Skimming and

Scanning
Learning how to make a quick read
 Skimming and
Scanning
Skimming and Scanning are both
types of quick reading techniques

While Skimming is used to obtain

the gist - overall sense - of the text,
Scanning aims to obtain specific
information in a text.
 Skimming and
Scanning
Use Skimming to:

get the gist of 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

Use Scanning to:

look up a word in a dictionary or index

find an address or a phone number in a directory

check the time your favourite programme on TV

Skimming - Aims

Read more quickly

Identify the main ideas in the

text

Decide if the text is interesting

and whether you should read it in
more detail
Skimming - Strategies
Don’t read the whole text word for word. Let
your eyes skim over the text and look out for
key words.

Think about the overall meaning of the text.

Use as many clues as possible to give you some

background information:

Eye-catching title, subtitles and

subheadings

Pictures, Illustrations or images

First and last sentence of each paragraph

Scanning - Aims

Look for specific information

from a book or article or Web
Happy to Help!

Reach out:
Rahul Jain
Junior Research Fellow (PhD Candidate)
Department of English and Cultural Studies
Panjab University
Chandigarh UT, India

rahuljain2301@icloud.com