Suggestions For Improving Reading Efficiency

PRACTICE DAILY AT HOME
Reading well is a skill and, like any skill, it wanes and flourishes, depending upon how actively you practice it. Increasing your eye span, and thereby your absorption rate, will improve your comprehension and make the act more meaningful and enjoyable.
Practice daily: 15 to 30 minutes of reading a day, with understanding, at your best speed, will strengthen your capacity and rate. Average speeds: The average person will read easy to light material at 250-300 words per minute (wpm); will read medium to difficult material at 200-250 wpm; and will read difficult material at 100-150 wpm.
Finding your reading speed: Take an average page of material, count the number of words in a line, multiply them by the number of lines on the page (omitting headings), and you have the number of words on the page. With a watch that has a sweep second hand, find the number of minutes and seconds it takes you to read the entire page with understanding. Divide your time into the number of words, and you'll have your rate of speed; e.g. if you read 440 words in one minute and 45 seconds (150 seconds), you read four words a second, or 240 words per minute.

Question yourself on the material and review it. If you are missing important details, then you are probably going too fast. Don't get discouraged. Keep at it.
Read three or four articles a day for a few weeks. Use the same length and kind of material, pushing yourself, but checking constantly for comprehension. Note your speed so you can check your progress. The Exponent is good for this purpose.
Read more difficult materials in vocabulary, style and content. Follow the same procedure as above. You'll find your reading ability greatly improved through this process in 6- 8 weeks. Reach the 300 words per minute level on easy material, and you'll be reading as well as the average reader. Continue reading at least a
half an hour a day. You'll find your proficiency and enjoyment increasing and you'll be maintaining a skill that will continue to bring you a lifetime of satisfaction.

INFORMATION FOUND ON:
www.cla.purdue.edu/asc/documents/suggestions_for_i_re.pdf