When you have a specific question to answer or information to collect, you need to be able to skim a page quickly to find the section you need. You can do this by scanning a text for a keyword.

Skimming and scanning

Can you define the three highlighted words above?

Skim: to read something quickly so that you only note the important points.

Scan: to look quickly and not very thoroughly through a text in order to identify relevant information.

In which specific situations do you think it would be a useful skill to be able to skim/scan quickly and accurately?

Keyword: a word of importance.

Skimming Quickly identify main ideas of a text

Skimming is 3 to 4 times faster regular reading

Used when there is a lot of material and a short amount of time

Skimming Skimming is reading selectively to get a general idea of what an article is about.

Read some parts/skip others.

Look for the most important ideas.

Read for main ideas.

Skip facts and details.

Find out the answer to the following question by skimming the passage below.

What were the names of Degas’s father and mother?

Degas’s background would never have suggested he was to become the revolutionary painter he was. He was born in Paris, on 19 July 1834. His father, Auguste de Gas, was a banker but his mother, Célestine, died before Degas reached his teens.

Degas’s father was called ___________________

Degas’s mother was called __________________

Skimming

Answer:

You could have read through the whole piece of text until you found the answer. A quicker way would be to find the keywords in the question – in this case ‘father’ and ‘mother’ – then run your eyes down the text, flicking them from left to right, until you found the same (or similar) words in the article.

If all you want is one piece of information, skimming can

be a time-saving device.

Skimming

I find it’s especially useful when

you’re researching something and

you don’t want to have to read

whole pages on a subject just to get a

few pieces of information!

Purposes for Skimming Skim through a review of the metric system if you already are familiar with it.

Skim a section of a reference book if you are looking for specific information.

Skim a

newspaper

report if you

wish only to

understand the

main events.

Skim a movie

review to make

a decision on

seeing a movie.

.

How to Skim Read the first and last paragraph

Read headings, subheadings, titles,

subtitles, and illustrations

Read the first sentence of every

paragraph

Skimming works well with dates,

names and places

Use Skimming Effectively

Preview skimming

Overview

skimming

Review skimming

.

Skimming NewspaperArticlesRead the:

Title.

Opening paragraphs.

First sentences of remaining

paragraphs.

.

Skimming Magazine

Articles

Read the:

Title/subtitle/byline.

Opening paragraphs.

Photograph/captions.

Headings/first

sentences.

Last several

paragraphs.

.

Read Photograph Captions.

Limitations of Skimming

Cannot expect to retain facts and details.

Expect 50% comprehension rate.

Use only when reading for general concepts.

.

Scanning

Used to search for key terms

When you know what you are looking for

you can through texts to find the

information

Good to use when determining whether a

source will have the answers you are

looking for

Find and circle the following words in this passage from Jane

Austen’s Emma as quickly as possible:

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

She was the youngest of two daughters of a most affectionate, indulgent father, and had, in consequence of her sister’s marriage, been mistress of his house from a very early period.

Scanning

CLEVER HOME UNITE DISTRESS MARRIAGE EARLY

Scanning A way of reading to look for specific

information in a text.

For looking up a phone number, for

browsing TV schedules, timetables, lists,

catalogues or web pages for information.

E.g. How many sons does the mom have?

Scanning – How?

Don’t read every word or every sentence. Let your eyes move quickly across the page until

you find what you are looking for. Use clues on the page, such as heading and titles,

number, names to help you

How to Scan

First look at how the author organizes

his information

Look for bold faces, italics, or different

sized fonts

The author may also put key information

in the margins of pages

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.

Scanning Practice Here is some information you are looking

for on the BC Hydro website.

Read the questions and then on the next slide , find the answers, as quickly as possible:

1. Who is handling inquiries?

2. What is the after hours media line?

3. What is a good example of BC Hydro Clean Energy Project?

Scanning answersRemember it’s important to quickly find the information you

need. You don’t need to understand every word, or read every

word. Your eyes should quickly scan the document for the

information you seek.

Conclusion

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 topic

think about what we already know

about the topic

start 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.

Thank you