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Skimming

The next skill is skimming. When you skim, you read quickly to get the main idea. You DON'T read every word. You might read any headings or subheadings, the first sentence, the last sentence and a few key words and phrases. Here's an example of a paragraph:
Art education fluctuates in popularity and presently seems to have sunk into an all-time low, with large numbers of art teachers retraining in other directions or joining Centrelink queues. Many parents believe that art education is a waste of time, and with the problems of unemployment faced by those with Visual Arts degrees, this view is reinforced. In times of economic stability, schools are typically expected to develop individuals and prepare them for life, as intelligent, well-adjusted and thinking people. However, at times of economic stress, education is suddenly expected to change to job preparation. As there's little money to be gained by studying art, many people reason, there is no point in doing it. What is more, those students who wish to continue to university will find themselves severely handicapped if they choose to do TEE Art, as their examination results will automatically be scaled down, resulting in lower aggregates than those of students studying mathematics and sciences. Where university entry levels are important, this becomes a major factor in steering students away from art.
Here's what you might read of the paragraph if you were skimming:
Art education fluctuates in popularity and seems to have reached an all-time low, with large numbers of art teachers retraining in other directions or joining Centrelink queues. Many parents believe ... waste of time ... times of economic stress ... job preparation ...
. . . students ... severely handicapped if they choose to do TEE Art ...
. . . results ... scaled down ...Where university entry levels are important, this becomes a major factor in steering students away from art.
Were you still able to get the main idea? You shoul1 1 have been able to, and by reading 69 words instead of nearly 200,-you save yourself time.

Activity 2.-2: Skimming

Here are a number of extracts from texts that you will see in full in later chapters. For each, answer the questions by skimming. Don't worry about details, and ignore any unfamiliar vocabulary.
Suggested time: 1 minute per extract

Extract 1

A solution to prevent potential induced degradation, a recently discovered new trend in high voltage solar systems throughout the world, has been researched· by SOLON SE's Dr Lars Podlowski and Daniel Hundmaier. In photovoltaic (PV) modules, an initial drop in efficiency is a well-known phenomenon. Known as light induced degradation, it has long been included in the performance guarantees offered by producers in the industry or the calculations of project developers and plant operators. Light induced degradation can cause an approximate 2 per cent decrease in system performance in the first few hours of operation of any new PV installation.

What is the topic of the paragraph?

a photography
b solar energy
c house plants

What is the purpose of the paragraph?

a to explain a problem
b to describe a person
c to give an opinion

Extract 2

Facebook will allow users to block all third parties from accessing their information without their explicit permission. It will also make less information available in its user directory and reduce the number of settings required to make all information private from nearly 50 to less than 15. The back tracking by Internet companies on how they use our private data has demonstrated that they cannot take our trust for granted. If social networking becomes increasingly important to companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, they will have to be careful not to violate their users' trust in the future.

What is the topic of this paragraph?

a The Internet and children
b The Internet and communication
c The Internet and privacy

What is the purpose of the paragraph?

a to give instructions
b to explain a problem
c to give an opinion

Extract 3

One of the world's biggest brands has made a lot of money out of youthful rebellion - or, in many cases, nostalgia for it. 'Who doesn't have a little something to rebel against in their life?' Harley-Davidson's global chief marketing officer, Mark Hans-Richer, says about the raw attraction of the big, high-powered motorcycles. Blame Peter Fonda and the late Dennis Hopper in the 1969 classic film Easy Rider for producing instant, iconic images of freedom, rebellion and the desire to push back.

Where would you expect to see this paragraph?

a in a magazine about business
b in a magazine about science
c in a magazine about fashion

Which of these is the paragraph focused on?

a what people buy
b where people buy
c why people buy

TIP It is unlikely that you will be able to answer questions in the IELTS exam by just skimming or scanning. Instead, you should work on combining these skills with reading carefully and critically where necessary.

- Scanning - Vocabulary in context

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