Writing & Research · pattern C, Text in
Paste a passage to see how long it takes to read silently at a range of speeds, from careful academic reading to a skim. Useful for planning a reading list or checking whether a set text fits the time you have.
time = words ÷ words per minute
238 words per minute is a widely cited average for silent reading of non-technical prose. Dense academic text runs considerably slower, often 100 to 150 words per minute with note-taking.
14 sec
56 words at 238 words per minute.
The same person reads a novel at 300 words a minute, a journal article at 150, and a proof at 40. Averages published for silent reading describe unfamiliar but straightforward prose, so applying them to a technical set text produces a plan that fails in week two. If you are budgeting reading for a term, time yourself on a representative page of the actual material and use that figure instead.
If the number is not the part you are stuck on, that is what the service is for — a specialist who explains the working, not just the answer.
Counts, readability scores and citation formats are guides. Your institution's word-count rule and its preferred style-guide edition override anything shown here.