Reading

Introduction to Skimming and Scanning

Scan – to get an idea or to locate a particular section

Skim –

One of the biggest problems faced by majority of the candidates appearing for IELTS is TIME. Its effect is
felt more in the IELTS Reading module. You will have to answer about 40 questions from three long
reading passages in just an hour, which most of the candidates fail do completely. Hence it is very
important that you read the passages very quickly to complete the task in given time.

There are three basic reading skills that greatly help in IELTS Reading Test – Skimming, Scanning and
Reading in Detail.

Skimming: When you read a newspaper, you often look for interested articles. For this, you hardly take
any time. This technique is called skimming. Because you got used to such a habit, you hardly require any
time to find your interested article. The same has to be applied when reading
Skimming is process of looking at the passage very quickly to find out the theme, i.e. the central idea of the
passage. If this is done, you will be sure of what you are reading and how your reading should proceed.
Also, your comprehending process gets enhanced when you are aware of the topic that you are reading.

Scanning: When you look for a specific name or telephone number in a telephone directory, you will
simply scan for that specific name or number you need. Scanning eases your efforts and yields you quick
results. The same technique has to be applied in IETLS Reading.
By scanning you look for specific information in a passage very quickly. For this you need not read from
the beginning. Just by a quick glance you can locate the area of the passage containing that specific
information and concentrate on that specific area.

Reading in Detail: Once you had located the area of the passage containing the information to answer a
question, you must carefully read to find out the right answer. Such area of the passage has to be read in
detail to pick up the right answer and avoid confusions. It is like, you have a new product and need to
assemble the parts to form the complete usable product, you read the instruction manual carefully so as to
not to go wrong in assembling the parts.

To conclude, skimming and scanning skills help you identify the right section of passage to answer a
specific question. You will then need to read that section of the passage in detail to find out the right
answer. On the contrary, if you read the entire reading passage in detail without knowing the head or tail of
it, you will end up in wasting your valuable time.

Skimming Scanning Reading in detail

Getting a general idea
Example : Newspaper article (any
thing interesting to read)
Help to find the right section
Finding Specific Information
Example : a name in the
telephone directory (telephone no
of a person)
Help to find the right section
Reading carefully for meaning
Example : an instruction manual
Confirms you have the right
answer

Skimming is reading the text very quickly for the main idea of the text. Below you will find suggestions
for ways to skim.
When you skim, you are looking for the meaning of the text, not for a complete understanding of the text.
This means that you need to look at the topic sentences of each paragraph, and the subject, verb and object
of the sentences.
Scanning is when you look for specific details in the text, without skimming or reading for the meaning.
You use this technique when you are looking for the answer to a question. You will look for the keyword in
the question (or a synonym) so you can locate the answer.

To be successful in the IELTS Reading test, you will need to know how to skim and scan.

Skimming is reading the text very quickly for the main idea of the text. Below you will find suggestions for
ways to skim.

When you skim, you are looking for the meaning of the text, not for a complete understanding of the text.
This means that you need to look at the topic sentences of each paragraph, and the subject, verb and object
of the sentences.

Scanning is when you look for specific details in the text, without skimming or reading for the meaning.
You use this technique when you are looking for the answer to a question. You will look for the keyword in
the question (or a synonym) so you can locate the answer.

Skimming and scanning are the two main techniques that people use to read and answer IELTS reading
tests. It's not a question of using one or the other but you will need both methods in doing the test. Let's
have a look at the two techniques in turn.

Skimming Technique of IELTS Reading

Skimming is reading fast to get the "gist" or the general idea of the text. There are different techniques of
doing skimming. You can run your eyes over the text getting the general meaning, not stopping at words
that you don't understand as this will slow you down.

The important thing with skimming is speed. Another way to skim is to just read the first and last
paragraphs of a text and summaries as well. You could also just read the title, subtitles and illustrations if
there are any. I prefer for IELTS the first way - reading it all quickly to get the general meaning, but of
course it depends on your reading speed. If you are a slow reader in English you really need to practise to
improve.

You don't need IELTS specific texts for this. A good English newspaper is fine. Get one every day and read
the articles as quickly as you can. Do this with as many articles as possible every day and your speed will
quickly improve.

Scanning Technique of IELTS Reading

This is another very important technique for the IELTS Reading Tests. This is the technique that you use
when you are reading a telephone book or a dictionary. You are not starting at the top and reading every
line back and forth as you would read a novel.

You are moving your eyes around the text, back and across and up and down. You are searching for some
specific information: a word or name. This is an important technique in IELTS reading as you are often
searching for some specific information. You read the question and then you search for key words or ideas
associated with the question.

This is a bit more difficult to practise than skimming. You get long texts (from newspapers, magazines or
other sources) and get a friend to read it and then ask you to find key ideas or words as quickly as possible.

Again, if you do this frequently, your speed will quickly improve.

If you want to improve, there's no secret. Practice. Practice. Practice. You won't get better sitting and doing
nothing. Even good English users need practice for the IELTS exam. It could make all the difference
between you’re getting the band that you need, and getting half a band less than you need and having to
wait 3 months to do the exam again.

Finally, there are no correct answers or methods. Here I've given you some ideas to guide you and
hopefully to help you but the questions can be answered well in different ways. Good luck with the IELTS
Academic / General Training Reading Test.

Question Types

Short Answer Questions

For Short Answer Questions you have to answer as per the question and the words must come from the passage.

How to tackle Short Answer Questions

 Underline the keywords that tell your what sort of information you must look for
 Scan the extracts for the answer

Question 1
Choose no more that three words from the Reading Passage for each answer

Eg: When did Scott go to the South Pole?

When – Suggest that you should look for a date. What is it?

Multiple Matching
For Multiple matching questions you only need to write the letter(s) on your answer sheet.

How to tackle Multiple Matching Questions

 Underline the keywords that tell your what sort of information you must look for
 Scan the extracts for the answer

Question 2
Look at the extracts A..H about food
Which extract mentions the following? Write the correct letter A..H
Eg : a belief that some people have about food
Belief – Thinking of some people

Summary Completion

Summary Completion questions are another group of questions that test your ability to locate and identify
particular details in the reading passage.

There are two types of Summary Completion questions:

 Sometimes you have to find the answers in the passage

 Sometimes you have a box of answers to choose from

How to tackle Summary Completion Question

 Write a question in your own words for each of blank spaces

 Re-read the passage to find the words which answer your own word questions and complete the
summary
 Use the words which are in the original passage
Question
Complete the summary below. Choose No More Than Three Words from the passage for each
answer.