Skimming and Scanning while Reading
Skimming and Scanning while Reading
Sometimes when you're reading, you don't have time to read every single word in the book. Maybe you're trying to find the answer to a test question or you're just checking out the book to see if it'd be good to use for a research project.
Skimming and scanning are strategies you use when you want to race through a book or passage to find out the information you need.
Skimming
When you skim a book or passage, you read through it quickly to get a general idea of what it says. The word skim means to graze (or move quickly) over the surface. You're not looking for the meat and potatoes, you just want a little snack.
You might want to skim a book or passage when you are:
- wondering if it'd be worth reading
- re-reading a few pages before moving on in the book
- looking through a newspaper or magazine to see if anything interests you
- jogging your memory about a book or passage to prepare for a test
When you skim a book, you:
- Read the table of contents
- Look at the opening and closing sentences of a paragraph
- Take note of any headings, subheadings, or bold words
- Look at any illustrations, charts, or other graphic features
Scanning
When you scan a book or passage, you are reading to find a specific piece of information. The word scan means to look at all parts to find something. You're not reading to get all of the details, just the specific details you need.
You want to scan a book or passage when you are:
- Writing a research paper and are looking at a lot of sources
- Trying to answer a question
- Completing an open-book test
- Using a dictionary to find the definition of a word
- Using a phone book to find a phone number
- Reading the results of a search engine search
When you scan a book, you:
- Look for key words related to your topic
- Look for words in larger font sizes
- Look for bold and italicized words
- Pay attention to bulleted lists and sidebars
- Use the book's index to search for key words
Answer the practice questions to test how much you've learned about skimming and scanning, and then complete the worksheet to put your skimming and scanning skills to work.
Related Worksheets: