IELTS Tips: Skimming vs. Scanning
Skimming and Scanning are words that we hear a lot when we are studying for the IELTS test. But what exactly are these ideas? And how can we use them to get a better score?
Well, skimming and scanning are both important reading strategies that can help you get a better score on the IELTS reading test. This is because strategies like skimming and scanning can help you read more quickly and locate answers more effectively.
Today we’ll talk about the difference between these strategies, and how to use them to improve your reading skills.
What is Skimming?
Skimming is also known as “getting the gist.” This means you are reading a page or a paragraph quickly, just to understand the general idea. When skimming, we are sweeping our eyes over the text and absorbing any information that seems important, but not worrying about understanding everything it says. Imagine you are looking at a news website and trying to decide if you want to read an article. You might read it over quickly to see if it’s interesting first. This is skimming.
Why should I use skimming?
Skimming is helpful because it can orient you to a new text. When we get a new reading assignment, it is sometimes overwhelming, and we don’t know where to start. We might also not have enough time to work through the text from beginning to end might. Skimming saves time by giving you a glimpse of what this text is about and where information is located.
When should I use skimming?
This strategy is most useful at the very beginning of a text. It’s a good idea to spend two minutes skimming each section of the reading test before you begin answering questions. This will help you understand how the text is organized. For example, you might see that the beginning of the text talks about the history of something while the end of the text talks about the future. This will help you find answers more quickly because you now know where to look.
What is scanning?
Scanning is also known as “reading for detail.” This means you are reading a small section of a paragraph or page, in order to find a specific answer. When scanning, we are reading closely and looking for a match to word in the question. Imagine you are at the airport looking for information about your flight on the giant digital board in the check-in area. You wouldn’t read each line because it takes too long; instead, you look carefully for the city you are flying to. This is scanning.
Why should I use scanning?
Scanning is helpful because it helps you find a piece of information that you know you need to find. It’s important that we understand the question first, but once we think we know what to look for, scanning helps us find it. By scanning a paragraph, we are seeking out the words we need and discarding the words we don’t.
When should I use scanning?
Scanning is most useful once you already know the answer you are looking for. For example, if the question was “a _________ crashed into the house,” you know you are probably looking for a noun (because the blank space comes after an article) and you know it’s probably a vehicle (because vehicles can sometimes crash into things). So now you can scan the page for words like vehicle, car, automobile, truck, van, or motorcycle.
Hopefully you now have a better idea of how to use skimming and scanning in the IELTS reading test. Remember that skimming and scanning are just one piece of the puzzle. There are many interlocking strategies that must be used during the IELTS reading section, including paraphrasing, time management, and guessing the meaning of words from context. If you’d like me to write about one of these topics in the future, leave a comment below.
Good luck on your test and thanks for reading!
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