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Speed Reading Techniques For Cat 2010 Rc Section - Part Ii

27 18:17:28
For those who did not take CAT 2009, NMAT 2010 or even the MAT exams since September 2009, have no experience of the computer based test. But if you are planning for the CAT 2010 then you must be getting worried about handling the Reading Comprehension questions.
Experts suggest that Speed Reading is one of the methods by which MBA aspirants can easily tackle the RC segment.
To provide you expert advice on the technique of speed reading, we had recently presented to you the Part 1 of the extracts from the chapter �Speed Reading and On Screen Reading’ from the book �Reading Comprehension for the CAT’ authored by Sujit Kumar and published by Pearson Education India.
You got answers to the following questions in the Part I: What is speed reading?; How fast should I be able to read?; How can I improve my reading speed? What are those techniques?; How long do I have to practice?; Is there anything else I have to take care of?; Is there anything else I can do to increase my reading speed?; I am comfortable with on paper reading but not with reading on screen. What should I do?; What should I do to get used to on-screen reading and to the format?
Today we bring to you the Part 2 of the extracts. The extracts are brought to you exclusively by MBAUniverse.com in association with Pearson Education India.
Read the Part 2 of the extracts below:
I am generally slow in reading because of vocabulary constraints.
Speed reading is not a magic bullet. One needs to be proficient in the language that one is trying to gain speed. In fact, the more comfortable one is in the language, the faster one is in reading that language. For example, by learning the techniques of speed reading, it is not possible to read Chinese or Greek if one does not know those languages. Since vocabulary is an aspect of one’s proficiency in that language, it is futile to work on speed if one has severe vocabulary constraints. However, by persistent reading one can improve one’s vocabulary and language skills as well.
What is meant by vocalization?
Vocalization is the habit of reading aloud-using your lips to read. Reading is a mental process. Eyes input to the brain the images of the words triggering the idea contained in the word/s, and the brain processes that idea. Eyes are the input device and the brain is the processor. We do not need the lips to input. When one reads aloud, there is double input-through the eyes and through the ears. The only problem is: you read as fast as you speak. And one cannot speak at four of five hundred words per minute! Get rid of vocalization immediately by stopping to vocalize. It is not necessary at all for reading well.
What is meant by sub vocalization? Is it negative too?
Sub vocalization is speaking the word in one’s mind. It is not negative. If you try to stop sub vocalization, your comprehension will suffer severely. However, by reading faster and faster without vocalization and regression, sub vocalization automatically gets minimized. Reading without sub vocalization means: the eyes project the words to the brain and there is instant comprehension because the brain instantly comprehends what the word stands for. In other words, there is direct eye-mind transfer of ideas. We hardly read the word �stop’ on road sign boards. We hardly read (sub vocalize) the brand names of our favorite items. Aim at minimizing sub vocalization by reading a lot rather than through conscious efforts.
What is meant by efficient or active reading?
Efficient or active reading means while reading you are actively involved in the ideas that are contained in the text-and not passively wandering through the text. It also means to actively reading the text to pick up the main points that the text has to offer rather than passively waiting for the text to communicate those points to you. The way you study your academic text books is called active reading. When you study your text books there is an eagerness to understand them and a conscious effort to understand the main points and the supporting details of the topic/matter. You try to register in your mind the main points of the topic and the details that support these main points. This is called active reading. The passages in Reading comprehension should be read actively.
How well you have understood the passage depends on how efficiently or actively you have read the passage. .
Do I have to practice active reading as well?
Without a doubt! Make active reading a habit for competitive examinations. In all examinations you have to work under severe time constraints. Hence any reading that you do in competitive examinations has to be active. It is especially so for Reading Comprehension because there is a lot to read.
What is called mind mapping?
What is discussed above, your comprehension of the main points of the passage and how they are arranged and what details support each point is called the mind map of the essay. For more on mind mapping, you could read the Mind Map Book Tony Buzan.
What is meant by skimming and scanning? Are they important skills too?
Skimming and Scanning are two different processes. Skimming is reading the text quickly in order to assess its nature and content. After skimming one may decide not to read it or to read it. This is important in competitive examinations in which there are several passages to choose from. Skimming will help in choosing the right passages in very short time.
Scanning is going over the whole text in order to find specific information that you are looking for. Scanning is what you do when you have to find the telephone number of a person in a directory. Scanning is important when you have to locate specific pieces of information in the passage while answering a question.
Skimming is done to build familiarity with the given text. Scanning presupposes familiarity with the given text, or at least familiarity with what you are looking for.
This is the end of the Part 2. In the next article we will bring to you extracts on �Reading Comprehension Techniques’.
Author Sujit Kumar is a Faculty at CPL (Pvt. Ltd.), Mumbai. He has been mentoring thousands of students in the competitive exams like CAT, CET, GRE, GMAT etc. for the Verbal Ability section. He is a Masters in English literature from University of Mumbai and has a Diploma in Management. Apart from corporate experience of over a decade, he has taught in the mainstream as well as parallel education in India and abroad.
Also read:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-exam-preparation/varblemain.php
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/3682/Strategies-for-attempting-CAT-2010
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