If, in reading, you exert as much effort in conceptualizing these meaningless words as you do important ones, you limit not only your reading speed but your comprehension as well. A great way to distill meaning out of a paragraph is to take brief notes. For most students in most subjects reading once is not enough. Instead, skim once as rapidly as possible to determine the main idea and to identify those parts that need careful reading. Reread more carefully to fill the gaps in your understanding.
Good reading is selective reading.
It involves selecting those sections that are relevant to your purpose in reading. Rather than automatically rereading, take a few seconds to quiz yourself on the material you have just read and then review those sections that are still unclear or confusing to you. The most effective way of spending each study hour is to devote as little time as possible to reading and as much time as possible to testing yourself, reviewing, organizing and relating the concepts and facts, mastering the technical terms, formulas, etc., and thinking of applications of the concepts - in short, spend your time learning ideas, not painfully processing words visually. Many college students feel that it is somehow sinful to skip passages in reading and to read rapidly. The abundance of books and printed matter brought about by the information explosion creates a reading problem for everyone.