49 Chapter 7 Becoming an Active Reader Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Skimming is a fast process. One of the most important reasons for skimming is to help you prioritize your work. By skimming through your assignments, you get a glance at the topics covered and the length of the material. This can help you deter- mine which assignments you may need to dedicate more time to read. Figure 7-1 shows suggestions for skimming. Scan for Specific Information To scan means to quickly glance through material to find specific information. Skimming is used when you are not sure what is in the material. Scanning is used when you know the information you need is there and you just have to find it. You might scan when you want to find any of the following: • •• a vocabulary term that you know is in a certain chapter •• a word in a dictionary or an index • an answer to a review question If you scan too quickly, however, you are likely to miss the item for which you are looking. Figure 7-2 demonstrates suggestions for scanning. Read for Detail To read for detail is to read all words and phrases, consider their meanings, and determine how they combine with other elements to convey ideas. Other elements might include sentences, paragraphs, headings, or graphics. Reading for detail is also known as reading for comprehension. Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 7-1 Follow these suggestions for skimming material to get an overview of the information. Skimming• •• Read the title. •• Read section titles and headings. Use the table of contents if there is one. •• Note sections that are boxed, bulleted, numbered, or set in different typefaces. • Identify words in the body of the content that are underlined, italicized, boldfaced, or in all capital letters. • •• Look for information that is called out, such as a bulleted list. •• Flip through pages, spending no more than 10 to 15 seconds on each page. •• Look at visuals and their captions. • Review summaries if they are included. Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 7-2 Follow these suggestions for scanning material when locating specific information. Scanning• •• Determine the specific information for which you are searching. •• Observe how the information is structured such as in paragraphs or in lists. •• Determine clues or characteristics that will help locate the information. • Look briefly each time there is an item with characteristics matching the search criteria. If it is not what you need, continue scanning. • • Quickly read surrounding material to determine whether an item is the exact information for which you are scanning.