Effective reading

Textbook Reading
Time is precious to the Institute members and students, so it is very important that study time is spent as efficiently and profitably as possible. Here are a few ideas which may help you to gain maximum benefit from your textbook reading sessions.

1. Quickly survey each chapter that you intend to read, looking at paragraph headings and try to see how each relates to the main topic or idea or even sub-topic.
2. Look out for and make a note of (using highlighters or asterisks) any key sentences – underline or highlight any key words or phrases. 
3. Ask yourself the following questions on the topics:
   • Do you understand how each topic relates to the overall topic? 
   • Are patterns emerging yet? 
   • Does any of the information relate to your existing knowledge? 
   • Can you apply it to your working experience? 
4. At all times be critical of the text in the workbooks. Use open-ended questions, i.e. those beginning with Who, What, Why, When, Where, Which and How? 
5. Don't be reluctant to write in the workbooks as you read – they are your workbooks and the authors encourage this and provide plenty of space to allow you to do so. Pay particular attention to any diagrams or flow charts as these often make sense of the most difficult passages. For most of us, reading to understand a text is a slow and laborious task. When studying, you are trying to understand the ideas within the text, to relate them to existing knowledge and to remember that information. Some students do this by reading aloud - this can be very time consuming and is only effective if you are concentrating fully on the words and understanding their meaning. 
6. Convert the words into meaning – this is the most important aspect of study reading. To do this you must be able to:
   1. Identify key points and ideas in the text 
   2. Understand how the subject is organised 
   3. Understand the vocabulary being used.
      Understanding vocabulary can sometimes be a problem. You should keep a dictionary handy at all times and a copy of a thesaurus will be invaluable, giving a list of alternative words to those being used. As many areas of the financial services industry involve specialist subjects, there will often be words or phrases used that will not appear in a standard dictionary or thesaurus, or will not give the meaning you require. Try reading on past these words as the explanation often becomes clearer as you read into the text – alternatively ask a colleague or fellow student. Try not to dwell too long on a problem – move to the next topic meantime and come back to it.
7. Concentrate. Obvious we know, but it is essential for effective study. This can only exist if the study conditions are correct and you are motivated to learn. By adopting objectives for each reading session and rewarding yourself for successful completion, you should overcome any motivational difficulties.

Reading Techniques
There are a number of basic techniques that can be employed depending upon the purpose for reading. When you read, you are already using these different techniques but you may not be aware that you are doing so. This is because after many years of reading different types of material you take these techniques for granted, not thinking about them when you use them!

It is important, however, to be aware of the different reading techniques in order that you are able to use them more effectively and appropriately. Employing the following techniques will also ensure that you are reading actively rather than just passively. A passive reader will look at and recognise words on a page but will not engage with the material. Active reading, on the other hand, involves employing different reading techniques in order to glean the most relevant information and digesting this in a way that you will be able to understand it and recall it at a later date.

There are a number of reading techniques, although at any time you may be using any one of them - the main ones are as follows: 

Scanning

• This technique involves moving your eyes quickly over a text to find something, or to see whether it contains anything you want to read. 
• When using this technique, for example looking for a number in a telephone directory, you may be looking for a topic or phrase or searching more generally for words that are relevant to your task.
• Scanning, in contrast to skimming (see below), is useful when you are interested in finding out not so much the general drift, but rather whether or not the chapter or article addresses your particular area of concern - the textbooks are well-designed to help with this reading approach.

Skimming

• Skimming involves looking quickly through the whole book, passage or text to get a general sense of what it is about - you read as little as you can, while still picking up some idea of what is being discussed. 
• Refer to the subheadings and a couple of sentences from each paragraph (the first and last sentence). 
• The main aim of this reading technique is to ascertain the main ideas. 
• If you are skimming you should skip over any material which develops, further explains, qualifies or illustrates, or provides evidence for the main idea. 
• Skimming is a method to help you find relevant material quickly – it is not a substitute for detailed reading and analysis of that material. 
• Regular skimming of texts can help you learn to read more quickly and prioritise - it can also help your understanding of text materials, quickly and effectively.

Rapid Reading

• This technique is similar to skim reading in that you progress quickly through a text by not reading every word, sentence or paragraph. 
• Unlike skim reading however, with rapid reading you make fast progress because you are already familiar with the material – what you are doing is half reading and half filling the gaps from memory. 
• Rapid reading is useful therefore, for re-reading already familiar material and for revision.

Critical Reading

• Critical reading involves gaining a complete understanding of what has been written. It also involves asking questions of it, for increased understanding and then applying the information. 
• Reading critically can take time and requires a high level of concentration. 
• The workbooks help you to succeed with this approach by providing quick questions and question times to test your understanding – make sure that you use them.

Extensive Reading

• Extensive reading is a more thorough method of reading than skim reading. 
• When using this technique, you read everything but you do not necessarily pause to reflect - this enables you to read a large amount of text in a single session. 
• This is useful for reading many sources, reading background information or when reading for pleasure, such as a novel.

How to Improve Your Reading Speed
We all read at different rates and each type of reading will also determine the speed at which you proceed through the material. An exciting novel like Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is, for example, a quicker read than the Financial Economics textbook! 

Understanding is the most important aspect of reading, but you will invariably find it helpful if you can also improve the speed of your reading.

Learning to read more quickly, however, is not a solution to the problem of large amounts of reading. Aiming to read effectively, rather than more quickly is a better approach. Indeed, it is unrealistic to expect that reading can always be fast. The main thing is to move fast when you can and read intensively when you need to. 

Remember, your goal is quicker understanding, not just quicker reading. Nevertheless, you may be practising 'bad' habits that are preventing you from reading efficiently and at a reasonable speed.

There is often a tendency to read different types of material at the same rate. When the material is 'easy' and is simply expressed, it is usually possible to read quite quickly. When it is less familiar, and using difficult 'jargon', then the reading rate slows down. It is important to realise that you can vary your reading speed to cope with the difference in material.

Reading aloud can often lead to reading at a slow rate – you will only ever be able to read as quickly as you talk if you mouth the words as you read (our brains can actually handle words much faster than we can speak them – try to read without saying the words). 

• Don't use your fingers to follow the words or move your head as you read, as these actions only slow you down – this technique is however very useful when proof-reading or reading intensively 
• Practice reading clusters of words rather than every single word. In most phrases or sentences, only one or two words are fundamental – the others need not be 'read' to gather the meaning of the phrase 
• If you already know a fair amount about a subject, try spending a few minutes listing key points or words you already know before starting to read fast – this helps your speed reading to 'top up' your existing knowledge, allowing you to skim faster through things you already know 
• Eliminate outside distractions and ensure that you are comfortable – environmental factors can affect your concentration and your reading speed.