Skimming and Scanning: Essential Skills for the IELTS Reading Exam
The IELTS Academic Reading test is a challenging 60-minute section with three long texts and 40 questions. The most common mistake test-takers make is trying to read every word, which leaves them with no time to answer all the questions. The key to success is to use targeted reading strategies. Skimming and scanning are the two most important skills you need to master.

1. Skimming: The Art of Getting the Main Idea
Skimming means reading a text quickly to get a general overview or the main idea. You don't read for detail; you read for the "big picture." This skill is particularly useful for questions that ask about the overall purpose of a paragraph, the author's opinion, or the main theme of the text.

How to Skim a Text:

Read the Title and Headings: These give you the primary topic of the passage.

Read the First Sentence of Each Paragraph: This is often the topic sentence, which introduces the main idea of that paragraph.

Read the Last Sentence of Each Paragraph: This sentence often summarizes the main point.

Look for Keywords: Pay attention to proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations), dates, and numbers. These stand out and can give you clues about the content.

Do not read the small connecting words like a, the, and, is, are. Your eyes should move quickly across the text.

Example of a Skimming Task:

Question: What is the author's primary purpose in writing this article?

To answer this, you would skim the entire passage, paying attention to the first and last sentences of each paragraph to build a general understanding of the topic.

2. Scanning: Finding Specific Information
Scanning is the process of looking for specific pieces of information, such as a name, a date, a number, or a keyword. You already know what you're looking for, so you don't need to understand the entire text. This skill is crucial for questions like True/False/Not Given, Matching Headings, and Short Answer questions.

How to Scan a Text:

Identify Keywords from the Question: Read the question first and pull out the key information you need to find. For example, if the question asks about "the year the internet was invented," your keywords are "internet" and "invented" and the thing you're looking for is a year.

Look for Your Keywords in the Text: Quickly move your eyes down the page, searching for those specific words or their synonyms. Don't read anything else. Your focus is narrow.

Use Visual Clues: Headings, bullet points, numbers, and capital letters can help you find the correct section of the text more quickly.

Once you find a keyword, read the sentence around it carefully to see if it provides the answer to your question.

Example of a Scanning Task:

Question: According to the text, in what year did the company first introduce the new technology?

Your keywords are "company," "first introduce," and "new technology." You would scan the passage for a year, then read the sentence next to it to see if it relates to the company's new technology.

3. The Combined Strategy
For the IELTS Reading test, you should use both skills in a sequence:

Skim the entire passage first. Spend 2-3 minutes skimming the text to get a general idea of the topic, the main points of each paragraph, and the overall structure. This helps you know where to look later.

Read the first set of questions.

Scan for answers. Go back to the text and use your scanning skills to locate the specific information needed to answer the questions.

By combining these two skills, you can work through the test efficiently, saving precious time and maximizing your score. Practice is the most important factor in improving your speed and accuracy.

This guide provides a solid foundation for understanding and using skimming and scanning. Let me know if you would like to practice with a sample IELTS reading passage or if you'd like to dive deeper into a specific question type.