What reading strategy helps increase speed without sacrificing comprehension?

• A. Read every word slowly.
• B. Practice active reading, skim for main ideas, and summarize sections in your own words.
• C. Highlight every sentence.
• D. Memorize the passage verbatim.

Answer: (B)

Engage with the text actively, look for the main ideas as you skim, and then check your understanding by summarizing each section in your own words. This combination boosts reading speed by guiding you to the essential points rather than getting bogged down in every word, while still preserving comprehension because you’re continually clarifying meaning as you go.

Active reading keeps you mentally involved, so you notice where the author is making important points and how the ideas fit together. Skimming for main ideas helps you map the structure of the material quickly, so you know what to focus on and what can be skimmed. Summarizing in your own words forces you to process and articulate what you’ve read, which reinforces understanding and helps you retain the information.

Reading every word slowly slows you down and often leads to breaking the flow of meaning, without ensuring you’re grasping the overall message. Highlighting every sentence tends to be passive and can result in over-highlighting, which makes it harder to identify truly key ideas later. Memorizing the passage verbatim isn’t practical for most texts and doesn’t develop the ability to understand new material or adapt strategies for different readings.