Common Bad Reading Habits and How to Fix Them

Many academics devote their entire professional lives to honing their writing style. Despite its importance in academic life, however, the art of reading is frequently disregarded.

Whatever stage of your academic career you're in, it's probable that you've already logged thousands of hours reading a wide range of difficult texts. When presented with reams of reading information, it's easy to just plough through it, paying little attention to your technical reading abilities or aptitude.

You might be startled to learn that you have one or two terrible reading habits that are preventing you from progressing. Now is the time to identify and correct any negative habits that are impeding your reading progress, effectiveness, or pleasure. The following are the eleven most common errors that people make:

Reading one word at a time

The majority of people are actually competent readers who can read at a good pace using strategies they learnt as toddlers. One way you might still use now and then is to pace beneath each line with your index finger. However, as we are obliged to get more particular with our knowledge, people begin to read much more slowly, concentrating on one word at a time, in the hopes of improving their comprehension rates.

Surprisingly, the brain is capable of absorbing brief sentences and sets of words at a breakneck speed! When you consider that half of your information is made up of the most common 100 words in the English language, slow reading becomes even less necessary!

Solution: Simply read through a paragraph a little faster the next time and try reading groupings of words rather than individual words. This will help you maintain a faster speed and train your eyes and mind to accurately capture essential information! However, mastering this technique may take some time and effort.

Reading everything at the same pace

Reading at the same time is undoubtedly good. Though it may appear strange at first, this is not the case. Text that you find really simple to understand, on the other hand, is not worth wasting time on, especially if it contains information you already know. Similarly, slowing down a little for difficult passages ensures you won't have to re-read the material later, which is one of the most time-consuming bad reading habits many people have (regression).

Solution: The next time you read, try slowing down for difficult passages and speeding up for easier ones. You'll be astonished how much more knowledge you'll absorb! If you merely need a quick overview of the information, use tried and true approaches like skimming and scanning.

In Low-Light Reading

This is a terrible habit to have. When reading in dim light, you won't be able to see the text well, which can lead to misinterpretation and inaccuracy of what has been written by a reader due to missed punctuation, all due to poor lighting.

Solution: When reading, make sure direct light falls on the item you're reading, whether from a natural or artificial source. From the left, if possible. Good lighting relieves eye strain and eliminates the need to squint in order to read correctly. According to experts, halogen and fluorescent lamps provide superior illumination for reading materials than standard incandescent bulbs.

It's also a good idea for right-handed readers to have the light striking the text on their left side, and vice versa.

Vocalization and subvocalization

What does it mean to "vocalize"? This is when you begin reading aloud and pronouncing words. Subvocalization is the same concept as subvocalization, except it involves uttering words in your brain. It is, without a doubt, one of the more contentious bad reading habits. Many people have developed it because they feel that hearing and reading material helps them remember it better. In actuality, it significantly slows down your reading.

Solution: Stop doing it by concentrating on groupings of words rather than single words! Stopping this "poor reading habit" takes time, and deliberately thinking about not vocalizing the text can distract you from your work.

Giving up on books

It's sometimes just too simple. We all have those days when we're just not feeling it. We get such a bad book hangover sometimes that any book after that is just mediocre.

Solution: The author is most likely urging you to do so. You'd be urged by the characters. Before quitting ship, give it your all. That's not to imply you should read every book from beginning to end. If you want to stop reading a book, you probably have a very good reason. However, if you find yourself being a serial book-ditcher, regroup and make sure you give each book a fair chance. Isn't it true that they are deserving of such a reward?

So, I hope it was of some assistance to some of you. If not, well, it's fine as long as you're reading, right? After all, there's no such thing as a bad way to read!

Regeression

Regression entails going back in time and re-reading material. It's annoying to have to repeat yourself when speaking, and it's the same when reading. Even if you understand a line completely, you may find yourself reaching the end of a page and rereading it out of habit, which is a waste of time. This is referred to as regression.

Solution: This is a rather straightforward situation. Reread chunks of content only if you don't understand them the first time. This issue will be explored extensively later, but reading phrases just once will reduce your chances of developing undesirable reading habits. What if you want to read more? Try a different text on the same topic. This will broaden your understanding of the subject and, more than likely, lead to the discovery of new and interesting knowledge!

Re-reading old favourites instead of new books

When it comes to having too many books and not enough time, consider this... Harry Potter should be put down. Set aside The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, or whatever safe haven book you'll always return to.

Solution: We're both aware that you've read them numerous times. And we both know that there are a lot of books on your TBR list that you should be reading before the next wave of new releases arrives. Once you've finished reading the rest of your stack, that book will be waiting for you.

Unrest

This is caused by a lack of interest in reading. Because they are restless, most people cannot read for long periods of time. They frequently indulge in a variety of diversions along the road.

Because it impacts most people's vocabulary development, this behavior surely slows down reading speed.

Solution: People should drive themselves to set goals, achieve those goals, and ensure that their objectives are met.

Reading ahead

Okay, certain bookworms are particularly guilty of this. We can't help ourselves sometimes, as much as we despise spoilers!!! You must know even if it is as easy as reading the last line on the last page of the book.

Solution

What is the most effective strategy to break this reading habit?

Willpower. *sigh* Yes, it's anticlimactic, but then again, so is any book's ending when you already know how it ends!!! Consider how much better the book would be if we read it from beginning to end in page number order.

Overabundance of information and a lack of preparation

Leaving things till the last minute is never a good idea, and reading is no exception. When you leave reading to the last minute, you often find yourself cramming as much knowledge as possible into your head. Even if it isn't left until the last minute, many people do it anyhow. This can lead to misunderstandings and a breakdown in communication between the text and you, resulting in significant discrepancies between what you read and what you actually understand.

Solution: Pre-reading preparation is a fantastic strategy to start with, especially if you can do it a day or two ahead of time. You'll be astonished at how much knowledge you can obtain just skimming the text and the internet for key points on the topic.

Bad reading posture

Bad reading posture includes laying in bed while reading or reading while holding the book in one's lap. These postures make the reader feel uneasy, and the reading becomes tedious.

Solution: Sitting straight-backed on a comfy chair is one of the greatest postures.

Books and other printed materials should be placed 14 to 18 inches away from the reader's eye, according to experts. The eye muscles might be fatigued by reading books that are either too close or too far away.

Only dialogue is read.

So, this is a variant of the previous problematic reading habit. Even if you aren't jumping chapters or skipping to the end of the book, you shouldn't just read dialogue. We understand how tempting it is to skip over the writing, especially in interaction with your OTP (believe us— we understand), but you must read the prose as well!!

Solution: Consider the following scenario. It has more background information and specifics. It contains additional delicious details about the place or characters. If you skip all of the extra wonderful things, you can miss out on important facts!! Moments of foreboding!!! Don't you want to be ready for the big reveal in the end?