Intensive reading

When we think of reading techniques, we think of a series of resources designed to improve the speed at which we read and understand texts. This is because most of the time the main thing for us is to finish reading in the shortest time possible, obviously without sacrificing comprehension.

However, as strange as it may seem, all reading techniques do not seek to make the reader read faster than usual, some only focus on comprehension, leaving speed as a secondary factor that can be sacrificed without any problem.

As an example of this type of reading techniques we have intensive reading, which is very popular because of its proven effectiveness when dealing with certain texts, where a high level of comprehension is required.

With this in mind, we will dedicate the following guide to delve into the basics of this reading technique, so that you can learn about its applications and incorporate it into your study sessions.

What does it consist of?

The intensive reading technique is focused on maximizing the reader's comprehension levels by reading more intensely and in greater detail than usual. The reading time during this technique is usually longer than when we read as we are used to normally, this is because we must stop to understand in detail each element or concept that we come across.

When we read intensively, every word counts, we should not hurry to move from one paragraph to another until we are sure we understand to the maximum the one we have just read. It is a learning reading, where we not only pay attention to the meaning of the words, but also analyze the structure of the sentences, the context, the wording, among many other technical elements.

Intensive reading is the opposite of extensive reading. We read extensively especially when we read for fun, to enjoy a novel or a story, where perhaps it is not so important to pass a paragraph without mastering it thoroughly, because the context of the next one will make us understand the elements that we did not understand.

Recommendations

The use of intensive reading is reserved for certain types of texts, which are usually complex or more technical than usual. Such is the case of an instruction manual of a household appliance, where our intention when reading is to understand how the equipment works. Here we cannot apply an extensive reading because it is very important to understand correctly each of the points described in the manual.

If you are learning a new language and you start reading small texts in that new language, listening to songs or watching movies subtitled in that