Learning to read in the two above ways is important!
The more times we read a text, the more we tend to understand. However, sometimes we might be short of time (e.g. tests and exams) and being an efficient reader is important here.
I’d like you to consider some hints and tips that will help you succeed when you face reading comprehension exercises to be done in a limited amount of time.
Time yourself in every step and keep a record of your marks, you’ll see the progress you’re making.
Skimming is a technique used to get the gist of the text. After reading the text quickly, stop and ask yourself what the main idea is. Don’t worry about not remembering details and less important information at this point. In your exam, some questions depend on your general understanding of the text.
Scanning is about detailed reading. Other questions in our tests depend on you identifying specific information.
Reading exercises and tests usually include a multiple choice exercise that tests general ideas and main points in each paragraph, and then a more scanning type of text where we need to be quick in finding specific info.
Steps I recommend:
You’ll skip some parts of this technique when you get used to it, however follow all the steps for the time being, till you get enough practice. The more difficult the text is, the more useful the technique is.
Step 1: Where we are, what we’re facing
Read the title, the instructions and the comprehension questions. Underline key words in the questions, or wait for that till Step 3.
Step 2: Skimming the text
Read the text quickly (it should take you a few minutes, a few!, 2, 3…), so as to identify:
– the kind of text (different texts organize information differently and if we know about that, we can be quicker finding the info we need)
– the topic
– and the approach or the main thesis.
Tips: some texts include an introduction and an ending with relevant information to the main idea of the text. Essays and articles include topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph and sometimes a kind of concluding sentence at the end (they might also contain an introduction to the next point in the next paragraph)
Step 3: the Questions
If you understood them after step 1(and don’t worry if you didn’t), have another quick look at the key words you underlined.
If you didn’t understand the questions at the beginning (the most likely scenario), read them carefully now, and underline key words.
Step 4: First scanning – getting down to work!
Read slowly, carefully. Be aware of which chunks you understand well and which seem to be difficult. Read them all carefully, trying to understand, but don’t spend your whole life on the difficult ones, you’ll go back to those in your second scanning.
So, first answer the easy questions. Re-read carefully the others, thinking about the whole text if necessary (sometimes going back to the whole picture helps us realize what we need to look for).
Tips: You could write on the margin, next to the area where an answer may be, the number of question it answers. This will save you time later on. You can also underline key words/points.
Step 5: Second scanning – Think over the parts you didn’t understand
In the second scanning (and third, fourth… if you’re practicing), you should try to solve the hardest parts and answer those questions. Keep in mind something: re-reading the easy parts (much more quickly than the hard parts) may be necessary because those ideas may help us to understand the difficult parts.
Step 6: Check all your answers and copy them on the appropriate space
You have to be quick. Read again your answers, including the easy ones, to check everything is OK. In our tests, you usually get 1 minute to copy your answers in the appropriate space for answers.
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