There are several different speed reading techniques I have been reading about recently. Some, like skimming, are not appropriate for material that is going to be tested on the CFA exams. This is in part due to the trivial pursuit type questions that can be asked. But I’m wondering if anyone who has taken any of the tests (and I know I am asking on a level one forum, but it applies to all levels), has been able to sucessfully study using a speed reading method to get through the material. Granted, practice questions (q-bank, passmaster) and review tests are also going to be part of any study plan.
CFA exams are not speed reading competitions. You have to understand the concepts and their relationships. You might find that you will retain information better when you slow down.
“Speed reading” is bullsh-t. I can read very fast but after a certain point it becomes completely ineffectual. Take your time, there are no shortcuts – the closest thing to a shortcut with this exam is Schweser notes.
if all you need is 70%, why not exclude 15% of the text on the right and left hand edge of the page. Will take you 30% less time to read (though admittedly slightly less understanding) but you should get 70% of the facts and I’m sure you’d pick up a lot of the rest of the detail when doing questions. I sometimes wish I could do that thing Kim Peak can do: independent eye movement to read 2 pages simultaneously, read a book an hour and recall 98% of content. Wonder how long it would take him to do the CFA? Sadly us mere mortals will probably have to read every single word (several times) and then still only get 65% of it and never ever, ever really fully understand deferred taxes.
reading is only required on the ethics part. the other questions are pretty short and concise
a meant that material - not the exam. Speed reading the exam would be suicidal - because of missing the “not likely to cause”… “least likely to be due to” sort of questions
oh if you mean material then yea just skip the boring parts. Thats pretty much similar to speed reading
d11j0d Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > if all you need is 70%, why not exclude 15% of the > text on the right and left hand edge of the page. > Will take you 30% less time to read (though > admittedly slightly less understanding) but you > should get 70% of the facts and I’m sure you’d > pick up a lot of the rest of the detail when doing > questions. > > I sometimes wish I could do that thing Kim Peak > can do: independent eye movement to read 2 pages > simultaneously, read a book an hour and recall 98% > of content. Wonder how long it would take him to > do the CFA? > > Sadly us mere mortals will probably have to read > every single word (several times) and then still > only get 65% of it and never ever, ever really > fully understand deferred taxes. Ugh, death to deferred taxes.
I don’t expect to speed read through the materials in a day and pass the test… I dont expect to speed read 70% of the words, one time through, and then be able to explain deferred taxes… I don’t expect to sleep with the books under my pillow and retain the information… I’m simply asking if anyone has been able to use speed reading techniques to read through the materials faster. The speed reading programs and books claim you will retain more information… It is hard to believe.
Speed reading generally doesn’t work for finance and accounting textbooks, imo. Every word is important.
speed reading=speed failing 
Doesn’t work nivler…
i actually tried to read the texts quicker and found i wasnt retaining - which is key for CFA. you really need to read the LOSs and then read text. otherwise its just gibberish… sorry to burst your bubble
maratikus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CFA exams are not speed reading competitions. You > have to understand the concepts and their > relationships. You might find that you will > retain information better when you slow down. This is pretty much wrong. Speed reading has been shown to increase comprehension. I’d recommend Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Kump.
Wow, really surprised you guys all feel this way. I read moderately fast (~800 wpm for CFA texts) and I did fine. Photo reading and skimming don’t work so well with dense material, but fast linear reading is superior to slow linear reading. Most of what people know about reading is a wrong because reading is taught incorrectly in schools
Isura - Thank you for standing alone on this. I have heard and read enough about speed reading that it just about shocked me that nobody had any experience or faith in speed reading for material like this. I have read that the average reader reads somewhere in the range of 200 words per minute. Thus, it is good to hear that you can increase speed and comprehension using good techniques and practice. The book you recommended has good reviews on Amazon. Have you looked at or consered any of the computer programs that claim they help with speed reading? The price range is very broad. Some for $30-$40… others are in the hundreds.
Those are pretty incredible rsults Isura…
interesting - i wasn’t aware of a technique of literally reading faster! I assumed speed reading generally involved missing out the edges to get a general idea of each sentence and then putting it together. I’m gonna check out that book
- *reads FSA: share-based compensation in half the time* - *realizes he has to read it all over again* speed reading is pretty good if you’re reading harry potter or something, not for this
i rather read slowly and understand the concept well than reading fast and having to go over many times.