Understanding the Difference between Skimming and Scanning
Reading is an essential skill for everyone. Be it students, professionals, or individuals pursuing their hobbies, reading is a crucial step towards achieving one’s goals. However, there are distinct approaches to reading – skimming and scanning – that aid in comprehending particular pieces of text. In this article, we will explore the difference between the two approaches.
Skimming
Skimming is an approach to reading that involves a swift run-through of a piece of text to gain a basic idea of its content. Unlike in-depth reading, skimming involves selective reading, where the reader scans through the text, focusing on keywords and making assumptions based on the content. Skimming is commonly used in situations where time is limited, or the reader has a lot of material to go through quickly.
Users typically use skimming when they need to identify the central point of the content, identify key arguments or ideas, or get an overview of the text's organization. One can achieve this quickly by scanning the headings, subheadings, first sentences of each paragraph, or any bold or italicized texts.
Scanning
Scanning, on the other hand, involves a more thorough search for a specific piece of information within the text. Unlike skimming, scanning demands intense focus and concentration as the reader critically engages with the text to locate a particular concept or idea. Scanning is used when a specific piece of information is required, and there is a need to find it quickly and with certainty.
Scanning is often used for research purposes, where scholars need to find specific information to support their work. In this approach, the reader uses their understanding of keywords or phrases to scan through the text, either from top to bottom or left to right. This method effectively eliminates extraneous information, as the reader focuses only on the relevant content.
The Differences between Skimming and Scanning
Now that we understand the difference between skimming and scanning let us summarize. Skimming involves a rapid overview of the text to obtain a general understanding of the content, while scanning requires more focus and concentration to extract specific information from the text. Skimming is ideal for getting a quick overview of the text, while scanning is used when searching for specific information. Moreover, skimming helps readers to identify the most crucial sections of the text, while scanning focuses readers on the specific information they need.
In conclusion, both skimming and scanning are valuable approaches to reading, and their effectiveness depends on the reader's objectives. Skimming effectively provides an overview of a text, while scanning helps to retrieve specific information. The reader's choice between the two methods depends on the nature and purpose of their reading material.
