Module I.
Law School Techniques: SPEED READING
Francis Bacon wrote, “Reading maketh a full
man; conference a ready man and writing an exact
man.”
Reading is an acquired habit. In law school, there is no
learning without reading. There is no learning without
comprehension.
Like all human activities, reading can be thought of as
a type of habit. What you read doesn’t matter very
much as long as you enjoy it.
Basic speed-reading techniques:
 Preview material from which you want only the
main ideas. Skim for key words and phrases.
 Read flexibly.
- Most experts believe learning to read
flexibly is the real key to speed-reading.
- Fast look when getting through repetitious
material. Slower reading tempo when the
information on the subject is unfamiliar.
 Go slowly when you need to take in all the
details.
 Concentrate. Reading is a mental process. If
you are distracted while reading, you will
proceed slowly and not remember what you
have read.
 Use typographical clues to get the general
content. Headlines, bold-faced lead-ins, and
bullets guide you through the material,
indicating what you can skip and what you
need to contrite on most.
 Read a lot. It’s necessary to keep good reading
habits sharp by practicing.
 For each chapter, it is wise to start with a brief
explanatory scanning, a rapid glance through
the contents.
 If the chapter or article is important enough,
outline it to sketch the structure of thought
and reveal its logical sequence.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body,”
wrote Richard Steele in The Tatler.
A common complaint you will hear from students is,
“Each of my law professors must think his class is the
only one I have.” Nevertheless, the reading has to be
done.
LEGAL TECHNIQUES AND LOGIC | EH 201
Are there any shortcuts?
Happily, yes, if you know speed reading techniques.
But you must determine the time you will need for
reading, schedule your reading time and develop
active reading habits and study skills so that you do
not waste time.
Reading the assigned pages is essential. But you can
note any paragraph headings, which can help you in
the outline of the material you are studying.
Take note of chapter titles, end-of-chapter summaries
and questions, glossaries, topic sentences, materials
printed in boldface or in italics, and illustrations.
Reading Speed
Your speed in reading with top comprehension will
depend on a number of factors, such as the following:
 Familiarity with the subject-related
terminology. – If you are already familiar with
the subject, you will already have a framework
on which to build and you will be able to read
quite quickly because you will not have to stop
to think about what the words might mean.
 Difficulty of the text.
 Urgency and stress levels. – Have you ever
noticed that when you absolutely have to read
something immediately you find that you can’t
read fast? Stress will slow you down.
 Mood.
Eyes.
The main reason why we tend to read slowly is
because we read with our ears instead of with our eyes.
The Pacer
 A pacer (or a pointing device) is a tool that will
help you to eliminate most of your speed-
reading problems.
 It can be your finger, a chopstick, a pencil or
pen, anything that you can use to place under
the words on the page.
 A pacer helps to eliminate most distractions,
and it includes an extra sense in the reading
process.
 More tips: - Comments of agreement/disagreement of
ideas by the text.
1. Discuss class lectures with friends. To increase
comprehension of reading materials, share what you Summarize. If you can summarize the main ideas of a
have learned with friends. section in a chapter, that’s a pretty good indication that
you have actively engaged in the reading and absorbed
2. Do not fixate on word-by-word reading. Let your the concepts.
peripheral vision see “chunks” or packages of prose.
The secret to reading faster and still understanding
Reading what you have read, is to see more words as your eyes
move across the page. People who can see a whole
Although by this stage you are an expert reader, you word at a time will read faster than people who can
are unlikely to have had much experience, if any, of only see a letter at a time.
reading legal materials, such as case reports and
statues, so in this respect you are a novice again. Also, you cannot read faster if your vocabulary is
deficient, because you have to constantly stop and
The following key points will help you read the consult the dictionary for the meaning of certain
materials for your law course more effectively. words. Increasing your word power will lead to faster
 Titles are there to help you. speed and more comprehension in reading.
 Scan the text first. – Skim through it, look for Happy reading!
the key words and phrases which will give you
the general sense of the material.
 Approach the text gradually. – You may not
need to take notes on the whole chapter, but
only a part of it; similarly, with an article.
 Statues must be read carefully and precisely. –
When you read a section of the statute, try to
establish the main idea first, then you can re-
read it and fill in the details on the second
reading.

Annotate

It’s natural to simply read a chapter from beginning to

end, but it’s not the most effective way to read, and
understand the content you’re reading. Most experts
recommend active or critical treading.

You won’t learn if you simply read. The vast majority of

experts recommended annotating your textbooks as
the best form of active reading – in other words,
making notes in the margins.

What exactly do you write when you annotate?

- Thoughts on connections between the

book you’re reading and the others you’ve
read.
- Restatements in your own words.
- Definitions of unfamiliar words.
- Your own system of symbols to make
important passages, such as exclamation
(!) for key points and questions (?) for
points you have doubts.

LEGAL TECHNIQUES AND LOGIC | EH 201