Reading - 2 goals

Skimming vs. Scanning

Skimming

• Moving eyes quickly over the text
• Trying to get main ideas, and a general overview of the content

Steps in skimming

• Read the TITLE - short summary of content
• Read 1st sentence of each paragraph
• Read last sentence of each paragraph
• Read subheadings (if there are any)
• (main idea of most paragraphs appears in 1st sentence)

Scanning

• read rapidly to locate a specific fact or information
• (specific name, date, etc.)
• not necessary to read the entire text

Steps in scanning

• Always keep in mind what you are searching for
• Anticipate what form the info. is likely to appear (numbers, names, etc.)
• Scan several lines of print at a time
• When you find it, read entire sentence
• You must skip over large sections of text without actually "reading" or understanding everything

Remember:

• Skimming/Scanning are for speed reading
• They have different purposes
• They are not to be used all the time
• The point is to get information quickly without wasting time