With an article from a learned journal, did you know you could:
- Change the font? (Maybe use Verdana, which is a clean, stretched font)
- Change the font size?
- Change the line spacing?
- Change the screen colour?
- Change the right hand side to unjustify?
- Use a sound program such as ClaroRead?
- Use a free online speed reading tool such as Spreeder or Readsy?
Check meaning using free online tool http://www.grammarly.com? (Click on a word and the definition will appear in a box; to understand it further, check http://www.dnamatters.co.uk/resources/#grammarly)
Check pronunciation using free online tool http://www.howjsay.com?
A program such as Texthelp Read & Write Gold will read to you, highlighting the words. It can help with pronunciation, meaning and translation; audible text can be sent directly to your media player. It is, however, expensive.
- Use http://www.rewordify.com (free) to simplify difficult text.
© Matthew Tizzard
With journal articles, did you know that you might:
- Start by asking questions about the title with a view to finding the answers?
- Consider the abstract carefully?
- Check on the key terms in the abstract if you were unsure what they might mean?
- Having considered the abstract carefully, start asking questions and decide on the best reading strategy to employ?
- First sentence/s of each paragraph and all the final paragraph perhaps?
Then decide what you could usefully read in detail? - Scan for the answers to questions for which you did not already have answers?
- SQ3R or a strategy like it? (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
- Read aloud?
- Discuss with other students?
- Take breaks/walk about to digest?
- And if it works best for you to read in quite short bursts – fine. After a burst, maybe get up, walk about, review in your mind what you’ve read before the next burst.
