Reading
skills: How to read in thought groups Studies have shown that when you read, your eyes must make small stops to focus on
word or a group of words. Poor readers usually make many more stops as they move their
es from word to word instead of from words to words. This habit will not only slow
down the reading speed, but also cause difficulty in comprehension
In order to understand what you are reading, you must read for ideas. An idea is seldom
contained in a single word, but rather in a group of words. Try to read in phrases, and then
treat each of them as one thought group. In other words, you read from thought group
to thought group. This will not only increase your reading speed, but also enhan
ompl
nsion
Read Paragraph 5 of Text A word by word. You will find that the reading speed is slow and
the meaning is not clear when you read in words rather than thought groups
ler bathroom
ent of damp towels, rusted
shaving blades, hal
ang near
b
a box of big black garbage bags upstairs. Eye shadow, ta
lump drawers, sweep shelves clear and clean the
sink. When am finished, it is as neat and impersonal as a hotel bathroom
Now read the same paragraph in thought groups. You will find that the reading speed
faster and the ideas are clearer
She left a mess. / Her bathroom/is an embarrassment/ of damp towels, / rusted
shaving blades, hair in the sink, and nearly empty tubes of toothpaste. /1 bring a
tox/of big black garbage bags / upstairs. /Eye shadow, /face cream, /nail polish
all go into the trash. /I dump drawers, sweep shelves clear/ and clean the sink
When I am finished, /it is/ as neat and impersonal/ as a hotel bathroom
Reading in thought groups is a necessary skill if you are to become an efficient reader
By reading for ideas and in thought groups, you will gradually make fewer eye stops and
increase your reading speed. With practice, reading in thought groups will come naturally
