Skimming allows readers to quickly get a general impression of a text by focusing on key elements like subtitles and headings. Scanning is used to search quickly for specific predefined keywords. Intensive reading provides a deeper understanding of a text by reading in more detail. Being able to distinguish between these three reading modes helps with adapting one's reading based on the reading purpose.

1. READING SKILL

2. INTRODUCTION-
All academic study requires a lot of reading. Competent
readers adapt their mode of reading to their reading purpose.
Reading a novel for entertainment, for instance, is different
from reading a philosophic treatise, and looking only for a
specific bit of information in that treatise is different from
trying to completely understand it. For that purpose it is
useful to distinguish skimming from scanning and intensive
reading as three modes of reading that serve different aims in
reading.

3. SKIMMING-
Skimming is a mode of fast reading which is used to get a
rapid general impression of what a text is about. In this mode
of reading, if the text you are reading is a non-fictional text,
you may first look at its table of contents, the summary, and
subject index. You may next leaf through the text and focus
attention on subtitles, headlines, content keywords, or
prominent text features (passages printed in bold type, or
colour, or with illustrations). Writers often use such features
to highlight what they want to say.

4. If, however, the text which you want to get a first impression
of is a fictional text, you may decide to first read the opening
scene and the beginning or ending of chapters. Skimming
helps you decide if you like a book, its characters and story, its
topics and style of writing. It may or may not be followed by
some more intensive reading

5. SCANNING-
Scanning is a mode of fast reading which you use if you start
with a predefined set of keywords and want to find out if a
given text provides information on them. You leaf through the
text and search for passages which contain your keywords. If
you hit on pages which contain your keyword or semantically
related words, it frequently is useful to note the page
numbers for later intensive reading or for making abstracts.

6. SKIMMING AND SCANNING-
Skimming and scanning are modes of fast reading which can
be practised by training in high speed reading. For an
understanding of meaning to occur in speed reading, it is
necessary to read in ‘chunks’. Estimates are that readers’ eyes
must scan about 400 words a minute. High speed reading is
mostly sustainable for short bursts only. The mind needs
pauses for evaluation and assimilation of information (time to
think and digest).

7. GISTING-
Gisting is a strategy that forces students to eliminate less
important information and focus on essential information in a
paragraph. Teaching students to write gists of paragraph can
help them develop summery thinking skill.
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