Scanning and skimming are two ways to read
quickly and find information without going through everything in detail.
Scanning:
- Scanning
means looking for specific details, like a name, date, or keyword. We
don't need to read every word—we just search for what we need.
Example 1: If we're checking a TV schedule to see
when our favorite show is on, we scan the list until we find the show and see
its time.
Example 2: When using a dictionary to find the
meaning of "apple," we scan the pages, looking for words that start
with "A" until we find "apple."
Skimming:
- Skimming
is when we quickly go through a text to understand the main idea. We don’t
read every word, just enough to get the overall meaning.
Example 1: If we're reading a news article but just
want to know the main points, we skim the headlines and first sentences to get
the main idea.
Example 2: If we pick up a book and want to decide if it’s
interesting, we skim the chapter titles and a few sentences from each chapter
to get a sense of what it’s about.