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Speed reading can be an extremely effective study tool, allowing you to extract vital information from a large amount of text. Once properly developed, this skill trains you to pick up key words and points within a text and apply it to the relevant topic. To become truly efficient at speed reading, you must devote the necessary time to develop a high level of skill. There are several methods which can be used to develop, train and practice speed reading, as well as those for retaining the information you read.

Try putting your hand across a page, then sliding it downwards as you read. This forces your eye to 'race' against your hand to keep up. You can control the pace, and gradually increase the rate of movement as you find yourself able to keep up.

Even if you can't keep up with the movement of your hand at first, it will cause you to read faster. Alternatively, you can place a piece of paper or cardboard downwards over each word you read, forcing you to move down the page quickly. Like the exercise using your hand, be sure to keep a steady movement, not stopping to catch up.

This method trains the eye and mind to begin to read text on sight, rather than by playing back the text to oneself in a sort of internal monologue as many do. Do you 'hear' books? Try to unlearn this habit. If you are conditioned to think of reading in this way, no wonder the idea of speed reading seems daunting.

As your speed improves, you will notice that you make more and more use of your peripheral vision and comprehension. The exercises detailed above can be used to train yourself by not allowing you to read sentences individually as is common, but rather draw out the essential information within the text.

To practice retention of what you have read, try reading a page using one of these methods, then make notes of what information you've gleaned from the page. Don't refer back to the page during this, the idea is to teach yourself to absorb information as you speed read. Keep it up, eventually this will become second nature to you. Given all of the time this will save you in the long run, it's well worth the time spent developing the skill.

Studying will be a much less onerous burden to the speed reader. You'll be able to run, rather than walk through books, picking up the important ideas along the way . This skill, of course, is not for students alone. We all spend more time scanning text than is necessary. Speed reading can make your life much easier.