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Speed read textbooks
How to speed read textbooks
Start at 250 words a minute. A textbook is built to be studied, not read once. The gain is not raw speed. It is fewer rereads.
The method, in four steps
Skim the headings, figures and end-of-chapter questions first, at any speed.
Read the section at 250 to 300 words a minute.
Quiz yourself straight after, before you look anything up.
Reread only what you missed. That is where the time comes back.
The mistake to avoid
Pushing dense material past 400 words a minute. Definitions and proofs do not survive it.
See the pace first
Not sure what 250 words a minute looks like? Take the 250 wpm test, or measure your own speed and start 50 above it.
Questions
How fast should I read textbooks?
Start at 250 words a minute and adjust by the quiz: at 80% or better, go up 25; below that, come down 50. The adult average is 238 for non-fiction.
What is the biggest mistake when speed reading textbooks?
Pushing dense material past 400 words a minute. Definitions and proofs do not survive it.
More guides
Speed read non-fiction books
Start at 350 words a minute.
Speed read fiction
Start at 300 words a minute.
Speed read research papers
Start at 250 words a minute.