Saturday, 3 September 2022

Reading Strategies Skimming and Scanning

 SKIMMING & SCANNING

          ‘Skimming’ and ‘Scanning’ are two different reading strategies used for different purposes. Both of them are very useful strategies. Both of them involve rapid eye movement and looking for key words to move quickly through a text.

1.   Skimming:

·         Skimming consists of reading the text quickly in order to find out what it is about and how the text is organized.

·         Skimming tells us what general information is within a text.

·         Skimming helps us save time.

·         It is very useful way to  get a preview of the text.

·         While skimming we may miss the finer shades of meaning.

Skimming is used to:

(a) overview the chapters of a textbook or any other book

(b) review the lessons for a test

(c) do preliminary research for writing an article

(d)know if a book is interesting when you want to buy/ read it.

Process of Skimming:

(i)          Read the introduction to the text – It briefly tells us what the text is about.

(ii)         Read the titles, headings and subheadings of sections.

(iii)        Read the first sentence of each paragraph

(iv)       Read the concluding sentence of each paragrapgh

(v)         Read the words highlighted in bold

(vi)       Go through the visual representations in the text – such as images, diagrams and tables, which will also give an idea of the text.

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2.   Scanning:

·         Scanning is rapid reading (fast reading) in order to find specific facts.

·         Scanning is used to locate specific facts for information.

·         Scanning is a reading technique to be used when we want specific information quickly.

·         In scanning, we have a question in our mind and we read a passage to find the answer, ignoring unrelated information.

·         While scanning, we shall scan tables of contents, summaries, indexes, headings, and typographical cues.

Steps for Scanning:

(a) Note down the specific facts you are looking for

(b) Decide on a few key words or phrases that will be used as search items.\

(c) Look for one key word or phrase at a time.

(d)Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might contain the information you are looking for;

(e) Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.

(f)  Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help you locate the answer. For example, if you are looking for a certain date, you have to quickly read the paragraph looking only for numbers

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Ref: Internet sources & English Praxis Text Books by the APSCHE

NOOJILLA SRINIVAS

Lecturer in English

Govt. Degree College, Alamuru

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh

Mobile: 7981862200; email: noojillasrinivas@gmail.com 

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