In
IELTS, test taker faces three long advanced-level passages. Of course,
reading all passages before answering the question will take long time.
Therefore, test taker has to apply some techniques to maximize the time
allocation given.
Scanning
and skimming are two techniques that test taker can choose to shorten
the time in answering the questions in this section. So, what is the
difference of these two techniques? How can test taker apply it in
answering the questions in reading section?
Scanning
is a technique used to locate a specific fact or piece of information.
This technique is very important to find a specific name, date,
statistic or fact without reading the whole passage. Therefore, test
taker could use it after reading the question in reading IELTS which do
not ask him or her to show his or her full comprehension on the
passages. Test taker could simply look for the answer in the passages by
scanning the passages.
There are some steps that can be applied in taking this technique:
- Test taker has to keep in mind what he or she is looking at. If test taker could hold the image of the word or idea clearly in mind, it is likely to appear more clearly than surrounding words.
- Test taker should anticipate about the form of information that might appear.
- Test taker should analyze first the passage before starting to scan. If the passage is quite long and complex, test taker should skim the passage first to find the parts which are needed to be scanned. Meanwhile, if the passage is quite easy for the test taker, he or she could decide to scan it then find the information only by having a single search.
On
the other hand, skimming is a technique in moving eyes over the passage
to get only the main idea and the general overview of the passage. By
skimming the passages, it is expected that test taker is able to get
some results such as:
- Highlighted keywords
- One or two words about topic of each paragraph
- An idea of how the passage is structured: whether it is structured thematically or chronologically.
Skimming
and scanning go hand in hand in reading IELTS. Test taker could make
use of these two techniques to answer the questions quickly.
References: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_skimming_and_scanning, http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2011/05/ielts-reading-skimming-and-scanning.html, http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-reading/10-top-tips/
