Efficient and Flexible Reading Fifth Edition

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Efficient and Flexible ReadingFifth Edition

• Kathleen T. McWhorter
• Addison Wesley Longman, Publishers
• 1999

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Efficient and Flexible ReadingFifth Edition

• Chapter One
• Developing Your Efficiency and Flexibility
• created by Ceil Fillenworth, St. Cloud State
  University
• 1999

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In this chapter you will learn

• The difference between reading efficiency and
  flexibility.
• What factors affect rate.
• What factors affect comprehension.
• The principles of reading efficiency and
  flexibility.

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Efficiency and Flexibility Defined

• Flexibility
• The ability to adjust reading rate and methods to
  suit the type of material you are reading and
  your reading purpose.
• Take the reading efficiency questionnaire!

• Efficiency
• The ability to perform with the minimum amount of
  effort, expense, or waste.
• The effective use of time or resources to
  accomplish a given task.

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Efficiency Questionnaire

• Do you set goals and time limits for yourself at
  the beginning of each reading/study session?
• Do you have particular questions in mind as you
  begin to read an assignment?
• Do you spend a few minutes looking over an
  assignment before you begin reading it?
• When reading, do you try to predict or anticipate
  what the writer will say next?
• (continued)

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Efficiency Questionnaire

• When you finish reading an assignment, do you
  take a few minutes to review what you have read?
• Are you alert for words and phrases that signal
  change or continuation in thought?
• Do you sort out more and less important details
  as you read?
• When you meet a word you do not know, do you try
  to determine its meaning from context?
• (continued)

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Efficiency Questionnaire

• Do you regularly use underlining, summary notes,
  and marginal notations to identify important
  information?
• When reading nontextbook material, do you try to
  determine the authors purpose for writing?
• (If you answered No to some of the questions,
  you need to improve your efficiency.)

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Assessing Reading Difficulty Preread the Text!

• Format
• Graphic and visual material
• Typographical aids
• Language features
• Subject matter
• Length
• Organization

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Reading Rate Depends Upon

• Purpose for Reading
• Level of Difficulty
• Concept Load
• Sentence Structure
• Reading Skills
• Prior Knowledge
• Physical and Mental State
• Interest Level

Speed
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Efficiency and Flexibility Principles

• Dont Read Everything
• Not Everything is of Equal Importance
• Shortcuts Save Time and Make Reading Easier
• Increase Speed Without Losing Comprehension!
• Not Everything in Print is True

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Determining Words Per Minute

• Count the total number of words in 3 lines of
  text and divide by three.
• Count the total number of lines on a full page of
  text.
• Multiply the number of words per line by the
  number of lines on a page.
• Record starting time and finishing time.
  Subtract starting time from finishing time.
• Divide reading time into total number of words.

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Sample Rate Selection

• 36 words in 3 lines (36 divided by 3) 12 words
  per line
• 24 lines on a page times 12 words per line 288
  words per page
• 1205 Finishing Time
• 1100 Start Time
• Total Reading Time 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Total pages read 30 X 288 8,640 total words
  read
• 8,640 words divided by 65 minutes 133 words per
  minute

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Summary Do You Know---

• The difference between reading efficiency and
  flexibility?
• What affects your rate and comprehension?
• The five principles of efficiency and flexibility?

Efficient Reader
You
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