Reading Comprension!

[Kosal]

Hello Professor:
My name is Kosal, from Cambodia. I found that Reading Coprehension in Toefl Test is dificult. Although I've known some strategies, skiming, scaning but I still could not found it easier or even more faster to read. So Could you please, give me some advice how to get better or faster accurate reading skill?

Thanks you very much in advance.
Sincerly yours
Kosal

[Ouisch]

I'm a native speaker, and quite often I find it difficult to skim or scan an article and still understand the meaning. I'm one of those people that needs to read the whole piece in order to comprehend it. The one advantage is, after many years of having to read the entire piece, my speed has increased. The only advice I can offer is to continue to read everything you can, and if it means reading word-for-word (instead of scanning), then do so. The more you practice, the faster you will get.

Good luck!

[Tdol]

When skimming look for things in the text that give you clues about the importance of items. Look for capital letters, which will help you pick out the names, look for numbers, any features like bold or italics. Move your eyes fast, both from side to side and up and down. Look at the first sentence of a paragraph- it's generally the topic one. Look for words that link text- however will show that there is a contrast between two sentences, so look quickly left and right to see the information that is being contrasted.
Try timing yourself. Take an article and look at it for two minutes, say, then write down everything you can remember from it.