Reading Strategies: Skimming

Skimming is quickly identifying the main ideas of a text. When we read the newspaper, we are probably not reading it word-by-word. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. Usually we often skim when we have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when we want to see if an article may be of interest in our research.    

There are many strategies that we can be use when skimming. Sometime we read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. This technique is useful when we are 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.