 Skimming: general information – the plot of a book

 Key words
 Quick reading
 Scanning: specific information – characters and places
 Focus on facts
Skimming vs. Taken from:

Skanning
BBC Teach/Skillswise. Reading:
Skimming and Scanning. In:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/skillswis
e/skimming-and-scanning/zd39f4j
what and when
 Skimming and scanning are quick reading
techniques, BUT with a different purpose
 Skimming:  Scanning:
 see what’s in the news in a paper or on a  look up a word in a dictionary or index
website  find an address or a phone number in a
directory
 browse through a book to see if you want to
read it -  check what time your programme is on
television
 look through the television guide to see what’s
 look up details or prices in a catalogue
on one evening -
 pick out the website you want from options on
 flick through a catalogue to see what’s on offer a Google search
 look through the options given on a Google
search to see what sites it suggests
 General idea vs. Looking for Detail
Skimming: Scanning:
Read the title, subtitles and subheadings Let your eyes move quickly across the page until
to find out what the text is about -> Text you find the word(s) you’re looking for.
marks. Use clues on the page, such as headings and
titles, to help you. -> Text marks
Look at the illustrations and the text’s
If you’re reading for study, start by thinking up
silhouette.
or writing down some questions that you want
Can you tell what kind of text you’re to answer. Doing this can focus your mind and
reading using this clues? help you find the specific information that you
Read the first and last sentence of each need more easily.
paragraph. Many texts list things in alphabetical order
from A to Z. These include everyday materials,
Don’t read every word!!! Let your eyes such as the phone book or indexes to books and
look out for key (related)
Figuringwords. out what the text is about
catalogues.

vs.
Knowing what to look for
Conclusions:

 Are skimming and scanning good for infering information?

 They’re good to find information, because we dont need to read all of the text
 Finding information = Infering information?
 Infering information uses previous knowledge
 They can help you decide if you’re interested in reading something
 Can we apply critical thinking while skimming and scanning? Can I evaluate arguments?
 Not really… we need more time!
 Reading comprehension levels: Literal - Inferential - Critical
 Magic, magicians, adult (drugs, sex…) version of HP, imagination
 Children’s memory

 The author’s opinion: sarcastic, ironic (comparisons with other books), his opinion is really
not very good…