Getting the Gist

We use skimming to?

• Find facts

• Know the general idea of an article

• Find the details of an issue

• Find specific information

What is skimming?

• Quickly reading over a text to get the general gist.
• Quickly reading over a text to find a specific piece of information which is focused upon
• Taking the time to understand the whole text in depth.

Looking through a magazine to check what articles to read is an example of...?

• Skimming

• Scanning

What is the belief that the center of the universe is the Earth?

For a long time, people believed the earth stood at the center of the universe and everything, including the sun, revolved around it. This belief is called geocentrism. Geocentrism was an accepted truth until the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus came along. In 1543, Copernicus proved through his observations and mathematical calculations that the earth actually revolved around the sun. This view is called heliocentrism. Copernicus was not the first scientist to discover heliocentrism, but his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres provided more detailed support behind the theory.

• Geocentrism

• Heliocentrism

• Nicolause Copernicus

• Earth-Centered

Although poetry was Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s first love, as was his sister’s, Christina Rossetti (who was one of the most remarkable poets of her time) he decided on an artistic career. In September 1848, he formed a ‘secret society’ with other painters called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB). The group aimed to produce work with both aesthetic and moral values.
From the excerpt above, it mainly about?

• A hobby of a painter
• A life history of a painter
• A life history of a poet
• A divine love of a poet

Which of the following does NOT involve skimming?

• reading the initial sentence in each paragraph

• looking quickly for words you're not familiar with

• looking at photographs in an article

• reading the first and last paragraph in a newspaper article

Skim this text in less than 5 seconds and choose the correct option:

When Tiger won the US masters in 1997, he was only 21 years old. In winning, he broke lots of records. He won the title by 12 strokes, which was the biggest ever victory at the US masters. He also became the youngest champion in 61 years.

• This article is about Tiger Woods' victory on the golf course.

• This article is about different types of sports.

Skimming techniques include

• looking for the main ideas of the article

• looking for specific words, phrases, names, dates, or places

Which is not a useful time to skim?

• pre-reading
• review a text you already read
• read a text for detail
• quickly read a text you don't need to read in full

What is the first step when skimming?

• read the last paragraph
• read the 1st paragraph
• read the title
• read the bold words