How to speed read like an expert

Hello everyone and welcome to another blog post on the underage lawyer.

 One of the topics that have been coming up frequently in my conversations with others is speed reading. It’s a skill that you probably only think about when you have three days to complete an essay, and you haven’t started researching yet. However, speed reading is an important skill that can assist you in everyday life. It shouldn’t be disregarded as useless skills. 

Those who want to pursue a career in law need to know that they will spend every day of their life reading. 


Client’s files can be anything from one to forty volumes long – and it’s your job to read and study them all. Reading is also the best way to expand your vocabulary and improve your thinking capabilities.

 Think of reading as upgrading technology. The more you do it, the better it gets. The less you do it, you eventually fall behind. Here are a few ways to improve your reading speed:

 1. Read a lot

 This is a basic essential. The more you read the faster you get. The less the read the slower you will become. Some scientific studies suggest that reading things on the screen of a computer is actually different to reading on paper. I’m not entirely convinced, but just to be certain you’re actually reaping the benefits of reading make sure you read both on and off screen. To improve your reading, think of it a little like sprinting. You have to run as fast as you can regardless of whether you can maintain the speed or not. When you are first beginning training yourself to speed read, don’t worry so much about comprehension. As your retrain your eyes to move along the page at a faster rate, you’ll begin to take more in.

 2. Pick the operative words 

One fatal mistake when it comes to non-recreational reading is that we read all of it. It’s very rare that all of the text will be relevant to you. To improve your reading pace identify what it is you’re looking for. Then pick three or four words that will describe that thing. From there you can run your eyes over the text. Every time you see a relevant word stop and read a few sentences surrounding the word. If it applies, congratulations. If it doesn’t apply, then keep skimming through. This way you’ll be able to ascertain just how relevant the material is. If you don’t see any words that seem relevant then either rethink your operative words or move on to the next paper. 

3. Read the first and last line 

There’s a lot to be said for introductions and conclusions. Remember learning about topic sentences in high school? Well, this is why you use them. Academic literature uses these to highlight what they’re going to say. When you’re in a rush, don’t bother with the rest of the paragraph. Just focus on the first lines of every article. By the time you reach the end, you’ll have a general idea of what’s being said. Additionally, if you read the last line of every paragraph, you’ll have a concluding statement and a linking statement. The linking statement usually explains how the next section will connect to the first. This is important because it will show you the pace that the essay evolves at and any assumptions that you need to be aware of. 

 4. Don’t sound the words aloud in your head 

When reading a lot of readers like to ‘speak’ the words in their head. This is a waste of time. Your brain is capable of comprehending the phrase without sounding it out. The more you read, the more you will be able to do this. But to begin with, help yourself to lose the habit by reciting random words in your head as you read. I began doing this by saying ‘aeiou’ over and over again while I was reading. To do this at first, it is best, to start with relatively simple reads. Try reading opinion articles or Buzzfeed pieces. They’re much easier to comprehend than academic literature and will build your confidence. You may be surprised at how much you can understand without having to focus too much on sounding out the words. 

 5. Dot point as you go 

A critical issue with speed reading is that people are concerned they can’t read quickly and understand the text. A simple way to of getting around this is to write one word describing the paragraph. Skim read the article as fast as you can and then summarize it immediately. The use of summaries in one or two words helps to lessen the fear of not understanding. The human brain is far less reliant on the sound of the words than people think. When reading the shape of the letters is just as important.

 6. When you don’t understand keep reading 

This may sound a little counter-intuitive. However, the biggest trap for slow readers is that they are hesitant to move on before they understand something. That will slow you down. Some points are poorly explained, and it will take multiple readings to understand. You need to know that if a point is badly explained it’s likely not essential to the argument and is irrelevant to your reading. It may also be that you’ll come to understand it when you read something later in the document. Your best bet when trying to rush your way through a massive pile of information is just to keep reading. Stopping and rereading things will break the rhythm of the reading. That may also cause you to read slower.

Australian Universities - the gap in Australia's potential

Many of you who know me will know that I am currently traveling around lots of universities picking out which one I will attend for my proper law degree.

During my travels I've realised one key thing; academics as Australia sees it is entirely flawed. When I

Foleys bookstore - haven for academics!

applied for Australian Universities they asked for one thing.

My grades.

My entire academic year was spent with the dreadful realisation that my entire legal future depend upon a single number, one decimal too low and I'd be struck out of the contest.

Generally I welcome competition, finding it to be a rousing challenge that encourages all players to strive to present their best. Yet throughout the year I observed myself and my peers facing what was an increasingly obvious set of biases. Some were in our favour and some were against.

Australia operates several complex systems of education, but all have some similarities. If you don't understand or recognise what I describe, don't worry- chances are it's different in your state, or no one ever told you.

As a student studying third year law and high school I spent many hours traveling between academic institutions. I had a passion for law and it grew throughout the year as it fostered by my university. They were a wonderful beacon of support and I owe them many thanks and gratitude; my issue is not with the universities, the institutions or the people within them but the poorly way in which the system is applied.

So what am I proposing?

Those in America or Europe have the fantastic opportunity to provide a letter.

Generally known as a personal statement these little excerpts usually sit at around 400-500 words and provide some insight into the applicant's reason for applying.

For law, which is fast becoming Australia's new throw-away degree, this would be an invaluable method of assessment. Not only can you consider students based on aptitude, but also on drive and passion. Many of my peers are choosing to study law – but about 1% actually intend to join the legal force.

Why then are they studying law?

Many claim that understanding the law gives them fantastic grounding in other careers. Never mind that they'd be better served in management and economics or politics course which gives them a working understanding of law and it's implications upon society.

Personally, I think we have so many students changing degrees and feeling unsatisfied because universities are simply drawing students out of a hat and plonking them down where ever they see fit.

No longer do we see students considering seriously what they apply to study. As the options are so flexible that if you really truly wanted you could migrate all they way from english literature to specialised medicine.

Is this fantastic?

No.

There are arguments for increased flexibility- but I'd have to reply to all of those – I've never seen so many Australians with a lack of passion. The question 'what do you want to be?' is answered with laughs and 'I'm only young, I don't want to be tied down.'

This mentality is devastating to our young people. Not only does it create a culture where knowing where you want to go in life at a young age is strange, almost comedic, but it prevents exploration. From reception to year 11 students stroll through, introduced to various careers in short brief meetings. Some students may do work experience – but no one takes that seriously.

And in the end, you could have worked as hard as you could, doing work experience, speeches, seminars, reading, and none of it would matter.

The universities will never see that work, nor will they be interested in it. The future will literally rest upon how you compare to the rest of your country. A reasonable thing when you consider you do want the best and brightest in attendance...but do they always show up in high school?

And why would the best students put effort in at high school? Consistent reminders that their futures are far-far away and continuous reminders that choosing a career now will 'only tie them down' ensure no student bothers to put effort in. High school seems like an endless desert, in which every work sheet is just a time filler until the final year.

So why do I bother to write about this now?

In foreign high schools the students I've met have been encouraged from middle school to find a topic of passion. Students have started up news letters, podcasts and even contact great researchers in a bid to be their assistants. Lo and behold, they have been successful. They are not tied down – and while their system is far from perfect it does provide students with empowerment.

Universities also receive the personal statement, this statement shows off all the work they have done in their field of passion.

Then the system truly becomes a competition as students throw not only their academic scores into the ring but experiences, revelations and future aspirations. Universities suddenly have the blindfold removed and they can piece together a cohort that will not only help each other to succeed but will bring prestige and pride to a university.

I hope in the future, universities around Australia will begin to implement the use of personal statements.

Currently, as a recent graduate I feel that Australian schools are failing to foster the maturity and potential of other students. Therefore forward thinking and well developed universities must implement the personal statements into their application processes in order to find the students that are not only academically brilliant but possess a passion or aspiration that the university will be proud to help them achieve.