Easier- There are different styles of reading for different situations. The technique you choose will depend on the purpose for reading. For example, you might be reading for enjoyment, information, or to complete a task. If you are exploring or reviewing, you might skim a document. If you're searching for information, you might scan for a particular word. To get detailed information, you might use a technique such as SQ4R. You need to adjust your reading speed and technique depending on your purpose.

Many people consider skimming and scanning search techniques rather than reading strategies. However when reading large volumes of information, they may be more practical than reading. For example, you might be searching for specific information, looking for clues, or reviewing information.

Harder - Web pages, novels, textbooks, manuals, magazines, newspapers, and mail are just a few of the things that people read every day. Effective and efficient readers learn to use many styles of reading for different purposes. Skimming, scanning, and critical reading are different styles of reading and information processing.

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it.

When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.

Reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper. Although they can read and comprehend at the same rate as paper, skimming on the computer is much slower than on paper.

advantages: save tme, search only for specific information, get a very basic idea what the reading is about, and then you can decide whether or not you need to read it more carefully, it provides a general overview of the reading, it may get you more interested in the subject

disadvantages: superficial, not specific enough to be able to tell all the details, to pass an exam about it. You often have to go back and re read the entire passage again to understand it

Skimming Tips

Recall how you find a name in a telephone book? You don't read any more than necessary to find the name you seek. Notice that you go directly down a column of news. Maybe you use your finger to guide your eyes. This type of reading is usually called scanning. Skimming uses the same type of skill mechanically but a different skill mentally. In scanning, you know what you are looking for. In skimming you don't.

Since you don't know exactly what you are looking for while skimming, prepare yourself by reading the title, source, author, and picture: then you question yourself, -- who, what, when, where is this likely to be mainly about? With a questioning mind you direct your eyes down the column of print, or in a zig-zag, if the lines are quite long. Look for exact names of people, places, things, ideas, numbers, and words like therefore, whenever, until, because, and instead, to clue you to how and why.

When you first start to learn to skim you may see only the words in bold type, italics, digits, or capitalized words. Soon you will note new or unusual vocabulary. As you become an efficient skimmer your span of perception will develop and your ability to make closure will increase.

Skimming is a step you should always take before you read any article of factual or practical narrative. You will soon be able to detect most important facts, strange vocabulary, and words that are clues to important relationships.

It's a good practice to skim everything in mass media after reading the title and first paragraph. You may get all the information you want. This keeps your skimming skills from deteriorating, or will give you the practice you need to develop necessary skills.

Skim everything you intend to read before you make a final decision to read, discard, or study the material.

Skim all highlighting and develop a read-skim pattern to use for rapid review. And don't overlook this!Reviewing frequently and rapidly is the best way to memorize (or simply remember information) from notes and long text assignments.

Skimming and Scanning: Using The Times to Develop Reading Skills

By DINAH MACK and HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO
[pic]The New York TimesGo to Today’s Paper »
Overview | How can you quickly identify the main idea of a text? When and how do you skim a text, and how does skimming differ from scanning? In this lesson, students practice and explore the reading skills of skimming and scanning with the front page of The New York Times and come away understanding how and when to use these skills.
Materials | Computers with Internet connection, stopwatch or timer
Warm-up | Tell students they will be competing for best time in a game of “Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?” Use The Learning Network’s “6 Qs About the News” feature to play the game. This feature poses the six key questions involved in news gathering based on a student-friendly Times article; students read the related article and then answer the questions.
Prior to class, choose the “6 Qs” post that will suit the class. Note that not all questions every day have answers in the text, as sometimes personal questions are included to allow students to make personal connections to the article’s content. For this exercise, allow students to skip those questions, or choose a different “6 Q’s” post.
Give all students a copy of the related article, and begin by asking the “Who?” question. Direct students to look through the article to find the answer, write their answer down, and raise their hand when finished. Repeat the process for the other five questions. (If desired, add an element of competition; if appropriate, award small prizes, such as school supplies, to the students who were both fast and accurate.) After all the students have completed the entire task, review the answers.
Ask students to quickly jot down the strategies they utilized to find the information quickly and accurately. Prompt them by asking specific questions: Did they scan for words in the text? Did they read the first line of each paragraph? Did they use the photograph as a clue?
Introduce the terms “skimming” and “scanning” and discuss when each skill would be useful. “Skimming” is discovering the main ideas of a text by reading first and last paragraphs, topic sentences, and paying attention to other details on the page such as titles, bold type or italics, photograph captions, etc. “Scanning” is when one looks down and around a page quickly and efficiently searching for key words, facts or phrases to find specific information. Tell students that during the class activity they will be practicing these two skills.
Related | The “Today’s Paper” feature on NYTimes.com provides an image of the day’s print front page as well as a rundown of the top stories in all sections. Show students the “Today’s Paper” page for the day and use the questions below to engage them in thinking critically about how the information is presented. You may also wish to have your students engage in The New York Times Scavenger Hunt activity.
Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:
1. Which story might benefit from a chart or a graph?
2. Which stories connect to something you have learned in school?
3. Give an example of a Sports, Arts or Style article.
4. Is there an article you think might not be published if freedom of the press, provided by the First Amendment, did not exist in the U.S.?
5. Which articles are about controversial issues? Why do you think these articles are on the front page of The Times today?

RELATED RESOURCES

From The Learning Network

• Activity Sheet: Page 1 Bingo • Activity Sheet: Page One Meeting • Lesson: Extra! Extra! Read All About It! • Student Crossword: Page One

From NYTimes.com

• Times Topics: The New York Times • Times Topics: Newspapers • “Questions for Pierre Bayard: My Reader, My Double”

Around the Web

• 42eXplore: Skimming and Scanning • Glossary of Terms for 21st Century Literacies • Academic Tips: Skimming

Activity | The activity has been divided into two parts, one on skimming and the other on scanning, as you may wish to concentrate on one skill or the other, or both.
Part One: Skimming
Remind students that “skimming” is used to quickly find the main ideas of a text, and that skimming is often done at a speed three to four times faster than normal critical reading speed. Ask: When might you use skimming? In what situations is it useful? Suggest to students that skimming is useful if they have a great deal of material to read in a short amount of time, or to quickly ascertain whether a text (such as the daily newspaper) merits a closer read.
Review the following skimming strategies with students as you write them on the board: • Read the first and last paragraphs of an article first. • Notice the titles and headings and subheadings. • Look at the illustrations, graphs or other visuals on the page. • Read the captions of the visuals. • Read the first sentence of each paragraph.
Once the class is clear on the strategies, each student should skim the front page of The New York Times. Next, have a class discussion about the various stories that caught their attention and why.
The Learning Network’s Daily News Quiz invariably takes most of its material from that day’s printed front page of The Times, though it is possible that not every question is from there. Have students go to today’s quiz and see how many questions they can answer based on their skimming. When the class is finished, students should discuss which skimming strategies were most effective, and then report out to the larger group.
Part Two: Scanning

Remind students that scanning is a technique they already employ, such as when looking up a word in a dictionary or trying to find a specific phrase or number on a printed page. When they are scanning, they move their eyes to find specific words, numbers or phrases.
Begin by asking students to identify differences between skimming and scanning. If it is not mentioned, add the idea that scanning often comes before skimming. For example, scanning can be used to determine if a resource has the information you are looking for. Once the resource is scanned, it can then be skimmed for more detail.
When they are scanning, remind students to look for words in boldface or italics, and to pay attention to details like font (typeface), as well as to numbers.
Introduce a scanning game. For this game, choose three to five vocabulary words and write them on the board. Tell students that they will have a contest to find how many times the word appears on the front page of The New York Times.
Another way to play this game, to work on both scanning and vocabulary, is to have students scan the front page of The New York Times for vocabulary words that they do not know, look them up and record the definition, then have each team challenge another team to find their words. (You may wish you use our New York Times Vocabulary Log handout for this activity.)
Going further | Give students a Times article to take home, and instruct them to read the first and last paragraphs only. When they are finished, they should write down a prediction identifying what they think are the main ideas of the piece. Then students should read the first sentences of each paragraph. If they want to change their prediction, they should write a new prediction below the first one, or they should write, “I do not wish to change my prediction.”
Students should then look for words in bold and/or italics, examine the photographs, visual charts and other visual cues. Again, they may change their prediction based on the new information or keep their original prediction. Finally, students should read the entire article and consider the main idea. At what point was their prediction correct? How much did it have to change from their initial statements? Why do they think that is?
Teachers: When do you ask students to use these skills? How have you taught them?
Standards | From McREL, for grades 6-12:
Language Arts
5- Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
7- Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
10 – Understands the characteristics and components of the media

Skimming and scanning are two techniques that can help readers quickly gain information from a book, magazine, newspaper or website without having to read every word. When used well, both skimming and scanning can save readers time and allow them to study more efficiently.

• Related Searches:Spoken English Skills • Child Learning Skills
Skimming

Readers skim a text when they look it over quickly to get a general idea of the subject-matter. The reader is not interested in all the detail, getting the gist is enough. Skimmers run their eye down the page or screen looking for pointers that sum up the contents. Subheadings or bullet points attract their attention, as do the introductory phrases of paragraphs and the concluding ones. In longer texts, skimmers check the contents lists, the opening and closing paragraphs of chapters, and any introductions, conclusions or summaries.

Skimming Advantages

Skimming is useful when you have to decide if a long piece of writing is worth close study. If a student with an hour to do some research is presented with 10 textbooks and, there won't be time to read them all. It makes sense to swiftly appraise them and choose the most relevant one. Skimming can also be an effective way of quickly reviewing something that has been read previously, so that the reader can recall the most significant parts. The Reading and Study Skills Lab at Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland, estimates skimming can be done at approximately 1,000 words a minute.

Skimming Disadvantages

Skimming a book, article or webpage only gives the reader a general idea of its contents. Nuances, vital details and caveats are easily missed. This can produce a confused or misleading impression. Skimming works well when dealing with clear subjects that lend themselves to a general overview, such as a chronological description of an event. Skimming is far less effective in making sense of complex discussions or detailed arguments.

Scanning

Readers scan a piece of writing when they quickly search it for specific information. For example, a reader might scan a biography of Abraham Lincoln, looking out only for significant dates. The reader would skip over descriptions of Lincoln's upbringing, his struggles and his achievements, stopping only to note the years. Scanners will make use of a book's index and contents page. When running their eye over the text, they will look out for keywords relevant to their search.

Scanning Advantages

Scanning allows the reader to efficiently gather information, which may be scattered throughout a long piece of writing. It encourages the reader to research in a purposeful way and avoid distractions. According to Anne Arundel Community College's Reading and Study Skills Lab, scanning can be done at approximately 1,500 words a minute, or even more.

Scanning Disadvantages

Scanning can be monotonous and the technique is not suited for long periods of study, as it is easy to lose concentration. Although scanning is a good way to quickly gather facts, it is not always thorough and a key fact may be overlooked. The context in which a fact appears may affect its meaning. Without reading the surrounding text, it is easy to misinterpret a fact's true significance.

Scanning Vs. Skimming?

It is impossible to say which technique is better, as it depends on the reader's purpose. According to the Advanced Institute of Management Research at Cranfield University, in the United Kingdom, skimming and scanning have their place, but only if you "match your reading strategy to the reading purpose." If you need a general idea of a book's subject-matter, choose skimming. If you need to gather specific information from a newspaper article, choose scanning.

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Read more: Reading Skills: Scanning Vs. Skimming | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6533094_reading-skills_-scanning-vs_-skimming.html#ixzz1fWO0g8lJ

在雅思阅读题型中，让同学们最为头痛的题型就是给段落找小标题的heading题。因为雅思A类阅读文章涉及的题材非常学术化，例如生物学，历史文化，心理学等等，所以文章中一定会有许多跟专业学科有关系的生词，以至于对于很多学生来说，做题目并不是去理解文章的内容，而是找题目和文章中对应的关键字。这种做法对于某些题型来说也许行的通，但是对于heading题来说，就不怎么管用了，因为Heading题是需要对于段落有一个整体把握，然后将内容归纳概括成几个词的小标题的，而且选择项又多于段落，会有一定的迷惑性，所以很有可能选错一个就连带错二到三个的可能。所以现在很多同学看到heading题就会非常的慌张。 如果要做好heading题，除了平时要不断地扩展自己的词汇量以外，另一个基本功也是不可少的，因为考试时间是有限的，不可能让大家真的像做阅读理解一样把文章的每一句都看懂都能翻译了再把内容归纳起来。所以，恒星英语考试研究中心的专家在这里为广大雅思考生介绍一个做heading题的好帮手——skimming。 Skimming，其实就是快速浏览的意思。那一篇近1000字的英语文章要浏览哪些内容呢？其实很简单，首先是看那些比较显眼的东西，例如大标题，小标题，数字，粗体字和斜体字等等，这样会对接下来做题目定位有一定的帮助。其次是看首段以及每一段的第一句话，因为第一段是整篇文章的开始，由于学术类文章的特性，很少会有像散文那样先铺垫个一大堆酝酿一下情绪再把中心描述出来，一般雅思A类阅读文章都是比较开门见山，第一段就会告诉我们整篇文章在讲什么，可能会从哪些方面来阐述。而其他段落的第一句也是比较重要的，要让看的人知道作者想要表达的中心，每段的第一句话就是最好地位置去说明且让人印象深刻的。 例如剑六test3passage2, 说到要鼓励员工的关键几点，几乎每一段的第一句话都是一句重要的主题句。此外，skimming的过程中要擅于快速抓住这句话中的中心词，因为中心词一般都会在配对的heading list当中有所体现。我们就以这篇文章为例，key point one这段的第一句是there is an abundance of evidence to support the motivational benefits that result from carefully matching people to jobs. 从这句话中，我们skimming出的中心词是matching people to jobs，所以这段对应的答案就是ensure employees are suited to their jobs. 动词matching和suited表达的含义是一致的。 那么有些同学会问要如何快速地skimming出一句话的中心词呢？这其实跟我们的长句分析功力很有关系。阅读文章一定是复杂句为多，因此要读懂句子必须还是从句子的最根本开始，就是找到最原始的三元素 ——主谓宾成分。主语和宾语一般都是名词，谓语则是以动词为多，再摒弃掉一些修饰成分。分析句子的能力是希望大家在平时有所练习的，但是如果当考试时时间比较紧张，可以先找名词，再找动词。仍是以上面那句话为例，上句话中的名词有abundance，evidence，benefits ，people 和jobs，一看名词就可以知道比较重要的而且相互之间有关系的就是后面三个名词，人和工作之间怎样做会有好处。然后看动词，这时候看动词要建立在之前看名词的基础上，因为已经分析出有关系的是后面3个名词，所以就看下后面三个名词之间的动词，所以就有result from和matching，这个时候这句话的中心含义就基本出来了，代入之前3个名词的关系里面，就会知道人和工作之间要搭配合适才能有好处，导致利益的产生，所以跟标题选项中的那个答案不谋而合，很轻松就能选出答案而且还能预测出接下来的内容就是要举例说明什么是人和工作的契合搭配了。 除了skimming文章首段和每一段首句，最后还要看下每一段的末句，尤其是末句出现了类似于this is, thus, therefore之类总结性词的句子，因为这些句子很有可能是对前文的一种概括，句中的词也是经常会在heading当中出现的。当然skimming的方法还是跟之前讲到的一样，以抓主谓宾为主。 当然，有的时候并不是看了首尾两句话就能轻易找出答案的，有时也会需要对整个段落内容进行概括。那这种时候，还是有些句子要仔细看，有些句子就略过没有必要细看。哪些句子是属于skimming的范围呢？例如一些转折句，出现but, however, despite 等等的句子，又例如一些举例之前的句子，for example 和such as 前的那句话。 Skimming在我们做雅思阅读过程中非常的好用，所以大家最好花一点时间去刻意培养一下这个能力。恒星英语考试研究中心的考试建议考生们可以在做完阅读题目后，利用这篇文章进行skimming的练习，尝试下自己归纳一下这段的大意。如果能坚持把剑桥系列的每篇文章都这样练习了，那以后考场上遇到Heading题绝对不会再害怕了。 From: http://www.hxen.com/ielts/yuedu/2009-09-11/89289.html