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Allison Swart

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

31 January 2018

If the Letters In a Word Are Mixed, What Gender Can Read It Faster?

Did you know that seventy-three percent of the human brain is water? Speaking of the

human brain, it has to do a lot with reading. Boys and girls have very different brains. That is

why I decided to put each gender’s brain to the test about reading. This reading test will have

one normal paragraph, and one paragraph with the letters mixed up. Each gender will be timed

on both paragraphs. I will average out the times, and see which gender adjusted better.​ I

hypothesized that girls will be able to adjust to the mixed up words the faster.

How Does Your Brain Read?

Well, first, infants must learn to process sounds. Second, the child must learn how to

process the distribution and patterning of speech sounds. Third, they learn to read simple words.

For example, and, the, is, for, me, and they. Next, they learn the vocabulary to be able to read

and understand sentences clearly. Finally, they must learn to read at a reasonable speed,

fluently. (Reading)

Why Can People Read Words When the Letters Are In the Wrong Order?

Your brain doesn’t always read a word as a whole. This is because your brain overlooks

the letters in the middle, reading the first and last letter. So, the first letter has to be first, and the
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last letter has to be last, for you to be able to read it. The rest of the letters in the middle of the

word can be mixed. They only thing that would change this statement would be if you added or

took away letters from the word. So, when you mix up the letters in a word, you can still read,

but you read it slower. (If)

How Does Your Gender Affect Your Brain?

Does it even matter what gender you are for something to be easier for you? It actually

does! Males and females have completely different brains. For example, females are better at

multitasking than males. Females have a stronger connection with the left and right sides of

their brains; males have a stronger connection with the front and back sides of their brains.

Males use the left side of their brain for activities, while women use both sides of their brain for

activities. Females are normally better at communication with others, while males rely on

themselves to get things done. According to Fit Brains, “Female’s brains are 8% smaller than

males’, but have more interconnections”. (Brains)

How Does Gender Affect Reading or Processing Speeds?

According to Roivainen Eka, “females have advantages in rapid naming tasks and

processing speed tasks.” Anyhow, males are faster on reaction time tests. However, no gender

performed better in verbal or nonverbal intelligence. Neither in inspection time or short-term

memory. Not in the more narrow skills measured by individual subtests of common IQ tests

either. (Roivainen)

What Factors Affect Reading Speed?

According to Lucy Hart, “As students read, they can determine the main idea and

supporting details, the sequence of events and the overall structure of the text.” Background
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knowledge is a necessary role in reading comprehension. In an attempt to take in a text, students

rely on their background knowledge, to tie what they already know to the text they are reading.

Connecting the text and background knowledge helps students become progressive readers.

Reading comprehension is a development that requires strategies and skills. Grasping

vocabulary includes observing a word’s definition, part of speech, appropriate context clues,

and its role in the sentence. These vocabulary methods can help correct comprehension.

(Cognitive)

How Do You Accurately Test Reading Speeds?

You need to test at least more than once to figure out what it is. First, you start at an easy

level. Then you go to a medium level. Finally, you go to the hardest level. Record your words

per minute each time you test. Then you will be able to see the time of your reading speed per

level of difficulty. By measuring your reading speed in three different levels you’ll get a better

idea of your overall reading speed. (Best)

I hypothesized that girls will be able to adjust to the mixed up words the faster. ​Girls had

an average reading speed of 45.5 seconds on the normal paragraph. They had an average of 36.2

seconds on the abnormal paragraph. Boys had an average of 60.5 seconds for the normal

paragraph. They had an average of 49.5 seconds on the abnormal paragraph. Girls had a

difference of 9.3 seconds. Boys had a difference of 11.0 seconds. When I looked at the results,

girls adjusted faster by 1.7 seconds then boys.

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Works Cited

The Best Way to Test Your Reading Speed. Iris Reading, Iris Reading, LLC, 8 July 2016,

www.irisreading.com/the-best-way-to-test-your-reading-speed/​.

Brains, Author Fit. “Gender & the Brain: Differences between Women & Men.” Fit Brains

Blog, Fit Brains, 18 Feb. 2014, ​www.fitbrains.com/blog/women-men-brains/

“Cognitive Factors That Affect Reading Comprehension.” Cognitive Factors That Affect

Reading Comprehension | Education - Seattle PI, Hearst Seattle Media, LLC, 2017,

education.seattlepi.com/cognitive-factors-affect-reading-comprehension-1591.html

“If You Can Raed Tihs, You Msut Be Raelly Smrat.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 31 Mar.

2009, ​www.foxnews.com/story/2009/03/31/if-can-raed-tihs-msut-be-raelly-smrat.html

Kindersley, Dorling. “Brain.” The Human Body, Dorling Kindersley , 1993, pp. 18–19

“Reading and the Brain.” Harvard Medical School, The President and Fellows of Harvard

College, 2017,

neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-br

ain-series/reading-and-brain

Roivainen, Eka. Gender Differences in Processing Speed: A Review of Recent Research.

Learning and Individual Differences, 31 Mar. 2011, eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ917070