Category: 
March 28, 2010I was wondering, which is a better way in terms of efficiency and absorbing material when reading? Or does it vary? I’ve heard some mixed answers about this.
Do you mean reading "word FOR word" (which is what you typed) or "word BY word"? These are two very different things. Proficient readers often read "word FOR word," though they often skim, also. They rarely read "word BY word."
Efficient and skillful readers actually use multiple strategies during reading. Decoding individual words via phonics, word roots, surrounding context, and other clues is ONE of these strategies. Generally, though, reading one word at a time (word BY word) is very slow and ineffective. Highly skilled readers spend very little time reading in this fashion.
Try it out for yourself, to see what I mean. Find an article that is written at a challenging level for your reading skill level and personal vocabulary. Cover all but the first line of text with a sheet of paper. Then cover the first line with a ruler or with your right hand and arm. Starting at the beginning, reveal just one additional word at a time as you read across the page. Continue in this fashion on the second line, and so on.
If you’ve chosen a challenging piece, what you will find is that, as you go along word by word, it is very difficult to keep in your mind the overall picture of what the sentence is telling you. Focusing on just one word at a time like this gets in the way of the meaning.
Normally, proficient readers unconsciously scan through chunks of text and make meaning for themselves out of familiar word combinations, longer phrases, and even entire sentences. They also skip back and forth through the text, returning to earlier pieces of a sentence or paragraph — or looking ahead — in order to help make sense of what they’re reading.
Key words or phrases (for instance, "even though," "despite," "because of," every time that") tip proficient readers off as to other pieces of a thought they should expect to find. So does the rest of the paragraph or larger portion of text that surrounds or has preceded whatever piece of text is currently being processed. This kind of sense-making happens at lightning fast speeds, typically with no conscious awareness of the process.
What this means is that it is crucial for a reader to develop an instant recognition of a very large number of words and phrases, in order to become liberated to perform this kind of more sophisticated processing. The reader who is stuck sounding out word after word will not get into the flow of the text and grasp the picture it is painting.
As for reading "word FOR word," THAT phrase generally has to do with reading without skimming text or skipping over any words or phrases. Often, a proficient reader is able to skim through a very large quantity of text in a very short time while still getting the main points.
This is somewhat similar to the processes I have already described. The reader notices and relates key words and phrases while skimming through text. He or she is able to fill in the gaps with lightning-fast, generally unconscious inferences, based on the bits and chunks that ARE read.
Again, the reading need not be linear; the reader may skip back and forth, retrieving additional words as necessary and making sense from scattered pieces considered together. However, since the goal is just to get a general sense of the main ideas expressed, this "back-and-forth" strategy often plays a smaller role in skimming than in a more thorough method of reading.
Skimming is less effective than word-for-word reading when it is important to notice less conspicuous details, as when the reader is trying to understand the logic of an argument or a scientific explanation. Similarly, if it is important to pick up the details of a passage about historical events, skimming will be ineffective.
Relatedly, skimming is also less effective than word-for-word reading in absorbing the rich imagery that makes so many novels delightful to experience. The experience of "losing oneself" in the text becomes more like a sterile, detached encounter with a "CliffsNotes" synopsis.
I hope this relatively brief discussion is helpful in giving you a bit more insight into some factors related to your question. Entire careers have been built around answering questions like yours!
Horaayy..there are 2 comment(s) for me so far ;)
reading word by word sometimes changes the meaning or thought of the whole sentence or phrase.
References :
own opinion
Do you mean reading "word FOR word" (which is what you typed) or "word BY word"? These are two very different things. Proficient readers often read "word FOR word," though they often skim, also. They rarely read "word BY word."
Efficient and skillful readers actually use multiple strategies during reading. Decoding individual words via phonics, word roots, surrounding context, and other clues is ONE of these strategies. Generally, though, reading one word at a time (word BY word) is very slow and ineffective. Highly skilled readers spend very little time reading in this fashion.
Try it out for yourself, to see what I mean. Find an article that is written at a challenging level for your reading skill level and personal vocabulary. Cover all but the first line of text with a sheet of paper. Then cover the first line with a ruler or with your right hand and arm. Starting at the beginning, reveal just one additional word at a time as you read across the page. Continue in this fashion on the second line, and so on.
If you’ve chosen a challenging piece, what you will find is that, as you go along word by word, it is very difficult to keep in your mind the overall picture of what the sentence is telling you. Focusing on just one word at a time like this gets in the way of the meaning.
Normally, proficient readers unconsciously scan through chunks of text and make meaning for themselves out of familiar word combinations, longer phrases, and even entire sentences. They also skip back and forth through the text, returning to earlier pieces of a sentence or paragraph — or looking ahead — in order to help make sense of what they’re reading.
Key words or phrases (for instance, "even though," "despite," "because of," every time that") tip proficient readers off as to other pieces of a thought they should expect to find. So does the rest of the paragraph or larger portion of text that surrounds or has preceded whatever piece of text is currently being processed. This kind of sense-making happens at lightning fast speeds, typically with no conscious awareness of the process.
What this means is that it is crucial for a reader to develop an instant recognition of a very large number of words and phrases, in order to become liberated to perform this kind of more sophisticated processing. The reader who is stuck sounding out word after word will not get into the flow of the text and grasp the picture it is painting.
As for reading "word FOR word," THAT phrase generally has to do with reading without skimming text or skipping over any words or phrases. Often, a proficient reader is able to skim through a very large quantity of text in a very short time while still getting the main points.
This is somewhat similar to the processes I have already described. The reader notices and relates key words and phrases while skimming through text. He or she is able to fill in the gaps with lightning-fast, generally unconscious inferences, based on the bits and chunks that ARE read.
Again, the reading need not be linear; the reader may skip back and forth, retrieving additional words as necessary and making sense from scattered pieces considered together. However, since the goal is just to get a general sense of the main ideas expressed, this "back-and-forth" strategy often plays a smaller role in skimming than in a more thorough method of reading.
Skimming is less effective than word-for-word reading when it is important to notice less conspicuous details, as when the reader is trying to understand the logic of an argument or a scientific explanation. Similarly, if it is important to pick up the details of a passage about historical events, skimming will be ineffective.
Relatedly, skimming is also less effective than word-for-word reading in absorbing the rich imagery that makes so many novels delightful to experience. The experience of "losing oneself" in the text becomes more like a sterile, detached encounter with a "CliffsNotes" synopsis.
I hope this relatively brief discussion is helpful in giving you a bit more insight into some factors related to your question. Entire careers have been built around answering questions like yours!
References :
Teacher education coursework on reading and reading education.