The how to on skimming, scanning, and quick reading for college

1. The how to on skimming, scanning, and quick reading for college

2. Skimming • Quickly identify main ideas of a text • Skimming is 3 to 4 times faster regular reading • Used when there is a lot of material and a short amount of time

3. How to Skim • Read the first and last paragraph • Read headings, subheadings, titles, subtitles, and illustrations • Read the first sentence of every paragraph • Skimming works well with dates, names and places

4. Scanning • Used to search for key terms • When you know what you are looking for you can through texts to find the information • Good to use when determining whether a source will have the answers you are looking for

5. How to Scan • First look at how the author organizes his information • Look for bold faces, italics, or different sized fonts • The author may also put key information in the margins of pages

6. Quick reading tips • 1. Prepare yourself • Set the time length that you will read for • Collect all your materials • Find a comfortable place to read • Relax and focus on what you need to accomplish

7. Quick reading tips • 2. Overview • Look at titles, subtitles, and headings to find what information is there • Look at charts and pictures and relate them to subtitles • Ask what you are going to get from the reading

8. Quick Reading tips • 3. Read During Daylight Hours • Studies show people are most efficient readers during the day time • A person will read a passage in half the time if they read in the daylight • Read during breaks in you day to allot for relaxation during the night when you need rest

9. Quick Reading Tips • 4. Avoid Distractions • Keep a notebook near you to write down things that come to mind (other assignments, people to call, etc) so you can them later • Read in place where there is nothing to distract you • Turn off TV, music, facebook, and anything else that will break your concentration

10. Quick Reading Tips • 5. Take a Break • Studies show that reading becomes less efficient if you do not take a break to refresh your mind • A 5 minute break is recommended for every hour of reading • Do something well defined so it does not drag on and you do not become distracted

11. Quick Reading Tips • 6. Read Often • Reading often helps build your reading skills • Reading at the same time everyday turns reading into a habit • You paid for your textbooks so you might as well read them

12. Submitted By: Jeff WardLock Haven University