Reading techniques skimming vs scanning
- 2. Average Reading-do not skip material-cover all of the material-higher comprehension (understanding)-50% considered good-slower
- 3. Skimming VS ScanningSkimmingScanning-fast reading-get main idea not all details.-must leave out parts-may leave out ½ to ¾ paragraph once you have the main idea of the paragraph-comprehension is lower, try to comprehend as much as you can while reading at an average speed-comprehend 50% of what you are reading-twice as fast-usually done with material you know nothing about*note as speed increases, comprehension decreases-reading technique used when you want to locate a single fact or specific bit of information without reading every word-eg scan TV lisitings in paper to find time of show-phone directory when you want to see a show-fast way to find info-must be accurate in terms of finding a specific TV show or Phone #-often done with material that you know something aboutEg) telephone directory you already know the name of the person. What else do you know?
- 4. TIPS For Skimming1) Read the first several paragraphs-this will help you to identify the topic of the article, the subject, a little of the authors style, the authors viewpoint, and so on.-leave nothing out, but read at your top speed.-authors usually give an intro in the first few paragraphs, this helps get an overall picture of the article2) Leave out Material-Once you have a general overview of the article, you should begin to leave out material right away-so by the 4th or 5th paragraph you may read only the key sentences to get the main idea and skip the rest of the paragraph-let your eyes jump ahead, picking up one or two important words, phrases, or numbers
- 5. TIPS For Skimming3) Find the Main Ideas-Try to get the main idea of every paragraph plus a few facts-you will not get all the facts but you may get some-sometimes the main idea is not in the first sentence, sometimes it is in the middle or the end of the paragraph-this may take extra time to find-some paragraphs may not have a main idea -the final paragraphs often summarize the story or article so they may be worthwhile to read more fully4) READ FAST-The purpose is to get the author’s main idea at a very fast speed… don’t get too caught up in details
- 6. TIPS For Scanning1) Note the arrangement of infoAlphabeticalNon AlphabeticalProse-look at title, subtitle, illustrations, once know general organisation easier to understand2) Keep clue words in mind-when you find the section most likely to contain the info, you are ready to begin scanning-eg telephone directory-clue word is last name-looking for baseball scores clue word is baseball
- 7. TIPS For Scanning3) Scan quickly-purpose is to locate info quickly, a high rate of speed is essential-with clue words in mind, try to scan as much of the printed matter as you can in the least amount of time-don’t get distracted by unrelated words or info-if you find yourself beginning to read words or paragraphs, stop reading and begin to move your eyes in a scanning pattern-read more careful once you find the cue words 4) Make accuracy your goal-Accuracy is just as important as speed-need specific info-once found info you need to check that you are correct-high speed is only useful if you find the exact info you need.-Goal 100% accuracy
- 8. StudentsCopy the 4 BOLDED tips for Skimming and Scanning into your notes* Note to Self add source