Skim Reading is a Key Skill
Transcript of Skim Reading is a Key Skill
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Skim reading is a key skill
Most candidates who've done the academic version of
IELTS (International English Language TestingSystem) say thereading test was the most difficult of the four modules.The
academic reading test assesses whether your reading skills are
developed enough to succeed instudies in English at an
undergraduate or postgraduate level. If you're a professional,
such as a doctor or alawyer, you may also need to do the test to
see if your language skills are developed enough for you towork
in an English language environment.Many candidates want band
score 6.0 in the reading test, but some need 7.0 or even higher.This can bevery challenging. Most candidates find the first of
the three reading passages is difficult, and the next twopassages
are always harder.Still, it's possible to get a very good band
score. Of course, you must have fairly good English grammar
andvocabulary to do well. Just as important, though, are well-
developed reading skills.
Skimming
One of the essential reading skills is skimming. Skimming is
what you do when you want to quickly find outthe general idea
of a document. For example, when you look at a page of the --
Bangkok Post-- to findsomething interesting to read, you just
look quickly at the headings and any photos, and maybe a
fewphrases here and there in an article. This quick reading is
called skim reading.To skim read, you must read at least twice
as fast as your normal speed. However, don't try to read
andunderstand every word. Try to find the main ideas, which are
usually in the main clauses of each sentence.
Doing it in the test
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Before you try to answer any questions in a reading passage,
look at the heading and any pictures. Askyourself what you
think the passage might be about. Then, read the first one or two
paragraphs and quicklyguess what the whole passage is about.Finally, skim read each of the remaining paragraphs to get
ageneral idea of what each is about. \When skim reading, you
only want to find the main point and the general content of each
paragraph. Themain point is given in the paragraph's topic
sentence. Make it a practice to read the opening sentence ofeach
paragraph in a reading passage since it's usually, but not always,
the topic sentence. Don't readevery word in the topic sentence.Just read its main subject, its main verb and the object of the
main (orindependent) clause. Pay less attention to other words in
the topic sentence, such as any relative clausesor adverbial
clauses.It's also very important to get a feel for the general
content of each paragraph. To do this, skim through thewhole
paragraph, looking at sets of related words throughout it. Before
moving on to the next paragraph,skim read the paragraph asecond time and underline the main points. This second skim
reading makesthe main points much easier to recognize and
understand. Once you've quickly summarised the mainpoints of
the paragraph in your head, move on to the next paragraph and
repeat the process.Only read each paragraph enough to
understand what it's generally talking about, and try to ignore
less important information. For instance, don't try to remember
the items in a list of examples in the paragraph.Instead, just
remember that the paragraph has examples of a certain category
of things.
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A road map
At the end of your skimming, you should know what the whole
passage is generally about, and what eachparagraph is generallytalking about.Remember, you're not trying to get a detailed or
accurate understanding of the passage. All you want is amental
outline that tells you which paragraph talks about what topic: a
"road map" of the passage. With thismap, you're in an excellent
position to quickly find the right paragraph with the answer for a
readingpassage's question.Spend six minutes skimming the 10 or
so paragraphs in a passage before looking at any of the
questions.That leaves 14 minutes to do the questions.
Other approaches
Some candidates find it difficult to get the general content
of each paragraph in six minutes. The mostcommon reason is
they're trying to understand every word, or too many words, in
the paragraphs. In otherwords, they're still reading normally, not
skimming. Distracted by less important information andconfusedby words they don't understand, they waste time.Other
candidates go straight to the questions and start scanning for
answers instead of first skim readingthe passage. Usually,
they're afraid they won't have enough time to answer the
questions. However, thismethod is very inefficient as the
candidates often can't understand the questions or the reading
passage.Since they aren't familiar with the general content of
each paragraph, it's also harder to find whichparagraph has the
answer to a question. They're frequently forced to waste time
scanning the wholepassage several times.By comparison, if you
first spend six minutes developing a road map, you're more
likely to understand thequestions. You're also often fairly sure of
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an answer as soon as you read a question. However, as
yourmind can play tricks under the pressure of the exam, always
make sure an answer is correct by carefullychecking the
information in the passage.As well, by skim reading first, youvery often know exactly which paragraph to read to check or
find ananswer. This saves valuable time, so you're in a better
position to answer all questions and get a highscore.Improving
your skim reading skills does take time and effort, but it's
essential, especially if you're aiming forband 6.0 or higher. You
may need much practice to become good at skimming.