Are you often bored or unmotivated when faced with thick books? Relax, in this article about skimming and scanning, we will learn how to read books quickly and efficiently. Read on to the end!
In school, we are required to master various subjects to move up grades or graduate. This, of course, presents us with stacks of books waiting to be read. Especially when exams are approaching, reading textbooks is a must!
Hmm… just looking at piles of study materials can feel overwhelming, right? Not to mention remembering that our textbooks can be hundreds or even thousands of pages long, hehe.
Well, instead of panicking and worrying about not having enough time to study everything, you need to get acquainted with speed-reading methods! They are called skimming and scanning. With these skills, we can save study time. So, no need to worry about running out of time anymore. What are skimming and scanning speed-reading like? Let’s discuss them in depth in this article!
Read also: Effective Study Methods According to Research
Skimming
The first quick method is skimming, yes, skimming! Not swimming, if that’s what you thought, hehe. In essence, skimming means glancing. This reading technique is used when we want to find the overall main idea of a book. Using this method, we don’t read the book word by word but jump from one part to another to see the main points of the topic being read. From there, we can determine which parts of the text need to be read in more detail later. Can you imagine it?
Oh yeah, with skimming, we can read 3-4 times faster than regular reading! Studying becomes more time-efficient and less boring! So, how do you do skimming? Let’s follow these steps:
1. Pay Attention to Titles and Subtitles
When you start opening a book and are about to read the first page, you will definitely find main lines like titles or subtitles, right? When skimming, paying attention to these two things can help you find out what materials are in the book. You can focus specifically on the parts you want to study by noting the titles and subtitles in the book!
2. No Need to Read Word by Word
The main function of skimming is to make reading faster, and for you to know whether the text is worth reading further or not. Therefore, if you want to quickly decide if a book is suitable for you, you can quickly skip to several parts and assess whether the content of the book is what you need or not.
3. Check the Final Paragraph
Why go straight to the final paragraph? Generally, writing structures usually culminate in a conclusion from the ideas discussed previously. By directly checking the final paragraph, you can quickly identify the information explained in the book. If you are still unsure about the information in the final paragraph, you can also check the beginning of the paragraph!
4. Pause Briefly
Read calmly, even though the essence of skimming is reading quickly, there’s no need to rush. Take a moment each time you finish reading a section in detail to understand what you just read. If you have, you can continue reading other sections. Just a little advice, when pausing, don’t lie down, because you might end up reading in your dreams, hehe.
5. Pay Attention to Illustrations or Infographics
Before delving into letters and sentences, you are advised to look at visual information first. Pictures or infographics usually include summaries of important information and interesting things for you to observe. Then, it becomes easier for you to understand the content of the reading further.
6. Read Chapter Summaries if Available
Furthermore, if this section is available in the book, it is highly recommended to check the special pages that summarize each chapter. Information in this section is usually presented in the form of points that are the essence of information from a full chapter.
Well, after skimming, we will get an overall picture of the book’s contents without reading all the text. If we find an interesting part, we can read that part in detail for better understanding. Possible, right? 🙂
Okay, now with a little practice, you can become a skimming pro. Next, let’s discuss scanning!
Scanning
Then, the second method is scanning! Scanning in essence means to scan. But, the scanning we are discussing now is different from the one in a photocopy machine, hehe. Scanning is a reading technique to get specific information quickly and accurately from a book.
Usually, scanning is used when we already know what we are looking for, so we will focus on specific content in the book. We need to practice moving our eyes or flipping book pages quickly to find the word or phrase we are looking for. Have you ever scanned before? Let’s check out the complete tips!
Read also: Effective Ways to Improve Your Memory So You Don’t Forget Quickly
1. Determine Keywords
When scanning, you certainly already know a little about the information you are looking for, right? Well, as much as possible, find one or two words that are keywords for that information. Quickly look at each page until you come across a paragraph that contains those keywords.
2. Glance Quickly and Rapidly
When searching, there is no need to read carefully one by one, as it will take a long time. Just glance quickly from top to bottom of the page until you find the keyword. When searching, make sure your focus is on the book page!
3. Read Information Around Keywords
After finding the keyword, then what? The answer is definitely, just read the material around it carefully. Even though you have found the keyword, it does not necessarily mean you have found the information you need, right? For that reason, it is also important for you to mark important parts of the book that you want to study.
4. Look for Words in Bold, Italics, or Printed Differently from Other Text
When having difficulty finding a specific word, you can also search for it with the help of differently styled text. Try searching for words with bold, italic, or underlined fonts.
Read also: Tips to Improve Your Concentration While Studying
5. Pay Attention to Illustrations, Tables, or Pictures Related to Information
Okay, we move on to the next step, if you find pictures, tables, or infographics in the book you are reading, then it will be even easier for you to scan! Visually presented information is usually very helpful for specific topics you are looking for, like the infographic below!
6. Make Sure to Search in the Right Chapter or Subchapter
Next, make sure when scanning you are doing the right thing. Yes, searching in the right place! Thick books usually have several parts. Therefore, to make it easier for you to quickly find the information you are looking for.
7. Pay Attention to Letter Order
Well-organized books will arrange terms based on alphabetical order neatly. Now, if the example information you are looking for is in books like dictionaries or glossaries, it is important to search for keywords according to letter order. Easy, isn’t it?
In practice, skimming and scanning can be used together! For example, when studying a book that has never been read, we can start with skimming and determine what materials are interesting to read. Then, to have a better understanding, we can scan for keywords of the material we want to study.
Or vice versa, if you already know what you want to study, you can start by scanning for keywords you want to learn. After finding them, we can skim to get a simple and quick understanding of the material. How is it? Learning from books becomes more enjoyable and doesn’t waste time anymore, right? Hehe.
By getting used to speed reading, it will be very helpful for studying effectively and efficiently. We can also study from all textbooks for maximum mastery of the material. Let’s start applying skimming and scanning when studying! Never stop reading, means never stop learning.
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This article was updated on December 21, 2021
