You read different types of text in different ways. You don’t read a bus schedule or a newspaper in the same way you read a novel. You use different strategies to get the information you need. Often, this is because your time is limited or you simply want to get specific information. Skimming and scanning are two common ways to read different texts.

Skimming gives you a general impression of a text. In a piece of plain text, you may look quickly at the first and last sentences of each paragraph. If there are special features in the text, such as bullet points and quotes, then you may look at these as well. Often the title and subtitles give the main idea, as do photos, diagrams and charts. Skimming helps you decide if you want to read a text in more detail. One way to skim a document is to decide what the important ideas are.

Scanning helps you locate specific details. Use scanning when you have who, what, when, where, why or how questions. For example, you might scan an article to find the name of a person or the person’s contact information. When you start with a question, look for keywords that will lead you to the information you are looking for. Words such as where and when mean you are looking for a place and a time or date.

Task A

Consider these types of texts. Which would you skim; which would you scan? Discuss your answers with a partner.

Task B

Turn to Reading 1 Looking for Money. Skim the first sentence of each paragraph and make brief notes about things you understand and things you don’t understand.

Task C

Scan this excerpt from Reading 1 and highlight the following information

• • people who use crowdfunding sites;
  • crowdfunding sites;
  • how much people invest.

Once limited to artists, musicians and filmmakers looking to finance their creative projects, crowdfunding has expanded into the world of entrepreneurship. Crowdfunding taps the power of social networking and allows entrepreneurs to post their elevator pitches and proposed investment terms on crowdfunding websites, such as Profounder, Peerbackers, Kickstarter or lndiegogo, and raise money to fund their ventures from ordinary people who invest as little as $100. Normally, the amount of capital these entrepreneurs seek is small, typically less than $10,000, and the “returns” they offer inves­ tors are mere tokens, such as discount coupons and free product samples. However, some entrepreneurs have raised significantly more money with crowdfunding and offer “real” returns.