Skimming and scanning

Skimming and ScanningReading strategies

Skimming and scanning are very rapid reading methods in which you glance at a passage to find specific information. These reading methods make it easier for you to grasp large amounts of material, especially when you're previewing. They are also useful when you don't need to know every word.

Skimming and scanning are especially valuable when there is only one item of information that you need to find from a particular passage.

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information or ‘gist’. It’s not essential to understand each word when you are skimming.

Run your eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation.

Examples of Skimming:Examples of Skimming:

The Newspaper – to quickly get the general news of the day

Magazines – to quickly discover which articles you would like to read in more detail

Business and Travel Brochures – to quickly get informed

How to Skim?How to Skim?

Working quickly…

1. Read the title if there is one. 2. Read the introduction or the first paragraph if there is

one. 3. Read the first sentence of every other paragraph. 4. Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs. 5. Notice any italicized or boldface words or phrases. 6. Read the summary or last paragraph if there is one.

Let’s practice skimming Let’s practice skimming using the questions below.using the questions below.

Choose a heading that best matches the upcoming paragraph. Remember to underline your key words.

• Parents are to blame for the state of children today.

• A report with many conclusions and worries about the United Kingdom.

• Growing up unhappy generation• There are so many social problems

young people face today.

Let’s skim the first and last sentences from Let’s skim the first and last sentences from the passage.the passage.

In recent years, evidence has been collected which suggests that the proportion of British children and teenagers who are unhappy is higher than in many other developed countries around the world. For example, a recently published report set out to measure ‘ well-being’ among young people in nineteen European countries, found that the United Kingdom came bottom. The report was based on statistics and surveys in which young people answered questions on a wide range of subject. The United Kingdom is a relatively unequal country with a relatively high proportion of young people living in households. With less than half the national average income. This seems to have a negative effect on how they feel about themselves.

So what’s our answer?Choose the heading that best matches the previous paragraph.a. Parents are to blame for the state of children today

b. A report with many conclusions and worries about the United Kingdomc. Growing up unhappy generationd. There are so many social problems young people face today

Examples of Scanning: A google search list on the internet. A bus / airplane schedule A conference guide A graph

Scanning is a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific information quickly. In scanning you have a question in your mind and you read a passage only to find the answer, ignoring unrelated information.

How to scanHow to scan1. State the specific information you are looking for.

1. Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help you locate the answer. For example, if you were looking for a certain date, you would quickly read the paragraph looking only for numbers.

1. Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might contain the information you are looking for.

1. Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.

Let’s practice Let’s practice 1. What can you save from shopping at this place?2. How many good reasons are there for shopping there?3. What is the telephone number?4. What can you earn with Argos?5. What are the names of the catering firm?6. How long does the offer last?

Conclusions Conclusions Skimming and scanning is used when

reading all types of documents. We skim to get the idea of what a

document is about and typically skim all documents before we actually begin to read.

As we skim, we…think about the topicthink about what we already know about

the topicstart to guess or anticipate the details we

are going to read about.We scan for specific information.We work quickly when we skim and

scan.