Paste any passage, choose your pace, and follow the highlight as it sweeps across the text a few words at a time. It is built for UCAT Verbal Reasoning practice: less subvocalising, more meaning held at speed. 400 wpm is the default target.
Choose the speed and chunk size before you add the text. 400 wpm is the UCAT practice target, but the right speed is the one where the meaning still stays with you.
Chunk size is personal preference. Use as few or as many words as you need, then widen it when phrases start to feel natural.
Paste something clean and readable: a Wikipedia section, a news article, a textbook paragraph or a UCAT-style passage.
The whole passage stays on screen. Let your eyes ride the highlighted words as they move across it, and try not to silently say every word.
Read it back normally and check what stayed with you. If you cannot explain the passage in one sentence, lower the speed or narrow the chunk size next time.
The aim is not to skim and hope. The aim is to stop saying every word in your head and start taking in meaning in small groups. That is the skill UCAT VR keeps testing under time pressure.
After a run, say the passage back in one sentence. If you can do that, the speed was useful. If you cannot, slow down or use fewer words per chunk. Fast reading only matters when comprehension comes with it.
Start somewhere around 400 wpm. It's a sensible UCAT pace to aim for, not a magic number. If the passage is dense, slow down; if it feels easy, push faster.
Word chunks are personal preference. Some people read best one word at a time, others can take in a whole phrase at once. Start narrow, widen it when phrases start to click, and don't overthink it. Get experimenting and keep whatever actually lets you follow the meaning.
It trains you to move through a passage without getting stuck on one-word-at-a-time reading. That can reduce subvocalisations and make it easier to hold the main idea while the clock is running.
Subvocalising is the habit of silently saying the words as you read. It can be useful for hard sentences, but it often slows students down in VR. The goal is not to remove it completely. The goal is to stop relying on it for every line.
400 wpm is the default because it is a useful UCAT pace target. Start lower if the passage is dense. Use higher speeds for short drills only when the meaning still stays clear.
Use whatever works. Some students need one or two words. Some prefer a whole phrase. There is no prize for using a bigger chunk if your comprehension drops.
Yes. Wikipedia, news articles, textbook paragraphs and UCAT-style passages all work. Cleaner text is better because headings, ads and captions can interrupt the rhythm.
No. This is a reading pace drill. Full VR practice is still where you train inference, author attitude, keyword tracking and answer selection.
Because you need to check what stayed in your head. If the full passage feels unfamiliar after the run, the speed or chunk size was too ambitious for that text.
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