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Can you guys recommend any good speed reading books or videos? I realized that my reading speed is not as fast as I want it to be and it would probably help on the MCAT. Thanks!
Best speed reading books?
- Thread starter xoxx
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^ same as above 🙂
I do a lot of casual reading from Time and Newsweek so those articles definitely help (writing is a little easier/simpler than writing on the MCAT though, but whatevs). If you're the kind of person who likes to lounge and relax while reading (like me), you should try getting in the habit of reading with ultra-focus. Don't read while comfortable. Push your eyes through the sentences. Don't re-read a sentence/paragraph - no matter how confusing, interesting, beautiful, or fascinating it might be (you can always go back paper!). Time yourself. How long does it take for you to get through one column?
Also - be cautious of the types of articles you're reading. My experience was that most magazines will probably help you out with the social science / humanities passages, but the science passages would always throw me off. I HIGHLY recommend National Geographic and Scientific American- super interesting, well written articles to help round-out your genres. It'll be fun too haha.
*Though I did read that the most effective way to success in VR isn't so much increasing your reading speed as some people might believe, but minimizing the time you spend on each question. Don't know if this is accurate, but it sounds convincing.
I do a lot of casual reading from Time and Newsweek so those articles definitely help (writing is a little easier/simpler than writing on the MCAT though, but whatevs). If you're the kind of person who likes to lounge and relax while reading (like me), you should try getting in the habit of reading with ultra-focus. Don't read while comfortable. Push your eyes through the sentences. Don't re-read a sentence/paragraph - no matter how confusing, interesting, beautiful, or fascinating it might be (you can always go back paper!). Time yourself. How long does it take for you to get through one column?
Also - be cautious of the types of articles you're reading. My experience was that most magazines will probably help you out with the social science / humanities passages, but the science passages would always throw me off. I HIGHLY recommend National Geographic and Scientific American- super interesting, well written articles to help round-out your genres. It'll be fun too haha.
*Though I did read that the most effective way to success in VR isn't so much increasing your reading speed as some people might believe, but minimizing the time you spend on each question. Don't know if this is accurate, but it sounds convincing.
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It's more about your habits of reading than books. Just read anything that's available. Try to google online for advices on speed reading. If you find yourself rehearsing every words, then you might be a sub-vocalized reader like me. Rehearsing words stifles your comprehension. So you need to read really fast while figuring out the meanings of each sentences. See, when you are trying to understand the meanings, you wouldn't be able to rehearse the words. You wouldn't even be conscious about your reading but your eyes just keep on consuming words (in a relaxing manner).
If you still have difficulites. Try reading fast while repeating in your head "what does it mean?, what does it mean? ..." until you forget that you are actually reading but still picking up words effortlessly. After you achieve that, instead of repeating the phrase, try to acutally understand it.
If you still have difficulites. Try reading fast while repeating in your head "what does it mean?, what does it mean? ..." until you forget that you are actually reading but still picking up words effortlessly. After you achieve that, instead of repeating the phrase, try to acutally understand it.
Also, in addition to what's been said, the best way to improve speed reading for the MCAT is to do passages. 2-3 months out when I began trying 101 Verbal I did find myself struggling on time. But after the first few sets I really got a hang of the pace. Also as previous poster suggests, how you read is more important than how fast. Also you will want to adjust your reading to how MCAT questions are posed, so again, that requires direct practice.
I felt reading those periodicals in addition to MCAT practice enabled me to really catch on to what the MCAT was really about. Towards the end I was able to score 11s VR in AAMCs 9, 10, and 11. I would not worry too much about it right now, but just read for fun, and also become accustomed to forcing yourself to read about things which you do not give a rat's a** about.
I felt reading those periodicals in addition to MCAT practice enabled me to really catch on to what the MCAT was really about. Towards the end I was able to score 11s VR in AAMCs 9, 10, and 11. I would not worry too much about it right now, but just read for fun, and also become accustomed to forcing yourself to read about things which you do not give a rat's a** about.
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You don't really need to "speed read" on MCAT VR. The AAMC says that each of the 7 passages is roughly 600 words = 4,200 words. Let's round up to be safe...4,500 words.
The average college level reader can read between 200-250 words per minute. So if we take the low end of that estimate and use 200 words a minute, you should finish reading the passages in a total of 22.5 minutes - plenty of time left over to answer the questions.
Reading comprehension >>>>>> Speed Reading
Speed reading isn't necessary on verbal (my personal experience on the mcat I just took). What you want to improve is your short term memory and feel for verbal questions. These you can only improve by doing practice passages timed. I found that the only reason I would go overtime on passages was because I was spending a long time on each question and going back to the passage and rereading.
Practice a couple passages a day timed (1min 20sec per Question), in a row, no breaks. Force yourself to stay focused when you read the passage and do not let yourself reread anything. Do this consistently, chances are, you may not find any improvement after a month, but be persistent.
When you do feel that you're improving start cutting down the total time per passage by a minute every week or 2 weeks.
Practice a couple passages a day timed (1min 20sec per Question), in a row, no breaks. Force yourself to stay focused when you read the passage and do not let yourself reread anything. Do this consistently, chances are, you may not find any improvement after a month, but be persistent.
When you do feel that you're improving start cutting down the total time per passage by a minute every week or 2 weeks.
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It's a combination of enjoying reading and taking timed practice VR passages. If you dread reading then I recommend reading some good non-fiction (Guns Germs and Steel comes to mind) that will spark an interest in just reading.
But that's if your test isn't around the corner. The 3 months before your test you should be taking TIMED verbal passages...just do 3 at a time per SN2's schedule. Be sure to go over every answer the next day. You won't see much progress initially but eventually you'll remember more and more of the passage, become faster at answering the questions and being able to spot "stupid" answer choices
But that's if your test isn't around the corner. The 3 months before your test you should be taking TIMED verbal passages...just do 3 at a time per SN2's schedule. Be sure to go over every answer the next day. You won't see much progress initially but eventually you'll remember more and more of the passage, become faster at answering the questions and being able to spot "stupid" answer choices
I agree that "speed reading" is not necessary for the exam. I believe it is more just having the ability to comprehend the passage during the first read through so that you're not having to reread the entire passage when you're trying to answer the questions. Also, always practice under timed conditions and stick to 8.5-9 minutes a passage. You don't want to end up on the last passage and realize you only have 4 minutes left!
