Chew gum or hum while you read. This occupies muscles used to subvocalize. If you move your lips as you read, hold a finger against them.

These “regressions” also happen when you’ve failed to understand something. If your eyes jump several words or lines back, that’s a sign that you may need to slow down.

You can read eight letters to the right of your eye position, but only four to the left. This is roughly two or three words at a time. You notice letters 9–15 spaces to the right, but can’t read them clearly. Normal readers don’t process words on other lines. Training yourself to skip lines and still understand them would be very difficult.

Place an index card over a line of text. Write an X on the card, over the first word. Write another X on the same line. Place it three words further for good understanding, five words for easy texts, or seven words to skim the main points. Write more Xs at the same spacing, until you reach the end of the line. Read quickly as you move the index card down, trying to only focus your eyes just below each X.

Move a pencil along the text. Time this so you can say “one one thousand” at a calm pace and finish just as you reach the end of a line. Spend two minutes trying to read at the pace of the pencil. Even if you can’t understand anything, stay focused on the text and keep your eyes moving for the entire two minutes. Rest for a minute, then go even faster. Spend three minutes trying to read at the pace of a pen that moves across two lines every time you say “one one thousand”.

You can read quickly if you’re familiar with the subject, but don’t try to speed read as fast as possible. You’re saving time by skipping most of the section, but you do need to understand what you’re reading.

Words that are repeated several times The main ideas – often including words from the title or section header Proper nouns Italics, bold text, or underline Words you don’t recognize

Count the number of words on a page, or count the number in one line and multiply by the number of lines on the page. Set a timer for ten minutes and see how much you can read in that time. Multiply the number of pages you read by the number of words per page. Divide by ten to get your words per minute. You can use an online “speed reading test,” but you will probably read at a different pace on a screen than on a printed page. [10] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source

200–250 words per minute is the expected reading speed for someone age 12 or older. 300 wpm is the reading speed of the average college student. At 450 wpm, you’re reading as fast as a college student skimming for the main points. Ideally, you can do this with almost total comprehension. At 600–700 wpm, you’re reading as fast as a college student scanning to find a word. Most people can learn to read at this speed with about 75% of their normal comprehension. At 1,000 wpm and above, you’re reaching the level of competitive speed readers. This usually requires extreme techniques that skip over most of the text. Most people can’t remember much at this speed.