Reading and Writing

Steps in Skimming an article

-Read the title(common sense) -Check the introduction or lead-in paragraph -Read the first paragraph completely -Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph: a. Main idea of most paragraphs appers in the first sentence b. If the author's pattern begin with a question or anecdote, pay attention to the last sentence of the last paragraph (If there are subheadings, read each one and look for connection)

Steps in scanning an article

-always remember the key information that you are looking for in the text -anticipate in what form the information is likely to appear -analyze the organization of the content before jumping into conclusions a. If material is quite lengthy, a preliminary skimming may be necessary to determine which part of the article is needed to be scan

Look for...

-clue words that answer WH questions -proper nouns -unusual/capitalized words -enumerations -qualifiers -Typorgraphical Cues(italics, boldface, underlined, asterisk)

Reading

Most often used for quickly reading material that does not require more detailed attention.

Scanning

Scanning is a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific information quickly. Rapidly covers great deal of material in order to locate a specific fact or piece of information. In scanning, you have a particular question in your mind and you read a passage only to find the answer, ignoring unrelated information. Useful for finding specific date, name or fact without entirely reading it. It is usually used in everyday life. For example, when you're looking up a word in a dictionary or finding your friend's name in the contacts directory of your phone.

Purpose of scanning(why use)

Scanning is an important first step in reading comprehension. Scanning prior to reading can help you understand the main points of the article. An example of it is during standardized tests, who can scan both the article itself and the standardized test questions before reading in earnest. Scanning an article also helps you understand the article's main points before you dive into the meat of the article. This can make it easier to critically read the piece and to develop questions.

Difference of Skimming and Scanning

Skimming and Scanning use fast reading abilities but are different methods for different purposes. While skimming is concerned with finding general information, namely the main ideas, scanning involves looking for specific information. Skimming is used to preview a book quickly to decide if it is worth reading or to cast an eye over an article for the main points. A reader who is skimming can read more text in less time. The skimmer reads the first few paragraphs in detail to get the general message. Scanning on the other hand is a reading skill that enables the reader to look for a specific piece of information within an item of text. A reader will scan for a particular number in a phone directory for instance or a name on a list.

Skimming or Scanning?(more convenient)

Skimming and scanning are both reading techniques. These reading skills help students, needing to get information from the written word, access the required information more effectively. As per the article that I've read, Skimming helps readers glance over a page to pick up the main ideas, quickly reading as many 1,000 words per minute, while scanning enables readers to quickly move through large amounts of material to find specific details, covering up to 1,500 words per minute. Skimming can be a good way to preview information before focusing on a more in-depth reading. Scanning can be a convenient tool for writers looking for a fact to include in a report or for looking up a word in a dictionary. Both of them have different purpose, it just matter to the given situation if we will use skimming or scanning.

Skimming

Skimming is a strategic, selective reading method in which you focus on the main ideas of a text. It is rapidly moving your eyes with the purpose of getting only the main point and general overview of the content, because there is no need to read every word when skimming. This method is extracting the essence of the author's main messages rather than the finer points, a good tool for conducting research and writing papers. For example, many people skim read a newspaper article just to get a quick overview, or a text could be skimmed to see whether it's worth reading in detail. It can also be a good pre-reading tool to help a reader decide if a more thorough reading of the material is needed.

Purpose of Skimming(why use)

Skimming is done and applied mainly to quickly identify the main ideas of a text such as when reading a newspaper, it is probably not done word by word, but instead done by scanning the text, which is moving the eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words or phrases. It is useful when searching for a specific information rather than reading for comprehension. The major function of skimming technique is to gather the gist of a text, without wasting their time.

Pre-reading

Skimming is more thorough than simple previewing and can give a more accurate picture of the text.