IELTS Reading Masterclass

Master Skimming & Scanning Techniques

🔍 What is Skimming?

Skimming is reading quickly to get the general idea or main points of a text. It's like getting a bird's eye view of the content without focusing on details.

📝 How to Skim Effectively:

  1. Read the title and headings first
  2. Look at the first and last paragraphs
  3. Read the first sentence of each paragraph
  4. Notice keywords and repeated words
  5. Ignore detailed examples and statistics

🎯 When to Use Skimming:

  • Finding the main idea of a passage
  • Understanding the overall purpose
  • Getting a general overview before detailed reading
  • Matching headings to paragraphs

Skimming Example

"Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Rising global temperatures are causing ice caps to melt, sea levels to rise, and weather patterns to become increasingly unpredictable. Scientists around the world are working tirelessly to find solutions..."

Main idea identified through skimming: Climate change is a major global problem that scientists are working to solve.

💡 Skimming Pro Tip

Don't read every word! Your eyes should move quickly across the text, focusing on:

  • Topic sentences (usually the first sentence of paragraphs)
  • Keywords that relate to the main topic
  • Transition words (however, therefore, in conclusion)

🎯 What is Scanning?

Scanning is searching for specific information quickly. Your eyes move rapidly over the text looking for particular words, numbers, names, or dates.

📝 How to Scan Effectively:

  1. Know exactly what you're looking for
  2. Move your eyes quickly across the text
  3. Stop when you find the target information
  4. Use keywords from the question
  5. Look for synonyms of your target words

🎯 When to Use Scanning:

  • Finding specific facts, numbers, or dates
  • Locating names or places
  • Answering detail-oriented questions
  • Finding supporting evidence

Scanning Example

Question: What year was the telephone invented?

"Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish inventor who revolutionized communication. Born in 1847, Bell conducted numerous experiments with sound transmission. His breakthrough came in 1876 when he successfully transmitted the first telephone call. This invention changed the world forever..."

Answer found through scanning: 1876 (quickly spotted by looking for a year/date)

💡 Scanning Pro Tip

Think like a detective! Look for:

  • Capital letters (names, places)
  • Numbers and dates
  • Words in italics or quotation marks
  • Synonyms of your search term

📝 Practice Exercise

Read the passage below and answer both questions to test your skimming and scanning skills!

"Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist, won two Nobel Prizes for her work on radioactivity. She discovered the elements polonium and radium. Born in Warsaw in 1867, she moved to Paris in 1891 to study at the Sorbonne University. Her research on uranium rays led to groundbreaking discoveries that earned her the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. Marie Curie died in 1934 from aplastic anemia, likely caused by prolonged exposure to radiation during her research."

Question 1 (Skimming): What is the main focus of this passage?

A) Marie Curie's personal life and family
B) Marie Curie's scientific achievements and discoveries
C) The dangers of radiation exposure

Question 2 (Scanning): Which elements did Marie Curie discover?

A) Polonium and radium
B) Uranium and plutonium
C) Oxygen and hydrogen

Question 3 (Scanning): In what year was Marie Curie born?

A) 1891
B) 1867
C) 1903