Detailed Notes on Skimming

and Scanning

English Language Skill---Composed and compiled by Ms Rabia Akram, Ms Noor-ul Saba

 Question
We are just reading the words or looking at the words but are actually wing to make out the underlying
meaning of the text So we should prepare questions in our mind and look for the answers while reading the
text.
 Read
The reader should read selectively if they are looking for any specific.
 Recite
The reader should answer the questions in his own words using only the key words that are required to sum
up the complete idea
 Review
The reader should review the entire things in his mind.

Reading is the basic foundation on which academic skills of individuals are built. As we know the paramount
importance of reading, it is given the top priority in primary education Many believe that reading is a true
measure of a person's success in academics. Most of the subjects taught to us are based on a simple concept –
read, understand, analyze, synthesize, and get information.

Difference between intensive and extensive reading

Intensive reading - you read with concentration and great care in order to understand exactly the
meaning of what you read. This is particularly necessary for legal documents, financial documents, academic
reports and anything to do with business.

Extensive reading- you read as many different kinds of books/journals/papers s you can, chiefly for
pleasure, and only needing a general understanding of the content.
Reading is a great habit that can change human life significantly. it can entertain us; amuse us and enrich us
with knowledge and experiences narrated.
There exist some reading techniques, which if mastered at a growing stage can help us, be better and far more
comprehensive readers.
These skills might not necessarily be learned as rigid theories or rules but if understood well once they can
definitely enhance the reading skills and increase the quality and quantity of output that we get from after
reading.
The followings are seven styles / techniques of reading used in different situations
1. Reading Technique-Scanning
Scanning through the text is a reading strategy that is used for getting some
Specific points by looking at the whole text.
For highlighting the important points of a book the readers can skim through The summary of the preface of
the beginning and ending chapters of that book.
For example,
This technique is used for looking up a name from the telephone guide book.
2. Reading Technique-Skimming
This reading technique is used for getting the gist of the whole text lead We generally use this technique at the
time of reading newspaper or magazine Under this technique, we read quickly to get the main points, and skip
over the detail.
It is useful in getting a preview of a passage before reading it in detail or reviving understandings of a passage
after reading it in detail.
3. Active Reading Style
Active reading aims to get an in-depth understanding of the text. Under this technique the reader actively
involved with the text while reading it Getting in depth knowledge on the text at hand is not possible by
reading to skim through or scan through the text
4. Detailed Reading
Detailed reading means reading something carefully to get accurate information.
In this careful reading we can skim the text first for getting a general idea and then go back to read in detail.
We can use our dictionary to find the meaning of every unfamiliar word.
5. Speed Reading:
Speed-reading is actually a combination of various reading methods. The aim of speed-reading is basically to
increase the reading speed without compromising the understanding of the text reading. Some of the
strategies used in speed reading are as follows:
 Identifying words without focusing on each letter
 Not to sounding-out all words
 Not sub-vocalizing some phrases
 Spending less time on some plates then others
 Skimming small sections.
6. Structure-Proposition-Evaluation
This is an interesting reading technique suggested by Mortimer Adler in his book How to Read a Book.
This reading technique is mainly applicable to non-fiction writing This technique suggests reading as per the
three following patterns:
 Studying the structure of the work.
  Studying the logical propositions made and organized into chains inference
 Evaluation of the merits of the arguments and conclusion.
7. Reading Techniques: Survey-Question-Reading-Recite-Review
This method aims facilitating a clear understanding of the text that the reader would be able to teach
whatever he has learned during the process of reading. The process involves five different steps, which are as
follows:
 Survey
Survey involves getting a quick idea on the whole writing piece example, reading the introduction or summary
of a book will be noted to get an idea on that book.

The clues which help the reader to find out a particular piece of information maybe a whole
sentence, some words, a single word, punctuation mark, or alphabetical order or numbers etc.
The development of scanning skills needs training of eyes to move quickly looking for the clues
related to the required information. Scanning is useful to answer the questions such as:
 Fill in the blanks
 Mark true and false
 Cross matching
 Multiple choice items
 Short answer/questions
Reading Speed:
If we keep in our me the following important points about reading we can develop a
foundational work to enhance reading speed.
Reading is.
 An active as well as a receptive skill.
 Decoding a message
 Extracting information from a text
 Getting specific questions answered.
 Making sense of the text an interactive process
 Predicting and interpreting
 Referring to and inferring information from a text
 A constant process of guessing.
 Constant making and remaking of hypothesis
The following principles of learning to read may also be considered as pre-requisite for
developing appropriate speed in reading
i. The reader must develop an appreciation of the pleasure of written language.
ii. The learner needs to develop the basic sense of what print looks like and how it works
iii. Awareness of spelling patterns that recur across words hastens progress in reading.
iv. Although the ability to sound our words or important learning to read, it is not enough.
Written language is not just speech written down.Instead text brings new vocabulary new
language patterns new thoughts etc. The reader must also learn to take the time to reflect on
these aspects of the text.
Finally, we shall consider some practicable suggestions and techniques to enhance reading
speed.
1. First Reading in Chunks:
In this technique our eyes take the view of group of letters and words. The reader should
develop the ability to read in chunks to take in four or five words in a single eye glance.
2. Inferring the Meanings:
There is no need to stop at difficult words just to look up their meaning in a dictionary. The
difficulty can be faced by guessing meanings of the words, keeping in view the context of their
use. If the reader develops the skill to use clues, structure and context to guess the meaning,
the interest in reading can be maintained along with improvement of reading speed.
3. Pre-viewing:
The reader should make himself conscious of the layout, headings, subheadings, paragraph
indentations and various type-faces or fonts of composing the text. Paying attention to the
printed format can speed up reading comprehension.
4. Anticipation:
If the reader prepares himself to guess what is likely to occur next in the text, he can improve
the speed of reading. This is some sort of anticipation while reading the text. He can use
certain clues like the title and sub-titles etc. that may give him an idea about the chapter or
contents of the book.
5.Silent Reading:
Loud reading reduces the speed of reading as each word has to be pronounced according to
stress and intonation patterns. Silent Reading is recommended to save time by establishing a
direct link between visual impact and comprehension.
6.Skimming:
By skimming the speed of reading can be increase. It is to go throw the text quickly to get a
General understanding one of the easiest way to skim-read is to look at the center section of a
text and then to run the eyes down the center area. It is not reading every word but reading
very quickly to get general ideas about our text
7.Scanning:
Reading quickly for a specific phase of information also increases reading the unnecessary part
of the text or not paid attention there for reading speeds get enhanced.
8. SQ3R:
SQ3R is a systematic process of reading by which reading speed as well as comprehension
(understanding) can be enhanced.
 S stand for survey
 Q stand for question
 R stand for read
 R stands for recall
 R stands for review
In the first stage the Reader collects General information through survey of the text. It is some
sort of skimming in its nature. The Reader looks at the lay out title, subtitles, table of contents,
and illustration etc. to get a general impression of the text.
In the second stage the reader makes question in his minds related to the text. It is to make
sure that he is going to involved in a purposeful study and will try to find out answer to the
questions arising in his mind.
In the third stage the reader begins reading the text. This reading is an intensive reading in
which the reader concentrates on the script, punctuation marks, variation in type (or
composing) the way of paragraph are formed, etc.
In the fourth stage the reader, the reader gets indulged in the process of “review”. This is a
repetition of the steps:
i. Survey ii. Questioning
ii. Reading iv. Recalling

BS ECONOMICS

What is skimming?
Skimming is a strategic, selective reading method in which you focus of the main ideas of a
text When skimming, deliberately skip text that provides details, stories, data, or other
elaboration. Instead of closely reading every word, focus on the introduction, chapter
summaries, first and last sentences of paragraphs, bold words, and text features. Skimming is
extracting the essence of the author's main messages rather than the finer points.

Skimming Methods

Beginnings & endings: Read first and last sentences of paragraphs, first and last paragraphs of
major sections, and introductions and summaries of chapters.

Wheat vs. chaff: Read only the amount of text necessary to determine if a section presents a
main idea or support for a main idea.

Visual & verbal cues: Watch for signal words and phrases that indicate an author's direction
(e.g., however, although, moreover, in addition to). Things to focus on while skimming:

• Introduction and conclusion

• Chapter/section summaries First and last sentences
• Titles, subtitles, and headings
 Bold words
 End of chapter review questions
Active Reading Strategies:
When skimming it’s important to continue to use active reading strategies. This keeps your
brain active, engaged and focused, and helps you understand and retain information better
and longer. Here are a few effective active reading strategies to pair with skimming:

Set a purpose for reading. Instead of approaching the text as something you just have to get
through, identify a purpose for this reading. What do you want to get out of it? Why are you
reading it? Keep this purpose in mind as you read.

Preview. Look through the text before started to read and focus on headings, illustrations,
captions, highlighted items, end of chapter summaries, etc. These features give you an idea of
the main concepts of the text and what you should focus on while skimming.

Make a prediction. Right after previewing, make a prediction about what you think the
chapter or section is going to be about

Activate prior knowledge. Make a list of what you already know about the topic and what you
want to know about it. Identify and write down any questions you have.

Annotate. Instead of copying down copious notes from the book, jot down brief notes and
thoughts (in your own words) in the margins of the text or in a notebook, PDF viewers, such as
Adobe Acrobat and Preview also let you add notes directly on the page of a digital text. Other
possibilities include note taking apps such as Ever note. One Note, or Google Keep

Summarize the main ideas. After a section or page, stop and write a^- 3 sentence summary in
your own words. This keeps your brain engaged and ensures you are comprehending what you
read.

Generate Questions: Ask and write down questions that you have as you read the text and/or
questions that you would ask a class if you were the instructor. Try using different levels of
questions.

Course Instructor: Ghulam Fatima