© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Chapter 13: Skimming and Scanning Efficient and Flexible Reading, 8/e Kathleen T. McWhorter

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers In this chapter you will learn: 1. To skim to get an overview of an article. 2. To scan to locate specific information quickly.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers 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.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Purposes for Skimming Skim through a review of the metric system if you are already familiar with it. Skim a section of a reference book if you are looking for specific information for a research paper. Skim a newspaper report if you wish only to understand the main events. Skim a movie review to make a decision on whether to see a movie.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers How to Skim Read the following items: The title. The subtitle or introductory byline. The introductory paragraph. The headings. The first sentence of each paragraph. Keywords. The title or legend of any graphics. The last paragraph or summary.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Use Skimming Effectively 1. Preview skimming 2. Overview skimming 3. Review skimming

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Limitations of Skimming You cannot expect to retain facts and details. You can expect a 50% comprehension rate. You should use only when you are reading for general concepts.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Alternating Skimming and Reading In a given article, you can skim several sections until you come to a section that is of particular interest or that fulfills your purpose for reading.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Internet Sources Scroll through the document by using the down arrow or page down key. Scroll through the entire document quickly, noticing the major headings, graphics, and length before you read.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Textbook Chapters Focus on: 1. Chapter objectives and introductions. 2. Headings and typographical aids. 3. Graphic and visual aids. 4. Review and discussion questions.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Reference Sources Focus on the: 1. Date. 2. Organization of the source. 3. Topical index.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Newspaper Articles Focus on the: Title. Opening paragraphs. First sentences of remaining paragraphs.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Magazine Articles Focus on the: 1. Title/subtitle/byline. 2. Opening paragraphs. 3. Photograph/captions. 4. Headings/first sentences. 5. Last several paragraphs. Read photograph captions.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Skimming Nonfiction Books Focus on the: 1. Front and back cover of the book jacket. 2. Author’s credentials. 3. Table of contents. 4. Preface. 5. First and last chapters.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Scanning Scanning is searching for a specific piece of information; your only purpose is to locate that information.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers How to Scan 1. Check the Organization. 2. Form Specific Questions. 3. Anticipate Word Clues. 4. Identify Likely Answer Locations. 5. Use a Systematic Pattern. 6. Confirm Your Answer.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Scanning Columnar Materials 1. Check the overall organization. 2. Scan for a specific word, phrase, name, date, or place name. 3. Use the arrow scanning pattern… straight down the column. 4. Focus on the first letter of each line until you find the letter that begins the word you are looking for.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Scanning Prose Materials 1. Let your eyes drift quickly through a passage searching for clue words and phrases. 2. Move your eyes across sentences and entire paragraphs, noticing only the clue words to locate an answer.

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Critical Reading Tip #13: Anticipating Your Reading Assignments 1. What is the difficulty level of the material? 2. How it it organized? 3. What is the overall subject and how is it approached? 4. What type of material is it? 5. Are there logical breaking points where you might divide the assignment into portions, leaving a portion for later study? 6. At what points might you stop and review? 7. What connections are there between this assignment and class lectures?

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Summary 1. What is skimming? 2. What steps should you follow to skim effectively? 3. What are the three types of skimming? 4. What is scanning? 5. What steps are involved in the process of scanning?

© 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Longman Publishers Go Electronic Take a Road Trip on the CD-Rom to the Indianapolis Speedway and visit the Reading Rate module.