Skimming

​Skimming is a form of rapid reading for finding the general idea—or gist—of a passage or a book. In your daily and academic life, you probably skim many things: movie reviews, newspaper articles, and passages and websites that might be useful for a research paper. When you skim, you have a general question in mind, something you need or want to know about the text, such as:

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Skimming Questions

• What is the general meaning?

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• Does this agree with what I already know about this subject?

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• What is the writer's opinion?

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• Will this information be useful to me?​

​Your eyes should move very quickly as you skim and should focus only on the words or sentences that will answer your questions. Often these are found in the beginning and ending paragraphs, and in the first sentences of the other paragraphs.

​Skimming Movie Reviews

Movie reviews in newspapers, magazines, or on the Web usually provide information and the reviewer's opinion about the movie.

To get a sense of whether or not you would like to

see a movie, you do not have to read the review all the way through—you can skim it.