'SKIMMING' vs 'SCANNING'

Back in 2008, I had the experience of joining a reading camp. It was organized by the BTP(Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan) in conjunction of the Tokoh NILAM Award event. I was the representative of Perak state, together with the other 14 representative from all over Malaysia was given a talk about reading techniques and narrative writing. There were a lot of things being shared on that day. One of them was the differences between 'skimming' and 'scanning' reading skills. I always confused between those two reading skills, so today I will share with everyone the differences between both techniques.

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. We normally use skimming when we want to see if an article may be of interest in our research.

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. We might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when we're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. We search for key words or ideas. In most cases, we know what we're looking for, so we're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving our eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when we first find a resource to determine whether it will answer our questions. Once we've scanned the document, we might go back and skim it.When scanning, we usually look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. We look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.

While we are studying, it is important for us to determine and apply the correct reading techniques. We must know when to use 'SKIMMING' and when 'SCANNING' is applicable. It is also important for us as future teacher to have these two common skills when we teach our student soon. This is because when we teach, we also have a scheme to follow.

*It would be very hard to SKIM or SCAN a book with this size aren't it?

p/s: I usually apply SCANNING when the final is around the corner...huhuhu=D