Differences between Skim – Scan and Reading IELTS Test Stratergy are necessary for IELTS Test. When you want to improve the scores IELTS, Skim – Scan will be helped you so much.
Tricks Magical give you some Tips for IELTS Reading to improve the scores.
I. Differences between Skim – Scan
Skim – skimming, Scan – reading are both quick reading skills to find information in reading books that save time and effectively.
You will see these two skills are similar. But pay attention to the following points to understand what tactics you need to apply to your test.
For example.
Imagine you enter a store. You see a lot of clothes and you go through them, shaping them, including new dresses, styles and designs. Just a rundown.
Next, you will start scanning, ie targeting the fashion designs that you love to choose. Skim – Scan similar.
Here is the relative definition:
Skim – skim. This is the reading process to get an overview and briefly understand the impression of the content.
Scan – read the scan This is the process of reading a search for a specific word or phrase. (keywords we often say that ) With this way of reading, you will not need to read all that omit some unnecessary details. This skill needs a lot of practice to not obediently choose the necessary information, saving you time.
-> In summary:
- Skim helps find general information
- Scan for specific information.
When should I use Skim – Scan?
Depending on the purpose of reading, searching for information, you choose the appropriate technique to find the appropriate information.
Keep reading the following points to know when to use which technique.
II. When to use Skim or Scan
1. When to use Skim?
When you need to read quickly, preview, you should think of Skim. Practice skimming for long readings to find the main idea of the lesson that will help you to understand the content to get started.
Applying Skim skills is necessary to save time. This is an essential skill for reading such as Matching to help you understand information and choose answers.
2. When to use Scan?
Skimming doesn’t guarantee you all the information, but Scan does help.
When you need to search for a specific information, use Scan.
3. In the text, is it okay to use only Skim or Scan?
For IELTS Reading, you need to practice both because it is very important for you to find ideas simultaneously. This is called a pair of duplicates )) These two techniques are used by most IELTS teachers.
Using the two techniques in parallel will help you read faster, but you don’t miss something important. Skim helps cover the reading information, and Scan will find the main idea for the question you need. Combining that together will give you impressive results, saving you more time to do long readings in just 1 hour.
III. How to apply Skim – Scan effectively?
Skimming not only looks through but must really be practiced in this technique. You do not just put any paragraph that you pay attention to.
You should carefully examine the paragraph how to know the focus needs attention. The first is the title – understand what it says. Next is the bulleted list, numbered list, bold text, italic … But not just those points.
Here are some steps to practice Skim technique:
Find out what the reading says – it is clearly shown in the title of the text.
- Read from left to right from the top down with moderate surfing speed.
- You read the first few sentences and take your eyes down to the last sentence of the paragraph (topic sentences & concluding sentences). These can be sentences that hold the topic of the whole paragraph. In the inductive or interpretation you often know. While surfing if there is a point to read completely, then stop for a moment before moving your eyes to other areas. In addition, you should pay attention to the years, numbers, proper nouns in the article because it is likely that the question will ask about that information.
- Read the title and the opening sentence. Then read the first and last sentences of each paragraph to skim the main idea
- Attention based on words
Marking words (indicator words)
because, includes, firstly, secondly, finally, but, then,. ..
These words will help you know in which form the paragraph is presented: listing, comparison-contrast, time-order (in chronological order), and cause-effect ( cause-result) … to make note of the main idea and memorize the paragraph position more easily.
- Underline and highlight words – important phrases that you see. That is why it is necessary to prepare markers, pencils for ease of use for reading.
- About speed, you decide. This speed will increase faster when you have practiced more. There are words that do not understand, so when surfing will stop longer will pull back speed so do not worry to improve your knowledge.
This is with Skim skill. This skill is often used in Reading exercises such as Matching. But you also need to use more Scan to make sure the answer.
And Scan is used in cases where you need to find out detailed information for questions like tru / false / notgiven or fill in the blanks, gap fill … You refer to this technique application through the article: How to do the test Gap Reading Summary IELTS Reading test
To practice Scanning skills, you should apply:
- Read the question carefully to know the keywords that appear and search within the paragraph.
- Use 1 finger to move along the sentences. This helps you focus more on knowing where the keywords are as well as less omitting the information in pharse sentences – synonyms.
- Remember the keywords seen in the question during the Scan. Important keys information will help you identify and identify which part of the question is. When you see the keyword, stop and read the surrounding text.
- Keyword – keyword. Where can you get it from? The questions and answers provide important words to use in your reading. But you need to pay attention to the synonyms. This requires you to improve your daily vocabulary for synonyms.
Besides tracking the keywords in the question, pay attention to the words that can be important answers. These are nouns, dates, events, names, numbers, etc. Although single words or phrases are highly likely to affect the meaning of the text.
- If you see the information that matches the question, stop to check more carefully to choose the right answer.
- Practice the Scan skill regularly to help you navigate the directions and detailed information in the lesson. You can practice to improve your level.
IV. General IELTS Reading Test Stratergy
Tricks Magical introduce Skim – Scan and practice method. In short:
- When you need to search for a general information with basic answers, time is urgent, you can immediately apply Skim to do homework. Then, if you have time, scan to make sure the answer is more accurate.
- Scan is a necessary technique when you need to search for clear information with separate keywords. This technique requires more patience and detail to capture the knowledge that matches the question answers.
To practice these two techniques in parallel for Reading, you need:
- Prepare a marker pen or crayons to make it easier to highlight the topic sentence as well as the keywords. Add pencils and ballpoint pens to record new words and knowledge to keep in mind.
Set the clock to get used to the time pressure when practicing.
- Practicing carefully with different conjunctions or keyword search …
Below will be a Skim – Scan self-training guide that you can refer to:
Practice training regular
Choose the reading that suits your ability. If you are a beginner, you should choose books or materials with short readings to practice gradually. Set the time to practice.
Step 1: Skim the title and skim the first part to get an idea of the whole
Step 2: Read the question and search for keywords, understand the requirements of the question. You can read the previous question about the required problem to determine the format of the test and then apply Skim – Scan also.
Step 3: Read the passage with related keywords. Underline and carefully read the sentences around the sentences that have keywords.
If the question requires inference, for example: What do you think the author’s attitude is? then
+) Pay attention to the suggested words
+) Be careful with interpretive sentences, synonyms
+) And don’t put the knowledge you know into the reading because they don’t test your knowledge but check what you draw from the reading. Sometimes what you know, they don’t say in the reading and may have opinions in the opposite so be careful.
However, there are different types of cards you will need different tactics. Therefore, to apply to each specific question type in Reading, please refer to the article according to each question that Tricks Magical have introduced immediately this link: IELTS Reading and the method of making each type of exercises effective.
