How to Tackle Dense Reading
I currently have a stack of books to read that include dense, technical material such as McKinsey's "Valuation" handbook. I struggle to absorb the information in such a way as to be able to use the information later. To say it is slow going would be an understatement, since some of this material is more dense than my college textbooks.
Are there any techniques or strategies people use to get through technical material? I want to make the most out of what I am reading and not just sit there without processing it.
Thanks in advance!
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I recommend an ice pick.
Try doing some case studies.... working through problems may help. figure out your learning bias. i.e., learn by doing or absorb theory and simply apply.... Some people can read a reference book and absorb it. Most cant.some professors throw stuff at you to drown you, or because they are lazy... The Naval Academy intentionally overloads people to teach them to prioritize under pressure... expect some programs and real life to do the same.....
Thanks for the response. Good point about the learning bias. I don't struggle much in class because of assigned problems and case studies, it is more about reading these books for fun and trying to create my own ways to get engaged. I definitely learn by applying and seeing how things work. Any tips?
Any type of studying/learning is about finding your best way of retaining information. I learn best when teaching material to others, unfortunately this only works while in school or showing my dogs how to fetch. Until you know how to best learn, I can only suggest that you actively work through the readings. Read a concept, try and apply it to another scenario and work a problem (most technical books have practice problems, concept reviews, etc).
Also, google helps http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-teaching-studen…</a">click-here
You can find materials of similar topics or browse the internet to get a clear picture of them.
When I'm studying for CFA and when I used to study for exams, I use a legal pad and just create an outline of the material. I write down all the definitions/formulas to both help memorize and as a way to go back. Things like a consulting or valuation handbook isn't something you take one pass at and fully understand. But if you retain the main principals, and take good notes; than it's a useful resource for you to be able to go back to seek details. Or just get some adderal
Improving Reading Speed and Ability (Originally Posted: 03/08/2012)
I never liked reading growing up, be it fiction, non-fiction, etc. I was one of those guys who'd rent the movie when asked to read a book if there was a movie on the book available. You get the picture.
I learned along the way as I had to get better grades. I notice more and more that good reading skills is becoming one of the essential skills needed in the investment world, ie. reading speed, ability to consume large amounts of material, attention to important / relevant details, etc.
I notice that compared to others I don't read as fast and often have to go through few sittings to finish what others do in a sitting.
That said, what can you suggest or have done in the past that helps improve reading ability, focusing on improving reading speed and amount you can read and also improving attention to detail and spotting important items.
Thanks.
hooked on phonics.
How is your reading comprehension level not up to par ? Are you not in college?
read more
This book helps me tremendously! Read, understand and practice the principles laid out in this classic. Hope that helps
http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Touchstone-book/dp/0671212095/ref=s…
There is no easy solution to this, you just have to read more. Do you have a daily reading queue that you work through every morning? That can help...
not sure how effective it is, but this post is the first thing that came to mind
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/07/30/speed-reading-and-accel…
To comprehend quickly, you need to understand proper structure. First para or two should introduce the topic and the argument/key thesis (the "point"). subsequent paragraphs should elaborate/provide supporting evidence. Final paragraph should provide some sort of conclusion/extension.
If an article/report is well written, you should be able to understand the key points by doing the following only -
this should give you a sense of the most important points the author is trying to get across. then go back and read the first sentences again and see if any are points significant enough to be worth drilling into and getting details.
Thans just speed, comprehension comes with just reading, a lot, and quality stuff. Reading newspapers (WSJ, NYT), long-format journalism (The New Yorker), novellas/plays (Shakespeare, heart of darkness) are great ways to build these skills. Also try reading longer, classic works although this takes a lot of free time!
Also, don't just read, but read critically, analyzing structure. Print out a copy of a newspaper article and mark it up, highlighting the introduction, body and conclusion. think about the role/purpose of each sentence. Ask yourself, what is the point? What are the key supporting evidence? what is the conclusion? how has the author laid this out? Once you have the structure down, you can start analyzing content (how well does the evidence support the thesis? what would be additional supporting/contradictory evidence? etc).
Thanks for the tips.
Just read as much as possible and you will get better at it over time. I always loved reading ever since I was a kid, so always had great comprehension, and didn't think it could get much better. I was wrong, ever since I started working at a hedge fund, I read the equivalent of hundreds and hundreds of pages every day, and I can definitely tell the difference. It is also important to get variety, everything from textbooks to newspapers to non-fiction to novels. Challenge yourself with difficult classical novels, dense papers, etc.
Macro,
That's the issue I'm having. Reading comprehension per se, like those in SATs are no problem, so is school (textbooks, reports, etc). Its the ability to devour the hundreds of pages (ie. annual reports, papers, econ. reports, etc.) at a reasonable amount of time and being able to have good attention to detail as well as keep tabs of important items, which becomes a difference maker at work.
Once I get to about 150-200 or so pages in a sitting my mind starts to wander or wants to do something else, not to mention, my getting through the 150-200 pages is often slower than those who read well. Its not so much that I'm tired of work at that given point in time, since whenever I start getting tired of reading, I being to look for other things to work on. So the issue is definitely the reading part.
How do you become a better reader and retain more info? (Originally Posted: 04/08/2015)
Hey Guys,
I have been reading a lot lately and was wondering what do you guys do to actually retain what you read? Do you take notes - if so what do you note and how? Do you write it down in some sort of diary - computer notes? Do you read the book twice? Do you think after each chapter - what have I learned?
I was considering getting into the habit of ending each day and thinking about what I learned and write it down somewhere. What do you guys think?
I know some books are formatted very well for retention. For example Good to Great and How to Gain Friends and Influence People both have a small chapter resume and section resume at the end of each section - these books I can just reread those parts to help remember the content.
Anyways - shoot away your different reading/information retention techniques.
Thanks!!
try reading as fast as you can and then summarizing it in your mind without looking back.. start doing this for each paragraph, then each page, then each chapter...
I had a problem with retaining what I read in the past. I just reread the chapter until I could fully summarize it. If by the end of each chapter you cant tell a random person about it in the shortest way possible, reread it.
Reading speeds? (Originally Posted: 05/07/2015)
I believe Buffett reads at 1000+ wpm, I'm probably around 500-600 wpm ~, give or take.
How fast does everyone here read? (if you've tested it)
Both Buffet and Charlie Munger have said they are not speed readers. It's about how well you retain the information, not how fast you get through it.
http://www.dorseyasset.com/docs/Notes2011BerksHathawayAGM.pdf
Because I believe in improving myself. I'm able to read twice as fast while maintaining the same comprehension because of knowing my reading speed.
I assume everyone here wants to improve their selves, reading fast is a valuable skill. I have a few analyst friends that know their reading speed, so I didn't think that was so far-fetched
We'll see how you feel about speed reading when you take a huge loss because you missed something in the footnotes of a 10-k.
Effective Reading Tips (Originally Posted: 10/11/2016)
Hi WSO,
I am a freshman at a semi-target. I am interviewing for an investment banking club in December, so I subscribed to the WSJ and the Economist. As a guy who hasn't read that much before college, I was wondering how to get the most out of these two publications.
I'm assuming reading the Money & Investing section in the WSJ and the Finance & Economics section in the Economist. Would this be enough?
Thanks.
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