When you’re reading you don’t have to read everything. Sometimes you need to be able to read a text very quickly.
For example, to look up the word ‘valuable’ in the dictionary you wouldn’t start at the letter A and read every word. The best way is to turn to the letter V and then find the word you want.
This is called scanning through the dictionary. Scanning is one type of fast reading. You are looking for specific information.
Skimming is another type of fast reading. You might use skimming to look through a text quickly to get the gist (the general idea). So, if you want to know what’s going on in the news, you might skim through a newspaper or a news website. You wouldn’t have much detail but you would find out the main points.
Skimming and scanning are both quick reading techniques but they have different purposes.
You might use scanning to:
Look up a word in a dictionary or index
find an address or a phone number in a directory.
Check what time your program is on television
Look up details or prices in a catalogue
Can you give another example of scan reading?
You might use skimming to:
See what’s in the news in a paper or on a website.
Browse through a book to see if you want to read it.
Look through the television guide to see what’s on one evening.
