Scanning & Skimming

Scanning & Skimming

1. How to use them in my academic life during this school year

   • We can use it a lot when we have to study a topic for a task or an activity and be able to find information in a simpler way, or we can also use it in the case of exams so that we can perform them in a better way. Also in the case of the Accounting subject, it can help us with the case of the news that the teacher leaves and with this help we can find news information more quickly since we would only be looking for important information about a news item. So in my opinion in the study it is very useful to have this help because it makes it easier for us to find information in a simpler and more detailed way.

2. Scanning

   • You can use the scanning technique to look up a phone number, read through the small ads in a newspaper, etc. For these tasks you don’t need to read or understand every word. Scanning is also useful when you don’t have time to read every word. This could be when you’re studying or looking for specific information from a book or article and need to find it quickly.
     • You can scan to look for important information. Look for key words or numbers to help you do this.

3. Skimming

   • Skimming is a reading technique that can help you read more quickly and decide if the text is interesting and whether you should read it in more detail. You can use the skimming technique when you want to identify the main ideas in the text.
     • How do you skim read?
       • When you use the skimming technique you don’t read the whole text word for word. You should use as many clues as possible to give you some background information.
         • - Read the title, subtitles and subheadings to find out what the text is about. - Look at the illustrations to give you more information about the topic. - Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. - Don’t read every word or every sentence. - Let your eyes skim over the text and look out for key words. - Continue to think about the meaning of the text.

4. How is skimming different to scanning?

   • The term skimming is often confused with scanning. • You skim a text to obtain the gist - the overall sense - of a piece of writing. This can help you decide whether to read it more slowly and in more detail. • You scan a text to obtain specific information. For example, to find a particular number in a telephone directory. Sometimes you can use both reading methods. After you’ve skimmed a piece of text to decide whether it’s of interest, you might then use scanning techniques to find specific information.