5 Tips to Become a Better Reader
No matter your age, with these quick tips you can become a better reader.
1. Find the subject and verb in every sentence. The meaning of the sentence centers on the subject and verb.
Example: The volume of so-called Parcel Select packages—a USPS service aimed at businesses including FedEx, UPS, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.42% — surged nearly 500% to about 1.29 billion packages in 2013 from about 223 million in 2009.
First, notice the verb, “surged.” What surged? “Volume”
Verb=surged
Volume=subject
2. Mentally, put prepositional phrases in parentheses to understand the meaning faster and easier.
Example:
Because the Postal Service has enough cash (on hand) (for only about two weeks) (of operations), Mr. Donahoe is counting (on Congress) to pass a proposed bill that would give the Postal Service more financial flexibility, (with options) like cutting Saturday letter delivery.
3. Do not re-read. Read once carefully and in a focused manner to avoid frantic re-reading.
4. Do not mouthe the words as you go. Your eyes can move faster than your mouth.
5. Learn basic grammar
Knowing different parts of speech will help you to dissect a long sentence.
-What is a preposition?-Prepositions indicate direction-to, from, for, with, by, under, along
Why are prepositions important?-They cannot contain the single word subject or verb of the sentence. To understand the most basic meaning of a sentence, ignore them.
What is a verb-The verb indicates the action of the sentence. There are some exceptions…”is” is a verb as is “has, have, had”
Let’s dissect/diagram this sentence
The Postal Service reached its $15 billion credit limit with the Treasury Department in 2012.
Subject: Postal Service
Verb: reached
Direct Object: its $15 billion credit limit
Prepositions: with, in
Prepositional phrases: with the Treasury Department, in 2012
After identifying the verb, “reached,” think what did the Postal Service [subject] reach?
Example Sentences come from the WSJ Article,
For FedEx and UPS, a Cheaper Route: the Post Office by Laura Stevens
