How do you improve your reading speed

[Nasem]

I just took an online reading test... I got a whooper 206 words per minute, and this has been steady for me for many different exams I took (average is always between 195-210)

I think this is really going to effect my MCAT score, I know all the science material but my reading is just too slow

Is there any tips, or anything you have have done to improve the speed of your reading ?

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[AsuKa]

according to EK

the average reader is about 200 wpm

the average reader should be able to read the 500-600 word passages in 3 minutes, and then have about 5-6 minutes left for the questions and still do good on verbal.

don't try and increase your reading speed.

let's say you doubled your reading speed to 400 (which is very unlikely to happen)

you would finish the passages in 1.5 minutes instead of 3 minutes.

you now have an extra 1.5 minutes spread out over 5-7 questions. if the passage had 5 questions, you would have an extra 20 seconds per question.

does that seem like a very efficient way to boost your verbal? don't worry about your reading speed, worry about handling the questions to boost your score!

 

[Suaveness]

I just took an online reading test... I got a whooper 206 words per minute, and this has been steady for me for many different exams I took (average is always between 195-210)

I think this is really going to effect my MCAT score, I know all the science material but my reading is just too slow

Is there any tips, or anything you have have done to improve the speed of your reading ?

Where did you take an online reading test?

 

[AsuKa]

google online reading test, or something similar. there are tons out there.

 

[masterMood]

practice practice practice. Think faster by reading more and understanding what you're reading. Think logically and think fast and always ask why and also try to get the overall gist of the passage. That's what i've been doing and it's been giving me at least a 10 every time.

 

[Isoprop]

when you read text from paper, take three fingers and place them below the line of text as you read. obviously, don't do this on a computer screen. your reading speed may go up slightly as you force your eyes to focus on more words at a time.

if you do this long enough, you will improve your reading speed without needing the three fingers.

seriously though, 200 wpm is pretty good. so don't fret it. if you are running out of time, it's because you are spending too much time on the problems.