Remember Everything You Read: The Evelyn Wood 7-Day Speed Reading \& Learning Program pdfdrive com

Your Own Special Study Space
John, a very bright fifteen-year-old, consistently scored a B-minus or
lower on his tests at school, even though he claimed to spend several
hours a day in study.
When a counselor evaluated John’s methods, however, she discovered
that he studied in environments that worked against effective reading
and note-taking. In the first place, John spent several hours a week in
the company of his girlfriend while “studying.” Predictably, he
accomplished very little. On one such occasion, for example, he covered
only five pages in a history text during a two-hour period, and he could
remember practically nothing of what he read.
Second, John devoted an hour a day to “studying” in the school
library. But in those sessions, he was halfheartedly trying to read or
work at a large common table, where jokes were constantly cracked,
notes were passed around and other distractions got in the way.
Third, during the few hours he managed to work at home, John either
opened his books in front of a television set or in the presence of loud
rock music. Consequently, the boy made little headway in his
assignments.
The only time John really began to 
move
with his reading was just
before his exams, when the pressure was on and the fear of failure
loomed large. Because he was intelligent, he managed to cram enough
information into his head at the last minute to pass, and sometimes he
even scored in the low honors category. But he never reached his full
academic potential.
The first corrective step for John, as for any other mediocre student
who wants to make it to the top, was to find a better study space. He

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needed a well-equipped, comfortable “cockpit” which would allow him
to do his job without unnecessary distractions. A pilot confronted in his
working environment with as many interruptions and distractions as
John faced probably would have lost control of his craft, and might have
crashed.
In the previous chapter, we’ve already considered some of the
important ingredients of an effective study space. A good place to study
becomes even more essential for those who hope to hit the fastest
academic speeds. So let’s consider in greater detail what space needs the
best students typically require for top performance.