2. WHAT’S SKIMMING?
Skimming is a reading technique that can help you to:
read more quickly. Decide if the text is interesting and whether
you should read it in more detail
Skimming is a fast-reading technique. Use it to obtain the gist of a
piece of text (i.e. to quickly identify the main ideas in the text).
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3. HOW IS 'SKIMMING' DIFFERENT FROM 'SCANNING'?
The term skimming is often confused with scanning.
❑ Skimming is used, for example, to get the gist of a page of a
textbook to decide whether it is useful and should therefore be
read more slowly and in more detail.
❑ Scanning is used to obtain specific information from a piece of
text and can be used, for example, to find a particular number in
a telephone directory.
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4. Sometimes you can use both reading
methods. After you have skimmed a
piece of text to decide whether the
text is of interest, you may wish to use
scanning techniques to locate specific
information.
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6. WHAT IS SCANNING ?
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❑ Scanning is a fast reading technique. It's a way of reading to look for
specific information in a text.
❑ Scanning can be used to read through the ads in a newspaper, or for
browsing TV schedules, timetables, lists, catalogues or web pages for
information. For these tasks you don't need to read or understand every
word.
❑ Scanning is also useful when studying or looking to find specific
information from a book or article quickly as there is not always time to
read every word.
7. HOW TO SCAN ?
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❑ Scanning is a fast reading technique. It's a way of reading to look for
specific information in a text.
❑ Scanning can be used to read through the ads in a newspaper, or for
browsing TV schedules, timetables, lists, catalogues or web pages for
information. For these tasks you don't need to read or understand every
word.
❑ Scanning is also useful when studying or looking to find specific
information from a book or article quickly as there is not always time to
read every word.
8. TYPES OF TEXTS: EXPOSITORY TEXT
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Expository texts are meant to explain, inform, or describe and they are the most
frequently use to write structures.
Expository structures can be classified into five categories:
description, where the author describes a topics characteristic, features, attributes,
etc. and gives examples.
procedure or sequence: the author lists different activities in their chronological
order or enumerates items in a numerical order.
comparison: the author explains how two or more objects, events, experiences, are
alike and/or different.
cause-effect explanation: the author presents ideas, events in time, or facts as
causes and the resulting effect(s) in time.
problem-solution presentation: the author describes a problem and gives one or
more solutions to the problem.
9. TYPES OF TEXTS:
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Business: reports, letters, executive summaries.
Journalism: essays, news reports, press releases, sports news.
Technical communication: user guides, technical reports, or
standards.
Academic and scientific communication: textbooks, student
guides, scientific reports, scientific journals’ articles, encyclopedia
articles.
General reference works: encyclopedia articles, or on-line, multi-
domain informative texts, as the Wikipedia articles.
10. TYPES OF TEXTS: NARRATIVE TEXT
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It entertains, instructs, or informs readers by telling a story.
Narrative texts deal with imaginary or real world and can be
fictional (fairy tales, novels, science fiction, horror or adventure
stories, fables, myths, legends, etc.) and non-fictional (articles,
newspaper reports, historical writings).
TYPES OF TEXTS: ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT
The aim is to change the readers’ beliefs.
They often contain negative qualities or characteristics of
something/someone, or try to persuade their readers that an
object, product, idea is in some way better than others.
