Menu
teknik membaca
Reading and Writing

Skimming VS Scanning Reading Techniques

2020.05.27

Reading can be fun and tiring at the same time. Even more so when you have to read a lot of books or text. When you don't have much time and don't want to waste time reading something that doesn't really matter, you need to learn speed reading techniques.

For example, when searching for the meaning of the word valuable in the dictionary, you certainly won't start looking for it from the letter 'A' right? Look for the section that starts with the letter 'V' and starts searching for words that start with va . This technique is known as scanning . Another technique for speed reading is skimming . For example, when reading news in a newspaper or news site you will only read important parts of the headlines and certainly will not read every news attentively. But at least you know enough about what's going on.

Skimming requires the ability to read and recognize good words because the skimming process requires understanding. While scanning to find certain information can be done by them even with language skills that are not too good. For example, you who are not good at English can search for information about train schedules in the United States. Want to know more? Read the method below:

How to skim?

Many people think that skimming is done by reading random or irregular words. However, to do skimming effectively you need to do it in a structured way, of course you don't need to read every single thing that exists. How to determine what needs to be read and not?

If you are doing a research and finding a very long writing. First read the first paragraph carefully and find the main ideas that will be discussed in the article. When you understand the main idea, you can start reading the first sentence in each paragraph. Because this is a topic sentence, it contains the main ideas that will be discussed in that paragraph. If you don't find the main idea in the first sentence, you can search more.

At the end of a topic sentence, you can search for important details contained in that paragraph such as, date, name or number. Continue to do this until the final few paragraphs. In the final paragraph, you can stop skimming because the conclusions are usually at the end of the article. You can start reading the final paragraph in more detail to be able to understand the whole text.

Note that your understanding of the writing is not perfect because you read it quickly so that maybe a lot of information is missed. However, if you can understand the main idea of โ€‹โ€‹the article then you do the skimming correctly.

How to scan?

You need to set goals, find them in the right place and know how the information is formed. You can also learn to use your hands when scanning. Using your hands can help you focus while scanning. When you point to the text list, your eyes are not only focused on one text but also the text above and below it. Let your eyes work to find the information you need.

For example, when you are looking for a train schedule from New York City to Washington DC at 8 pm The key words you must remember are: "from New York City" and "to Washington DC" and the hours you want. From a long list of travel types and times, find keywords first and then start choosing train hours at night and search for hours that suit you.

Knowing these reading skills is very useful when you need to find information or make reading comprehension. But to master these skills, you must continue to practice!