Skimming and Scanning
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Skimming and Scanning are two different techniques
o Skimming is reading the whole text quickly, to get an overall picture of what it is
about, and even a very quick skim-read can tell a great deal about a text
o Scanning is used after you skim the text to get particular information or details.
You dip in or out, read particular phrases, or words to check whether they are
useful or not.
Once you have the gist of the text from skimming AND located the information you need
from scanning, you need to select what information to use.
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Synthesis is a skill you need when responding to a directed writing task. Synthesis
involves collecting information from different sources and THEN combining it in your own
text --- organizing the information in the way that is useful to you
o If you want to buy a TV, you collect information on different brands from online,
from stores, from friends etc., about features, prices, AMC
o You also exclude irrelevant information as you are moving forward in synthesizing
or combining
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Explicit meaning is where you will be looking for precise information such as name or
number or date in a non-fiction piece or the narrator may reveal something about a
character, place or feeling in a direct way in a piece of fiction
Implicit meaning is not obvious like the explicit meaning. Words will carry with them
suggestions and associations. You need to identify and interpret implicit information.
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Emotive language: a type of implicit meaning that may occur in text is emotive
language.
o Words or phrases that make the reader feel a particular emotion
Sensory language: stimulates reader’s imagination so that they feel as if they are there
o You can imagine exactly what you will be able to see, feel, hear, touch or smell