Step I: Pre-reading

Pre-reading applies entirely to nonfiction. It is not part of rapid reading as such, though it must be done quickly or its value as a timesaver is lost. It means simply that instead of beginning to read blindly you give a fast preliminary survey to every article, report, long business letter or nonfiction book to see what it is about and estimate its usefulness to you. If it has value, you go back and read the whole thing. But when a reader becomes skilled in this technique, pre-reading will often supply the gist of an entire article.

The Technique of Pre-reading

1. Magazine articles. Read the title first, with any sub­titles which accompany it. This will give you a general idea of the subject. Note the author's name and, if it is not familiar, look for explanatory facts about him on the page. These will provide a gauge of the article's authority. Examine charts, graphs, boldface material and numbered points. Look at photo­graphs and read their captions.

Next, read the first few paragraphs thoroughly, since these will contain the writer's approach to his subject. Once his theme is stated, read only first sentences of succeeding para­graphs.   If the article is well organized, these should be topic sentences, each introducing the subject of the paragraph. Toward the end of the article, when the author begins to give his conclusions, start reading thoroughly again.

In the briefest possible time you have now pre-read an article with one or more of these results:

a.You have the gist of the article and do not need to read it thoroughly — an efficient saving of time.

b.You know that it has a great deal of important new information and will repay thorough reading.

c.Your pre-reading has provided double insurance of retention since when you read thoroughly you will go over the important facts again. Your mind also has a logical framework on which to hang other facts.

2. Business reports. These can put a heavy load on any businessman's day, and the technique of handling them is quite similar to pre-reading magazine articles. Your first look is to determine whether a particular report is about a phase of the business that concerns you.  If it isn't, you may seem justified in filing it unread or tossing it into your wastebasket.   But better page through it first.  Read the first two or three paragraphs, turn the pages rapidly and stop for tables of figures or statistics to make sure they can safely be skipped.   Look for topic headings and skim the conclusion.   (See Chapter Five for skimming technique.)  It may be that some distant division manager has made a recommendation which directly affects your own activity.

3. Business letters.   A quick three-step treatment helps get through a pile of these. A glance at the letterhead and then at the signature yields an immediate estimate of the letter's probable importance to you.  Most letters come directly to thepoint, as any good letter should. But sometimes introductory paragraphs are evasive or unconsciously windy. In such cases, jump almost two-thirds of the way through the letter, where the central point is apt to be hidden.

4. Research. Pre-reading is invaluable for anyone collecting material to be used in an article, a paper, a speech or a book. When he begins his research in a library, the writer is simply noting down items which seem to touch on his subject. Then, instead of spending hours reading through this mass of material, pre-reading quickly informs him whether a particular title is worth reading further.   Instead of aimlessly skimming, the efficient researcher streamlines his task by pre-reading.

5. Books.  When you are not sure that you want to spend the time reading a book of nonfiction, pre-reading supplies the basis of decision. The author and title will have attracted you, of course, but titles are sometimes misleading, designed to catch the eye rather than provide a key to the subject. A sub­ title may help to explain it, but in most cases a reading of the inside jacket flaps provides both a quick summary of the book and a brief biography of the author.

If your interest is caught, look at the table of contents. The author's introduction is also useful, since here he usually states his purpose in writing the book. Many books of non-fiction are as enthralling as anything the novelist contrives, and there is no hesitation on the reader's part in plunging in. But a little pre-reading will still serve to put you in the author's mood and make reading more enjoyable. And if it is a biog­raphy or history, you need not feel you are cheating if you read the last chapter for the author's summing up. Your enjoyment and understanding of the whole book will be enhanced if you have a good idea of the author's conclusions.

5a. Chapters of books. When you are in doubt about the value of reading a book of nonfiction you can apply the pre-reading technique to the early chapters. My own advice is to pre-read the first two or three, then turn to the last two chapters in which the author will recapitulate and summarize. This is a particularly valuable skill for college students to acquire — the sooner the better. Freshmen often feel a sense of bewilder­ment at the size of their reading assignments and many fail because they never learn how to adjust themselves to the load. The answer is so simple. Pre-reading an entire textbook pro­vides an over-all view of what the course is about. Then the student has a comfortable idea of where he is going. He knows what to expect and is prepared for it. This is true not only of textbooks but of the massive supplementary reading required by colleges. Students can extend pre-reading here to a quick look in an encyclopedia to get an estimate of an author, his place in literature and history.

6. Newspapers. Pre-reading does not apply to news stories. Indeed, newspapers are designed for a special type of pre-reading. The headline and subheads tell what the story is about. The most important facts are in the first few sentences -— the "lead."  For example:

"Keeping guards and customers at bay with submachine guns, two masked men held up the Tenth National Bank shortly after noon today and escaped with loot estimated at $30,000."

So the lead of a news story might read. The account will continue to supply supplementary facts, but they will become less and less important. They will be details that are pertinent and interesting but can be safely skipped now that you have the main outline of the story.

This style of organization does not apply to other parts of the newspaper. Columnists, special stories, editorials, book and dramatic reviews may be pre-read if you wish, though the newspaper is a matter of such immediate interest that prereading should be of the quickest sort, a kind of in and out technique which you will develop at your own pace.

Begin to Practice Pre-reading Now

Pre-reading is the first of the seven steps to faster reading. To make it work for you, the technique must become a habit. You must remember to practice it with every piece of non-fiction you come across. You have set out to become a better and a faster reader. You are going to do it yourself, without the discipline which regular classroom sessions provide. To succeed, you must consciously adopt the techniques of Modern Reading with everything you read. Don't concentrate on them only in the work periods you set yourself when you are using this book. Use them constantly. In that way you acquire the habit.

It is important to remember that pre-reading is a quick once-over. Do not allow yourself to make it a leisurely survey from which you suddenly burst into a flurry of rapid reading. That's not what pre-reading is for. Its first purpose is saving time. This goal will be lost unless you press yourself to reach conclusions swiftly.

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