SKIMMING

1. SKIMMING

2. Reading in our lives… In everyday life, we have to read many texts ranging from books, newspapers, pamphlets, journals to e-mails. Students have to read more in order to understand the syllabus. Whether reading is done for academic or non-academic purposes, it requires certain skills to get desired information. Many times it is impossible to read the whole text due to various reasons. Most of the times, of course, reason is shortage of time. What other reasons do you have very often? Anyways, in such situations there are certain techniques that come to help. There are certain reading skills that are employed by readers in order to get the desired information from text.

3. These skills include: • Skimming- running the eyes over quickly, to get the gist • Scanning- looking for a particular piece of information • Extensive reading - longer texts for pleasure and needing global understanding • Intensive reading - shorter texts, extracting specific information, accurate reading for detail.

4. What is Skimming? Skimming as a Reading Skill: In academics, skimming is a reading (sub) skill in which a reader quickly goes through a text in order to get the gist and general idea or information.

5. Some Definitions of Skimming • When we read quickly without pausing to study the details, it is called skim reading or skimming. (Konar, 2009: p.154) • Skimming is reading the text quickly in order to assess its nature and content. (Kumar, 2009: p.1) • When we skim an article, we quickly look over it to identify the main ideas and some of the details. (Rief and Heimburge, 2007: p.72) • While skimming, “you pick out only key words in every sentence”. (Kui, 2008: p.200) • Skimming is a pre-reading technique and should be done very fast; if it takes more than a few minutes you’re not skimming, you’re reading. (Glasman-Deal, 2010: p.13)

6. When we are looking at a newspaper, we are actually skimming. We do not read every word-instead we skim it to get a general idea of what the main articles are about. We might use the headlines, photographs, and captions to help us decide if we want to delve further into a particular article or skip it and search further. Can you think of a few more instances of the use of skimming in your daily life? Skimming in Everyday Life

7. Concluding on the definition of skimming • Your aim when you skim through a text is to find out quickly what it is about and where the various pieces of information are located so that you can read it faster and more confidently.

8. Difference between Skimming and Scanning Skimming differs from scanning (In scanning you look for a particular information, such as a name or a number) — here (in skimming) you are trying to get an overview of what a book or article is about and its possible value to you. Skimming is often useful when you have a specific task to carry out, such as finding additional information for an assignment. You look at chapter or section headings, or some paragraphs to quickly assess their relevance, or some figures and tables. After you have skimmed a text, you should have a reasonably good idea if it is likely to be helpful for your particular needs at that time.

9. Degrees of Skimming Slight: By practically ignoring unimportant, linking words-words like the, a , for with to, on, it. etc. Partial: By picking up the significant relative details also. Complete: By being concerned only with the main idea.

10. Types of skimming • Skimming to overview: the purpose of this method is to get an outline of what the material is about. You will be looking more at structure than content. • Skimming to preview: this is used when you know you are going to re-read the material. Your purpose is to gather as much background information as you can on the subject without too much time on it. • Skimming to review:you would use this method when you have already read the material and your purpose is to re-familiarize yourself with the content.

11. Purpose of Skimming Simply to see what the text is about Glancing through the text to find the gist To satisfy a general curiosity Not to find answers to particular questions To summarize longer texts

12. Skimming Helps Skimming helps to understand; • Overall purpose • Central idea • Organizational pattern • Main points • Author’s intention-to describe, narrate, report, explain, discuss etc.

13. Benefits of Skimming • Researches show that when we read faster, our comprehension increases. The word-to-word reader generally fails to grasp the meaning of sentences or paragraphs. • Skimming and scanning methods of reading save time.

14. Check your comprehension: • Skimming is helpful when one needs to know the ____ sense or the ____ ideas of a text. • Skimming is helpful when there are ____ amounts of reading and ____ time to review it in detail. • Skimming is helpful when you want to know whether you should read a book ____ or in ____ detail. • Skimming is helpful when one needs to check whether a text is ____ to one’s research.

15. Check your comprehension: Solved • Skimming is helpful when one needs to know the overall sense or the main ideas of a text. • Skimming is helpful when there are large amounts of reading and limited time to review it in detail. • Skimming is helpful when you want to know whether you should read a book at all or in more detail. • Skimming is helpful when one needs to know whether a text is relevant to one’s research.

16. How to skim? To skim well, push your eyes along so that it takes in large blocks of words. In general, ignore everything but the nouns and verbs. Skimming is really no different from speed reading, except that skimming is a searching-out operation. Its three components are: (a) rapid reading (b) un-wandering attention (c) keeping in mind what you’re looking for

17. Cont. • In a book, glance at the preface. That’s where the author usually states what the book is about. Likewise, the afterword often recounts the author’s major ideas. • Look up your research subject in the index of the book. Frequently you can tell from the number of pages devoted to the subject whether or not the book is likely to be useful. For instance, if you are looking in an English history book for information on Jack Sheppard, the eighteenth-century criminal, and see from its index that it contains only one page about him, you probably should move on to another source.

18. Cont. • Read the chapter headings. Often they reveal what each chapter is about. Sub headings also can tell you a lot about the major ideas in a book. • Read the first and last two sentences in a paragraph to find out what information it contains. Generally the main idea of a paragraph is stated in its initial sentences and summed up in its final sentences. • Glance at the opening paragraph of an article, essay, or book chapter. Often the author’s thesis is stated in the first paragraph.

19. Recapture: Techniques of Skimming • Read the title: it is the shortest possible summary of the content • Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph • Read the first paragraph completely • If there are subheadings, read each one, looking for relationship among them • Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph a)the main idea of most paragraphs appears in the first sentence b) if the author’s pattern is to begin with a question or anecdote, you may find the last sentence more valuable.

20. Cont… Skimming Tips • Since you don't know exactly what you are looking for while skimming, prepare yourself by reading the title, source, author, and picture: then you question yourself, -- who, what, when, where is this likely to be mainly about? • With a questioning mind you direct your eyes down the column of print, or in a zig-zag, if the lines are quite long. • Look for exact names of people, places, things, ideas, numbers, and words like therefore, whenever, until, because, and instead, to clue you to how and why.

21. Contd… Dip into the text looking for: • clue words that answer who, what, when, why, how • proper nouns • unusual words, especially if capitalized • enumerations • qualifying adjectives (best, worst, most, etc.) • typographical cues—italics, boldface, underlining, asterisks, etc.

22. Advantages of Skimming Skimming helps in several ways. For example, it helps you understand; • who the audience is, whether the text is written for professionals, laymen, a particular target group, or the general public; • what kind of text it is, whether it is a report, letter, article, or the like; • the purpose of the author, whether it is to describe, inform, or entertain; and • the general context of the text

23. Disadvantages ofSkimming Skimming a book, article or webpage only gives the reader a general idea of its contents. Nuances, vital details and caveats are easily missed. This can produce a confused or misleading impression. Skimming works well when dealing with clear subjects that lend themselves to a general overview, such as a chronological description of an event. Skimming is far less effective in making sense of complex discussions or detailed arguments.

24. Recapturing: Uses of Skimming • Skimming is used when reading with some general question in mind. • Skimming is used in making decisions on how to approach a text. • Skimming is used to build student confidence and an understanding that it is possible to gain meaning without reading every word in a text. • Skimming is used as part of speed reading techniques. • Skimming is used for the initial survey. • Skimming is often used in reviewing for a test.

25. Skimming Needs Practice Developing skimming ability requires practice. The more you practice, the better. Magazine articles and chapters from supplementary textbooks are a good source of material for additional skimming practice. Set a goal of 800 wpm even if repeated practice on the same article is necessary. Check a page or two of the book or magazine to discover the approximate number of words per page. Determine the number of pages you must cover each minute to achieve 800 wpm.

26. As a student have you ever thought??? • It is not always necessary to read everything completely. • Sometimes the completetext is not relevant to what you are working on, but there are still parts that would be of importance to your work. This is where skimming helps. • Learning to skim rapidly can help you improve your speed for study reading and average reading as well. • Use of skimming can help you to build background knowledge. Skimming will help you keep informed in political affairs or other areas when you don't have the time to read very much.

27. Activity: Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given at the end. Time: 30 seconds

28. Answer these questions: • Why we dream? • Why we sleep? • What are two steps of sleep?

29. Answers: • Why we dream? Scientists believe that we need dreams because when we dream we process the day’s information and if we do not dream we can’t concentrate and would start imagining things or hallucinations. • Why we sleep? Most scientists believe that we need sleep to give our bodies a rest as our heartbeat slows down during sleep. Children need more sleep as they grow when they sleep. • What are two steps of sleep? Dreamless sleep and dreaming sleep

30. Activity: Read the following passage:- Money is what you use to buy things. You may earn money from completing household chores, getting good grades, for your allowance. Money is very important in our world and comes in many different forms. People have been using money for hundreds of years. Before money gave specific values for things, people simply traded items. In the United States, we use the dollar as our currency or money, but people in different parts of the world use different currencies, though some countries also use or accept our dollars. People earn money from the jobs they work and use that money to save for the future, pay for their houses, cars, food, taxes, medical needs and household items among other things. Even things such as turning the lights on, using the air conditioning or heat, and connecting to the internet cost money.

31. Answer the following questions:- 1.) How long have people used money? • A.) They started recently. • B.) Thousands of years • C.) Since the beginning of time • D.) Hundreds of years 2.) What did people do before there was money? • A.) The story doesn’t tell. • B.) They made everything themselves. • C.) People traded to get what they needed. • D.) They just never got what they needed.

32. Contd… 3.) The dollar… • A.) is used in every country in the world. • B.) is never used in other countries. • C.) is not used very much in the United States. • D.) is used in the United States. 4.) According to the author of this story, money is… • A.) only used in America. • B.) not very important. • C.) only earned by adults. • D.) very important.

33. Contd… 5.) Circle all of the things below that money could be used for. • A.) To buy things • B.) To pay bills • C.) To pay you for doing your chores • D.) To save for the future

34. Activity:

37. Review of Today’s Lesson • What is skimming? • Definitions of Skimming • Skimming in Everyday Life-uses of skimming • Difference between Skimming and Scanning • Degrees of Skimming • Types of Skimming • Steps to skimming- OR How to skim? • Purposes of skimming • Advantages and disadvantages of skimming • Activities to practice skimming