Skimming and scanning are essential techniques for speed reading and finding important information quickly in the PTE academic reading section. These skills allow you to efficiently locate the information you need, saving you time and helping you make the most of your test time. In this topic, we will go through the definition of Skimming and Scanning and will learn how these skills will benefit us for our PTE journey.
Skimming
Skimming is a reading technique that involves quickly looking for the main ideas in a text rather than reading every word. It’s a useful skill for quickly finding important information in articles and texts and can be helpful when preparing for PTE by allowing you to efficiently review a large amount of material. To skim a text, you should read the introduction to get an understanding of the topic, read the first sentence of each paragraph to get the main idea, and skip the last paragraph, which typically contains a summary or conclusion. Skimming is a technique we often use in everyday life when reading newspapers or other materials and don’t have time to read everything in full.
Scanning
Scanning is a reading technique that involves looking for specific details or bits of information without reading the entire text. Like skimming, the purpose of scanning is to save time and efficiently locate the information you need. We also use scanning in daily life when looking for specific information in newspapers, TV guides, and other materials.
In the PTE reading section, it’s important to understand how the information is structured in the passage, whether it’s arranged alphabetically or chronologically, to easily locate the specific details you are searching for. This can help you save time and efficiently find the information you need.
How to practice
One way to practice skimming is to set a timer and try to identify the main ideas in a passage as quickly as possible. Another way to improve your skimming skills is to read the first and last sentence of each paragraph to get a general understanding of the content. Additionally, you can try reading only the headings and subheadings of a passage to get a sense of the overall topic and main ideas. With practice, skimming can become an effective tool for quickly finding important information and using your reading time wisely.
To practice scanning, you can try setting a timer and searching for specific information in a passage as quickly as possible. Another way to improve your scanning skills is to read only the headings and subheadings of a passage and try to locate specific details within those sections. With practice, scanning can become an effective tool for efficiently finding the information you need.
Skimming and scanning are some of the most important yet underutilized skills to have that will get you a high score in PTE reading section. With this article, we hope that you will come to utilize these skills more and as always, follow us for more important PTE updates.
