Reading Skills

Here are four different kinds of reading.

• 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.

Exercise

Using these descriptions, how would you read the following? Match the different types of reading with the categories below. Decide which one requires you to skim or to scan the text. Which one needs detailed Intensive reading? What type of text do you read Extensively - for pleasure?

Write down your answers - then click on the “answer” to check them.

The ‘What’s On’ section of the local paper:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Scanning

A novel:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Extensive (or Intensive for revision, perhaps)

A newspaper:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Skimming, Scanning for specific information, Intensive if we find it.

A text in class:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Intensive

A poem:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Extensive

The telephone directory:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Scanning

A postcard:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Intensive

A train timetable:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Scanning

A recipe:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is:Intensive

A travel brochure:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Extensive
• Intensive answer

The correct answer is: Skimming for interest, Scanning for particular resort, Intensive for detail.

You might have had other answers, but you can see there are different ways in which we take in written information.

Now, what use is this to us? - It can help to save us time.

Learn which material needs which skill and you can get through more work.

For example, you can scan an index or contents page to search for one particular item in a theoretical book to help with an assignment. When you find the term, look at the chapter and scan it - you should soon be able to see if it will help in your assignment.

What about the other meanings of different ways to read ?

This may be different depending on the subject you are studying, so please click on the appropriate page:

For LCM students
For SPS students
For NHE students
For ITO students