HOW TO READ
HOW TO READ
Let’s pretend that one week from now you will take a test on the next ten pages of this book. You have thirty minutes to study. Which practice method would help you get a better grade?
A) Reading those ten pages four times in a row, and trying to memorize them.
B) Reading those ten pages once, then closing the book and writing a one-page summary.
It’s not even close. Research shows that people who follow strategy B remember 50 percent more material over the long term than people who follow strategy A. This is because of one of deep practice’s most fundamental rules: Learning is reaching. Passively reading a book—a relatively effortless process, letting the words wash over you like a warm bath—doesn’t put you in the sweet spot. Less reaching equals less learning.
On the other hand, closing the book and writing a summary forces you to figure out the key points (one set of reaches), process and organize those ideas so they make sense (more reaches), and write them on the page (still more reaches, along with repetition). The equation is always the same: More reaching equals more learning.
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