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How to Skim Textbooks
Think about how you find a name in a
telephone book. You don’t read any more than necessary to find the name.
Maybe you use your finger to guide your eyes. This type of reading is
known as scanning. Skimming uses the same type of skill
mechanically but a different skill mentally. In scanning, you know what
you are looking for; in skimming, you don’t.
Since you don’t know exactly what you are
looking for while skimming, prepare yourself by reading the title, source,
author, and any pictures; then question yourself,--who, what, when,
where is this likely to focus on? With a questioning mind direct your
eyes down the column of print, or in a zigzag, if the lines are quite
long. Look for exact names of people, places, things, ideas, numbers and
words like therefore, whenever, until, because, and instead,
to clue you to how and why.
When you first start to learn to skim you
may see only the words in bold type, italics, digits, or capitalized
words. Soon you will note new or unusual vocabulary. As you become an
efficient skimmer your span of perception will develop and your ability to
make closure will increase.
Skimming is a step you should always take
before you read any article of factual or practical narrative. You will
soon be able to detect most important facts, strange vocabulary, and words
that are clues to important relationships.
It's a good practice to skim everything in mass media after reading the
title and first paragraph. You may get all the information you want. This
keeps your skimming skills from deteriorating, or will give you the
practice you need to develop necessary skills.
Skim everything you intend to read before you make a final decision to
read, discard, or study the material.
Skim all highlighting and develop a read-skim pattern to use for rapid
review. And don't overlook this! Reviewing frequently and rapidly
is the best way to memorize (or simply remember information) from notes
and long text assignments. Skimming is a very useful tool for studying,
so learn it and use it!