Read speed Tip of the Week: Improve your vocabulary, improve your understanding

Your ability to interpret correctly the words that you come across in you're reading material is vital for good comprehension. I’m sure you already find these difficult words that you haven’t heard of will often hamper your capacity of grasp the meaning of what you’re reading, even if you generally understand the sense of it through paying attention to the context. Building up your vocabulary is therefore very important for maximum understanding. Here are a few tips on how to do this…
Keep a dictionary close by, so you can look up a word that you have difficulty understanding while reading. Write the new words down with their definitions next to them. Note any synonyms that come to mind, and read the paragraph again making sure you understand it completely.
If you’re reading a textbook with many unfamiliar vocabularies, you might want to try skimming through the whole thing before actually reading, and underlining all the words you don’t know. If you look up these words in the dictionary before you read, you’ll be able to save a lot of time while reading. Assuming you understand the words well, you’ll be able to read through the whole thing without stopping your flow.
Learn a word or two each day. Write them down and put them up where you can see them. Try constructing good sentences using the words. Use them in daily conversations or essays and assignments. This will help you familiarize with the words, so that the next time that you come across them in an article, you won’t have to run for a dictionary.
Familiarize yourself with words used frequently in a particular type of writing. Non-fiction books often include many technical terms. If you read a lot of textbooks, it might help to make several lists of keywords, based on topics. Then, before you go into reading a new chapter on microeconomics, you can check the appropriate keyword-sheet and be reminded of all the difficult words you may encounter. This would dramatically improve your comprehension, and it will also save that time, since you won’t have to re-read things as often.
Read a lot! Read both fictions and non-fiction, and several subjects within each.
Don’t stick to one particular genre that you should constantly be in the middle of a wide variety of books.
With time you will see a great improvement in your ability to comprehend what you read. You will also be saving time in the long run by not having to stop as frequently to make sure you understand what the words mean. Make it a habit to follow these tips – you’ll thank yourself latter!