Surveying has already been discussed several times in this book. Can you remember what to look at when you survey? A list of headings can give you some useful information to help you quickly understand what each part of the text will be about.
Step 2 – Skim read each paragraph
Every paragraph deals with a specific aspect of a topic. The first sentence of a paragraph will most probably tell the you what the rest of the paragraph is about so when you are trying to identify the main idea of a paragraph, you should read the first sentence carefully. Using this technique you will have a general idea of what the writer is saying in each paragraph.
Step 3 – Determine which heading is the best match for each of the paragraphs marked by the numbers.
(Note that you are trying to identify topics only.) This will help you know where (in which paragraph or section) to scan later for the answer to a question. If the text has a lot of subheadings,it is much easier to identify text organization.
And Get Help if You Need It
Collaborative Efforts – a Must!
Demand Tolerance
Developing Awareness of Individual Cultures
Keep it Simple
Understanding Cultural Diversity
Of course, when you skim-read a text you cannot get as much information from the text as when you read it all carefully, but by skimming you can quicklyget enough information to help you get context clues. Remember that efficient use of time is one of the most important skills.
You will have to adjust the speed of your skimming according to how easy the text is for you to understand. If a paragraph does not have a first sentence which gives the topic of the paragraph clearly, you have to skim more carefully. But don't forget that you should not read every word – reading every word will waste too much time.
To remind: the best way to find details quickly is to use scanning. Scanning is searching for key words or synonyms by looking quickly through the text. For example, you scan when you look for a word in a dictionary. You do not read every word as you search for the word(s) you want.