Speed Reading: My Strategies

Mind you, I used to be a slow reader since I like to enjoy fiction. This kind of clashes when I need to read non-fiction and then there's limited time since the readings are needed for class.

All of us students encounter tons of readings. Students of Political Science take this as a measure of pride. Hence, conversely, to balk from readings is in a way shameful.

But how do we deal with tons of readings, be agile in moving across multiple materials, be fast in consuming them, and consume them properly with comprehension?

I'd like to directly point out our MtG card for today below, check out the quote and think on it.

Know the readings, don't memorize them all, but strategically memorize and understand the key parts. This is one strategy.

Let's go further

Sparta

It was nice that on day one of one of our major subjects here in Taiwn, our professor Dr. Lev Nachman iterated one of the lessons I learned from Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 1. Divide and conquer the readings in groups.

If there's one reading, divide the outline, each member does a part, make quality notes, then discuss AS a group.  Voila! What could have consumed several hours in reading is consumed in a shorter time.

But what about the human component? You know, how can you trust group members to do quality?

I once thought that a Spartan attitude is the best, be strict, threaten to remove members who can't contribute.

But sometimes this isn't easy specially since these people are probably friends and classmates.

But truth is, the essence of Spartan training isn't simply about being strict. It's quality itself.

My group doesn't do notes, we discuss in a weekly basis on a regular schedule.

Anyone who can't, will of course not be able to contribute.  They're excused, but they also get nothing since they miss the discussion

Before, we had the official contingency that members take duplicate parts so that if one can't attend, then somebody else can cover.

But the thing is, the Spartan group is working well and everyone is seeing the results so much so that none wants to miss meetings and everyone does their part.

Quality over stress.

Hunt

It's officially called "gutting" strategy (thanks to my classmate, Marvin, for informing me of the name), I call it hunting. It's just one word, but this skill developed from training under Dr. Nachman, my professor in being an International PhD in Asia Pacific Studies, and also from Dr. Work, my professor in Research Theory of Ethnology.

Remember in a previous post, we have ACE-Fa from Dr. Work 

• Argument
• Conversation
• Evidence

Dr. Nachman had a similar albeit more detailed outline.  Here it included: variables, method, data (which in a way coincides with evidence), findings, and takeaway.

Let's have something tasty to better process. We have a nice delicious noodle dish in the Philippines called palabok. It's got rice noodles and a seafood sauce topped with (depending on the province) either bits of seafood like shrimp and squid or ground pork, but either way there's also pork crackling crumble on top. Nice right?  Relevance, the mix of toppings eventually became a name for people who add too much details on what they say eventually to the expression: "You say a lot of palabok!" to people who give long winded statements. In editorial jargon, we call this in English as "fluff." 

Relevance? The readings usually have a lot of fluff.

But if you begin the reading by hunting, you can skim to find what's needed and in a short time, consume the material.

So if you hunt, you are looking for WHAT and WHERE?

• Problem/Puzzle - usually at the introduction and/or abstract.
• The answer/argument - usually same location, also iterated in the conclusion.
• Conversation - RRL
• Method - you should know this by now
• Data - see previous bullet, but seriously, when we look for data, then tat means we're hunting for the evidences that the reading is using to prove the argument, so hunt based on this.
• Takeaway - look inside yourself 👀

Sniff and taste the blood, the sport of hunting will give you a nice prize at the end.

Ignore the bluff

We usually feel intimidated by the length/volume/breadth/number of the readings.

If you divided and conquered, multiple readings is dealt with.

If you hunt, you then ignore the number of pages of an article or book. Who cares, what you need are the actual gems that you're hunting for, and you know where they are. Bonus if the writer used signposts (i.e. My argument, this is because, evidenced by... - just samples).

In the end, you will realize that you understood the reading and didn't think of the page numbers.

Ignore the threat, it's a bluff. Chill and enjoy the hunt.

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