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FOUR READING RATES
Texts are written
with varying degrees of difficulty and ease that affect comprehension
ability. To maximize your comprehension of a text, adjust your reading
style, technique, and rate to accommodate the type of text you are reading.
The following chart can be used as a guide to determine which reading
rate is most suitable for the different types of texts listed.
| RATE |
PURPOSE |
TYPE
OF TEXT |
| Skimming |
_
|
to locate
specific information;
OR
|
directory,
dictionary, and any material which will yield a specific answer |
|
_
|
to skim for
the main idea or to find out what happened next |
easy, simple
material, newspaper, magazine, fiction, research |
|
| Speed
Reading (fast) |
_
|
to read rapidly
for certain details or main ideas |
any material
in which main ideas and supporting facts are to be picked up: newspapers,
magazines, stories, easy texts, etc. |
|
| Study
Reading |
_
|
to read with
maximum understanding: Survey, Raise Questions, Read, Recite, Review
|
textbooks,
technical articles, any material which you read in detail or organize,
present to others, or for which you are held responsible |
|
| Careful
& reflective |
_ |
to follow directions,
for example, how to make a cake or perform a chemistry experiment;
to reflect on content; to evaluate; to enjoy; to read aloud to share
an aesthetic experience |
directions;
any work which contains great thoughts; some reports of current
events; editorial pages of newspapers; poetry, drama, etc.; descriptive
materials; anything read orally |
|
Strang, Ruth M.and
Dorthy K. Braken. Making Better Readers. Boston: Heath, 1957.
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