Changing your relationship

to words on the page

In speech, one word always follows another, and the same is

true when you read one word at a time. When reading in clumps,

however, your eyes are like a camera that can take rapid-fire pho-

tographs — your eyes take a snapshot of several words, and your

mind processes and understands what the words convey. Reading

in clumps is a way of perceiving the words on the page rather than

merely reading them. Instead of reading word by word, you read

idea by idea. You read aggressively, scouring the page for ideas

rather than words.

Widening your reading vision

Reading in clumps requires you to stretch your reading vision.

Don’t be afraid to aggressively take in several words at a time;

instead of beginning a line on the left margin, move the center of

your vision — your macular vision — a third of the way into the

line and begin reading there. Rely on your peripheral vision to take

in the words to the left and right of the word you’re focusing on.

The same idea applies to the end of a line — use your peripheral

vision to take in the last few words instead of reading all the way to

the end of the line.

When you read in clumps, you discover how to read a line of text

with fewer eye fixations. And to do that, you have to stretch out

your reading vision. You have to read with eyes that are wide and

ready.