alr eady in th e field. Those who ve already learned what you a re
learning often have useful in formation. Do nt just limit yourself to t
hose
immediately around yo u either. Biographies o f famous people from your fi eld
may also hold many lessons. Some of these stay in your mind longer because of
the emotional content.
Video. The prevalence and avai lability of do mestic vid eo camera s and PC
editing software ma ke it ea sy to c apture your own learni ng content on video.
Its a great way to help you visualize and review the skills you are learning.
Other references. Be sure to have a good dictionary so you can quickly chec k
unfamiliar term s. A n encyclop edia can also p
rovide r elated or extr a
information on a topic not covered well in your training material.
69
They may a lso give you signals to s low down y our speaking, stop
fidgeting, or to relax your posture. Also, ask them to give you
some comments and suggestions after the presentation.
Consider w hether th e content you find is mor e lik e ex ample A, B or C above. A re
you getting the why its important, heres how to do it, or heres how to l earn
it? T his doesnt j ust appl y to books either. So me training courses an d
presentations also focus on why it is important, rather than covering practic al
and us eful information you can u se to b uild your skills. Memorizing ten point s
about why good eye c ontact is i mportant d oesnt n ecessarily help you improve
your own eye contact.
Keep th ese three exa mples in min d whil e you locate content fo r le arning. If th e
content yo u find i s l ike example A, yo u need to find mor e i nformation to
understand what making eye contact invol ves. If it s example B, tha ts fine. You
then use M emletics to learn th e m aterial. I f it s exa mple C, the y a re giving yo u a
shortcut!
71
72
Occasionally check your summary against an overal l trai ning plan, and look fo r
areas w here yo u have we aknesses o r ga ps. If yo u find yourself c hasing some
curious reference that probably wont add much value to your training, take a st ep
back. It s better to have all topic s covered to a good level, rather than spendin g
significant amounts of time looking for too much detail in one particular topic.
73
L E A R N
74
General exploration
Physical exploration
Walk about
Get hands-on
Role-playing
Index cards & Post-It notes
Tick it off
Questions 3
Visual exploration
Diagrams, graphs, and sketches
Mind maps
Systems diagrams
Visualization
Aural exploration
Sound focus
Record sounds
Verbal exploration
Lectures and discussions
Dramatic reading
Express and summarize aloud
Write and rewrite
Write articles
Write summaries
Record
Logical exploration
Logic analysisOSAID
Logic trees
Play with numbers
Social exploration
Group learning
Study buddy
Opposite view
Role-play
Involve others
Solitary exploration
Reaction notes
Learning journal or log
People exploration
Make up your own mind
Each of th e dark boxes sho ws a co mpulsory to pic for a b eginners sailing cour se.
The white boxes show topics that you don t need to know to complete that sailing
course. Yo u can imagine eac h of th e low er l evel boxe s continuing to bre ak d own
into more and more detail. Thi s pyramid goes right d own to basic chun ks of
knowledge, such as individual facts, skills and behaviors. Well use this example
as we go through the general exploration techniques.
General tec hniques that can help you ex plore a wide range of cont ent includ e
high-level view s, going a level deeper, go ing wi der, abstracting, and a bottom up
approach. I n addition, you can use the Fi ve Ws technique to he lp yo u with thes e
techniques. Lets look at these in more detail.
75
76
For example, one particular branch may be the history of your topic. What impact
has your topic of focus had on society? Who were some of the early pioneers, and
what did they contribute to where you ar e today? Yo u could al so look up r elated
jobs or industries.
While t his i nformation may not be compulsory to compl ete a co urse, it aids yo ur
learning and understanding of core topics.
Understand higher level abstractions
Abstraction involves lo oking at some
level
facts or id eas and dra wing out so me High
ideas and
higher-level obse rvations from tho se. abstractions
You m ay n ote that yo u can app ly a
particular technique or appro ach in a
different context or ar
ea. For
example, you could abst
ract the
general p rinciple o f a sking q uestions
while selling, and th en apply those same principles to increase your persuasion in
other areas.
At the end of e ach l esson, s ee if you can a bstract th e top thr ee id eas from that
lesson. See if you can apply those ideas to other subjects or topics.
Bottom up approach
Sometimes a pa rticular idea is difficult to grasp fully until you understand t he
lower level details. You need to learn
those low er l evel detai ls first , before
bringing together that understanding into a coherent picture.
Some peopl e may prefer thi s botto m up approach rat her than top down. Issues
can arise when an instructor or author teaches one way while you prefer the other.
If this is the case, you may need to restructure yo ur mate rial t o suit yo ur
preference. Alternatively, you co uld try a ccepting that bot h ways can be effective
in learning a topic. If you ty pically pref er a top down appr oach, try resisting that
preference and sta rt at th e bottom . If yo u p refer a bottom up ap proach, ma ke an
effort to understand the high-level organization first.
Questions questions questionshow to expand your pyramid
If you are n ot sure how to expand your py ramid, try the Five Ws technique. Later
in this chapter I discuss the Five Whys technique. This involves asking why five
times in a row to help discover underlying causes of problems. The Five Ws
technique uses a similar approach to help you expand your pyramid.
To us e th e techniq ue, state a f act, id ea or p rinciple f rom your topic. Now ask a
question about that statem ent be ginning with one of th e W word s. T he fi ve W
words are Who, What, Why, Where and When. If you know the answer, keep going
with more question s. When yo u hit questions you dont kn ow the an swer to, writ e
them down for f urther r esearch. Ask anoth er q uestion starting w ith W , an d
repeat this until you have at least five new questions you can research.
For example, pilots study meteorology as part of their training. Five questions you
could ask about weather forecasting are: Who does the forecasts? Why are they
sometimes wrong? What do they do to prepare fo recasts? Where do they do
it? When (how often) do they do it? Answ ering th ese q uestions br oadens yo ur
77
understanding of the forecast. You may then und erstand, for example, wh y th e
forecast is sometimes different to the weather on the day.
A way to reme mber these words is the phrase A he n wearing a hat said Hi-di-ho
Im here! Add a W to the front of each of the words starting with H and you get
the five Ws.
stays in eq uilibrium un der fu ll sail is hard i f y ou only look at the sail, rudder,
keel and hull individually.
The lin kages b etween multiple parts a re usually w hat make these dynamic
systems work. Th ese linkages may not be visible when t he system i s lyin g in
bits on the floor, or in separate topics in your mind. Systems diagrams help
show and explain those linkages. The diagram below is an example of a systems
diagram. It shows how various parts of an aircraft engine work together.
Carby
Air and
Fuel Vapour
Fuel
Spark
Spark
Plug
Electric
Energy
Bang
Fuel
Pump/s
Magneto
Pushes down
Oil
Pump
Turns
Cools
Lubricates
Turns
Piston
Turns
Turns
Crankshaft
Powers
Turns
Turns
Alternator
Powers
Radios
Starter
Motor
Charges
Turns
Powers
Battery
Powers
Instruments
Vacuum
Pump
Drives
Use visualization. Use the visualization tec hniques outl ined in th e Memletic
Techniques chapter to help und erstand various topics. If you can visualize a
topic clearly and precisely, you should have a good understanding of it. If some
areas appear grey or fuzzy, this suggests you still have some further work to do
to understand it fully.
L MC RTZ-Q Y -MBGC
Exploration using t he verbal style i nvolves using spoken a nd writt en words. T his
could be via attending lectures, engaging in discussion, wri ting articles, rewritin g
topics, talking and summarizing aloud, and more. Lets look at some more details:
Attend lectures or e ngage in discussions. Find ways to involve more
listening in you cont ent collection and expl oration. Atten d a class, lecture, or
study group. If possible, engage in discussion with your lecturer or instructor,
and ask them to explain topics in more detail.
Read dramatically. When reading important material, try reading it out loud
and dramat ically. Act a s if yo u were on sta ge i n a play o r simila r pro duction.
Say the important points with vo lume an d st rength. Skip over le ss important
information more quickly and quietly.
Talk yours elf through material and summarize aloud. As yo u read, pause
after each parag raph and read alo ud the key points from t hat paragraph. Also,
summarize each lesson aloud.
Reword and rewrite l earning material. Rewrit e impo rtant section s of yo ur
training material. Thin k abo ut ho w you would writ e tha t section i f you w ere
writing your own instruction book or manual.
Write an article. A powerful way to learn a topic is to write an article on it. Do
some further research, thin k a bout you r audience, loo k t hrough yo ur cont ent
and then express the core ideas in your own words. Why not send it to a related
magazine as a students view on topic X?
Write summaries. Write your own su mmaries of each les son or topic. Re view
them periodically as you progress, and keep them for future reference.
Record notes on to a tape or computer. Record l ectures, disc ussions or
readings on to tape or on to a computer (for example via an MP3 player or
recorder). Copy im portant p arts and put t hem together into a
summary
recording.
Exploring with the physical st yle in volves findi ng way s to incorporate mov ement
and touch into your training. Get up and move around while learning. Try walking
around whi le reading or list ening. Go further and get y our hands on phys ical
expressions of the topics you are learning. Use role-playing. Try using index cards
to arrange topics physically, or tick o ff item s as yo u r ead them. H ere a re tho se
points in more depth:
Walk about while rea ding or listening. If possibl e, g et up and wa lk aro und
while reading or list ening to content. Stop and pause on important points, and
keep walking when reading less important material. Another idea is to simulate
procedures while wa lking aro und a room. For ex ample, for flight tr aining try
flying circuits, forced landings, instrument approaches and other procedures
by walking around yo ur living room. If y ou ar e le arning to s ail, per haps tr y
80
tacking and docking in a simila r way. Have your notes with you an d read o ut
what you are doing at the time.
Get hands on. If you are learning about physical objects or topics, find ways to
get your hands on them. Fo r example, if you are l earning about how an engine
works, get outside and open the front of a ca r or a ircraft. Touch each of th e
parts. Som e sc hools a lso ha ve ol d parts a round so yo u can se e th e inte rnal
workings, so ask a round. If you have an old engine, fo r example fro m a wornout lawn m ower o r chain-saw, p ull it ap art. Note likenesses and diffe rences
between that engine and the engine you are studying.
Another example: If you a re l earning a bout th e w eather, keep your own
weather sta tion for a whil e. Ob serve an d write down rainfall, cloud, wind,
temperature, and barometric pressure daily.
Use role-p laying. If you a re in a g roup, why not t ry som e role-playing
exercises th at i nvolve p hysical acti vity. I nstead of reading a bout the rules
controlling rig ht of way w hen approaching anoth er aircraft o r boat, for
example, get up and do a few examples with other students.
Use index cards & Post-it notes. Write the key facts and ideas on index cards,
and then physically sort them in d ifferent ways. Alternatively, write snippets of
information on post-it notes and stick them to a wall according to relationships
with other ideas. This is almost li ke physica lly building a mind ma p on the
wall.
Tick i t off. Whil e you read, tick off or ma rk each pa ragraph a s you read and
understand it. This helps you concentrate as well as involves movement.
These qu estions can he lp you te st the underlying lo gic of your learn ing
material, rather than just accepting everything at face value.
Create a logic tree. A logic tree is a diagram that starts with a key statement,
and then branches o ut with further logic or points that support that st atement.
If you want to go further with this, find more information on using deductive or
inductive rea soning. Find why its i mportant that each branch is MECE
(mutually exclusive an d collectiv ely exha ustive). Se e th e diagram b elow for an
example of a logic tree.
Creates a "personal" bond
Good presentations
require good eye contact
Play with numbers. If you a re more math ematically minded, ex plore some
topics by numb ers. For examp le, us e a sp readsheet program to graph
mathematical formulas or information from your training.
82
Summary
Congratulations on making it to
the end of this co urse. Yo u no w have the
information, tool and exercises you n eed to dramatical ly increase your reading
speed. However, all your effort so far will be in vain if you dont do the exercises!
Practice is essential in any activity to achieve profici ency. So, pract ice sel ecting
and applyin g the ex ercises, t echniques an d st rategies until th ey become second
nature to you. Yo ur practice will r eward you with faster reading speed and bett er
comprehension of any material yo u read. In d ue course, y our new skills will hel p
you reach your overall goals sooner.
As a lways, if you have any thoughts o n how we ca n impro ve Meml etics
and i ts pr oducts a nd serv ices, please d ont he sitate to contact us us ing
the website, or do the survey below. We value your input, including
both testimonials and suggestions for improvement!
The URL for the survey is:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
83
84
Your details
Name: __
_______________________________
_________________
_________________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
Your instructor/teacher:
_________________________________
Additional materials
You can o btain a printa ble PDF version of this course gu ide, a long w ith a n E xcel
spreadsheet to help yo u with test calc ulations and progress t racking. Download
them f rom your download manage r for yo ur o rder. Lo g into the stor e and follow
the instructions after the green text titled Electronic Product Collection. Click to
go to the store: http://www.memletics.com/store
85
___________
Name of book:
_________________________________
_____________
_____________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
Speed calculations
Fill o ut t he follo wing data to calc ulate how many Word Per Min ute (WPM) y ou
read. The first section is data for the book itself:
Word count for 10 lines:
C _____________
D _____________ (multiply B. by C. )
E _____________
Now you can calculate your words per minute by dividing by 10 (because you read
for 10 minutes).
Words per minute
Compare your reading speed to the table on page 11. How well would you rate your
reading speed?
Excellent
Good
OK
Not so good
Poor
86
Comprehension check
Now lets do a simple test of how well you understood what you read during your
reading test. Read your summary notes then answer these questions:
Did you understand what the author was saying?
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Did you have difficulty remembering the material while summarizing, but felt you
understood it while you were reading it?
__
_______________________________
How well would you rate your comprehension during this reading?
Excellent
Good
OK
Not so good
Poor
Overall results
What do you feel needs the most improvement?
Speed
Comprehension
Both
How much time are you willing to commit to improving your reading?
__
_______________________________
87
Week One
Objectives for this week
Eye tests. If you havent already done so, do the eye tests on page 14.
Vocabulary exercises. Do the exercise outlined on page 34, and start a new
word journal.
Fluency development . Start using the regulator t echnique. See th e
regulator t echnique d escription o n pag e 41. Do stag e 1 for t he fi rst 3 day s,
then sta ge 2 for th e l ast 4 d ays. Aim to spend at least 15 minutes a day,
however continue using the regulator technique for all reading from now on.
Daily log
Keep track of your daily activities using the form below.
Day 1:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 2:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 3:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 4:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 5:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 6:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 7:
88
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Week Two
Objectives for this week
Computer monitor setup. If you have a com puter screen, experiment with
the settings to get the best display. See page 24.
Fluency development . Start t he reg ulator speed drills. S ee th e regulator
technique description on page 41. Focus on stage 3 and th e basic speed drills.
Aim to spend at least 15 minutes a day.
Skim reading. Spend some time t his week doing the skim reading exercises
on page 52. Do the st ructured skim reading drill 1 and the unstructured skim
reading drill 1. Do each drill 3 times during the week.
Daily log
Keep track of your daily activities using the form below.
Day 1:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 2:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 3:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 4:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 5:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 6:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 7:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
89
___________
_____________
_____________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
Speed calculations
Fill o ut t he follo wing data to calc ulate how many Word Per Min ute (WPM) y ou
read. The first section is data for the book itself:
Word count for 10 lines:
C _____________
D _____________ (multiply B. by C. )
E _____________
Now you can calculate your words per minute by dividing by 10 (because you read
for 10 minutes).
Words per minute
90
Lets repeat the comprehension test to see how well you understood what you read
during your reading test. Read your summary notes then answer these questions:
Did you understand what the author was saying?
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
Did you have difficulty remembering the material while summarizing, but felt you
understood it while you were reading it?
__
_______________________________
_____________ (today)
Change:
_____________ (better/worse)
None
How well would you rate your comprehension improvement for this reading?
Excellent
Good
OK
Not so good
Poor
What are you doing well so far:
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
Comprehension check
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
92
Week 3
Objectives for this week
Fluency development. Continue the speed drills and learn the speed paths.
See the regulato r tec hnique desc ription on page 41. Foc us on stage 3 and 4
and the intermediate speed drills. Aim to spend at least 15-20 minutes a day.
Skim reading. Spend some time t his week doing the skim reading exercises
on page 52. Do the structured sk im re ading drill 2, the u nstructured skim
reading dri ll 2, and the combined skim reading drill 1. Do each drill 3 tim es
during the week.
Daily log
Keep track of your daily activities using the form below.
Day 1:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 2:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 3:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 4:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 5:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 6:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 7:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
93
Week 4
Objectives for this week
Fluency development . This week bring what youve learnt together and
push yo urself faster, while k eeping up com prehension. See t he regulator
technique description on page 41. Focus on the advanced speed drills. Aim to
spend at least 20-30 minutes a day.
Reading stra tegies. Do the re ading s trategy e xercises on page 62. Do the
downwards path d rill and crossways path d rill at least 3 times during th e
week.
Extra credit. Try some of the speed drills on different material to what
youve been using.
Daily log
Keep track of your daily activities using the form below.
Day 1:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 2:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 3:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 4:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 5:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 6:
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Day 7:
94
Name of book:
_________________________________
Time spent:
_____________
Final Review
Congratulations on compl eting th is sp eed r eading cour se! Let s do a final re view
to see how far youve come over the past 4 weeks.
Reading test
Pick a starting pag e in your te st book, p referably th e same one you u sed for your
first reading test. Read for 10 min utes at a comfortable pace. When 10 minu tes is
up, m ark y our finishing line on the page i n the book. Fill o ut t he following
information.
Date: __
___________
_____________
_____________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
Speed calculations
Fill o ut t he follo wing data to calc ulate how many Word Per Min ute (WPM) y ou
read. The first section is data for the book itself:
Word count for 10 lines:
C _____________
D _____________ (multiply B. by C. )
E _____________
Now you can calculate your words per minute by dividing by 10 (because you read
for 10 minutes).
Words per minute
95
Comprehension check
Lets repeat the comprehension test to see how well you understood what you read
during your reading test. Read your summary notes then answer these questions:
Did you understand what the author was saying?
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Did you have difficulty remembering the material while summarizing, but felt you
understood it while you were reading it?
__
_______________________________
Change:
_____________ (better/worse)
_____________ (today)
Change:
_____________ (better/worse)
None
How well would you rate your comprehension improvement for this reading?
Excellent
Good
OK
Not so good
Poor
96
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
_______________________________
__
_______________________________
97
98
Appendices
Appendices
99
L E A R N
100
Appendices
such as a par ticular skill or fact. This approach provides a repeatable process you
can refine to improve your overall learning performance.
The diagram above shows the five activities of the Memletic Process. These are:
Locate. Firstly, you fin d and prepa re content for yo ur l earning goal. This may
involve u sing standar d books an d manual s, howe ver i t could als o involv e
getting not es from lec tures, on e-on-one tuto ring sessions, the Int ernet and
other references.
Explore. Here you work through and understand your content. There are some
general principles to follow, such as learning to a level deeper than needed.
There are al so some app roaches relevant to par ticular le arning s tyles that y ou
may want to try.
Arrange. Next, you select which material you want to memorize, and prepare it
for m emorization. Yo u se lect M emletic Te chniques bas ed on the type
of
knowledge you want to learn. Thi s book has o ver twenty di fferent te chniques
you can ap ply to va rious forms o f content. Y ou th en p repare yo ur content fo r
use with those techniques.
Reinforce. You then use tho se tec hniques to rein force k nowledge, s kills and
behaviors. Further reinforcing techniques help you lock in that material for the
long term.
eNquire. L astly, you review both how well y ou l earned your conten t, as wel l
how well you applied Memletics along the way.
Notice how the first letters of t hese steps spell o ut LEARN ( eNquire st arts wit h
the N sound).
Dont feel like you have to stic k rigi dly t o these activities. They so metimes
overlap. Fo r ex ample, when you explore cont ent you start to fo rm i deas on t he
techniques to use to memorize it. You start to reinforce material when you explore
and arr ange it. Yo u ma y ne ed to r earrange some mat erial durin g th e re inforcing
process, as it may not be suitable for t he pa rticular t echnique yo u c hose. Your
mind naturally conn ects topic s, associates in formation and does its own revi ews
as you progress. Letting it do so helps the whole memorizing process.
Visualize
Verbalize
Memletic
Techniques
Simulate
Perform
101
General association
First letter mnemonics
Acrostic mnemonics
Linked lists
Peg words
Peg events
Mental journey or story
Roman Rooms
Chunking
Visualize
General visualization
Creative visualization
Mental rehearsal
Strengthening techniques
Verbalize
General verbalization
Assertions
Mental firewall
Scripting
Simulate
Basic simulation
PC simulation
Advanced simulation
Role-playing
Perform
Shunt
Anchoring
Modeling
Repeat
Rote learning
Flashcards
Scheduled review
Programmed repetition
102
Appendices
103
Appendices
You can also influence the contents of this section by doing the survey at:
http://www.memletics.com/surveys/speed-reading
105
106
Index
Index
A
abstraction, 77
African-American descent, eyesight
risk, 20
Alphabetics, 13
Anne Jones, teacher, 8
applications, compatibility, 30
astigmatism, test for, 18
attention, 66
Aural style
exploration techniques, 79
B
back cover, skim read, 46
Be here now, concentration
technique, 66
blinking, 22
blurred vision, 22
bold text, skim read, 49
bottom up approach, 77
C
CBT, Computer-Based Training, as
content source, 69
ClearType, 29
colors, monitor settings, 27
comprehension
need for, 9
computer monitor. See monitors
Computer-Based Training, as content
source, 69
concentration, 66
and environment, 67
longer term improvement, 67
techniques, 66
content
book examples, 69
collection tips, 71
exploring, 74
locating, 68
organizing tips, 72
sources of, 68
Cornell, note taking, 71
course guide, 84
covers, skim read, 46
crossways path, 57
CRT monitors, choosing, 24
D
dark spot, in vision, 22
diabetes, eyesight risk, 20
diagrams
exploration technique, 78
skim read, 49
systems, 78
dictionary, for vocabulary, 34
diet, and eyesight, 22
discount code, for Memletics, 102
distractions
log, for concentration, 67
training to ignore, 67
double vision, 22
downwards path, 57
DPI (dots per inch), 26
draft printing mode, 24
dry eyes, 22
E
embarrassment, 42
environment
and concentration, 67
examples
content sources, 69
excessive blinking, 22
exploration techniques
aural style, 79
general, 75
Logical style, 81
Physical style, 80
Social style, 82
Solitary style, 83
Verbal style, 80
Visual style, 78
explore step, 74
eye movements, 41
eyesight
astigmatism test, 18
diet and, 22
frequent checks, 22
higher risk groups, 22
macular degeneration test, 20
near sight test, 14
protecting, 22
testing, 14
eyestrain, 22
F
fatigue, eye, 22
finger, for regulating speed, 41
fitness, and eyesight, 22
Five Ws technique, 77
fixations, 7
fluency
basic skills, 39
developing, 39
font, readability, 23
front cover, skim read, 46
fruit, and eyesight, 22
full screen mode, skim reading, 52
G
games
for concentration, 67
graphs, exploration technique, 78
H
halos, in vision, 22
headaches, 22
headings, skim read, 49
high altitude view, 76
highlighting, 72
history, of words, 36
I
index
skim read, 48
index cards, for exploring content, 81
italics
skim read, 49
J
journal, for exploring content, 83
journal, for new words, 35
K
Kim Peek, 7
L
LCD monitors, choosing, 24
107
M
machines, reading, 8
macular degeneration, test for, 20
margins, and readability, 24
maximum reading speed, 7
megasavant, 7
Memletic Approach
overview, 101
Memletic Process
overview, 98
Memletic State
for fluency, 40
overview, 98
Memletic Styles
overview, 101
Memletic Techniques
overview, 99
Memletics, introduction to, 97
Mind-Maps, 78
modes
reading, 58
monitor
optimizing, 24
monitors
and skim reading, 51
choosing, 24
correct use, 26
CRT, 24
LCD, 24
native resolution, 28
settings, 26
suggestions, 25
mouse, for regulating speed, 41
N
native resolution, LCD, 28
near sightedness, test for, 14
new word journal, 35
noise, and concentration, 68
note taking, 71
O
optimizing your monitor, 24
OSAID model, 81
P
paragraph marking, 67
paragraphs
skim read, 49
paths
crossways, 57
downwards, 57
108
reading, 57
straight through, 57
Peek, Kim, 7
pen, for regulating speed, 41
pencil, for regulating speed, 41
peripheral vision, and concentration,
68
peripheral vision, loss of, 22
phrases, pivotal, 60
Physical style
exploration techniques, 80
pivotal words and phrases, 60
Post-it notes, for exploring content,
81
prefixes, 35
presentations
example content, 69
printed text, optimizing, 23
pyramid, for content, 75
Q
questions
about material, 56
about objectives, 55
questions, for content pyramid, 77
R
rainbows, in vision, 22
Rainman, Movie, 7
readability
on screen, 23
reading
modes, 58
paths, 57
strategies, 55
reading speed
compare, 11
testing, 11
varying, 59
refresh rate, 26
regression, 40
regulator technique, 41
role-playing
for exploring content, 81, 82
rote learning, 74
S
screen resolution, 26
screen, reading on, 23
screens. See also: monitors
sensitivity, to light, 22
sketching, exploration technique, 78
skim reading, 45
exercises, 52
structured content, 46
unstructured content, 51
smoking, eyesight risk, 20
Social style
exploration techniques, 82
software, reading, 8
Solitary style
exploration techniques, 83
T
table of contents, skim read, 47
techniques
abstraction, 77
aural style exploration, 79
Be here now, 66
bottom up, 77
concentration, 66
deeper, wider, 76
diagramming, 78
distraction log, 67
Five Ws, 77
general exploration, 75
graphing, 78
high altitude view, 76
highlighting, 72
logic tree, 82
Logical style exploration, 81
Mind-Mapping, 78
note taking, 71
OSAID, for logic, 81
paragraph marking, 67
Physical style exploration, 80
regulator, 41
sketching, 78
Social style exploration, 82
Solitary style exploration, 83
spider approach, 66
study-buddy, 82
systems diagrams, 78
Verbal style exploration, 80
Visual style exploration, 78
tests
astigmatism, 18
eyesight (general), 14
macular degeneration, 20
near sight, 14
typeface, readability, 23
Index
U
unstructured content, skim reading,
51
V
varying reading speed, 59
vegetables, and eyesight, 22
Verbal style
exploration techniques, 80
video, as content source, 69
vision, loss of, 22
Visual style
exploration techniques, 78
visualization
for exploring content, 79
vocabulary
and dictionary, 34
and reading speed, 33
increasing, 33
test results, 33
vocalizing, 40
W
watery eyes, 22
Windows XP, configuring monitor,
26
Windows, monitor drivers, 27
word history, 36
word journal, 35
words
as symbols, 13
pivotal, 60
World Championships, Speed
Reading, 8
109