Understanding Written English:

Scanning
Skimming
Prediction
Understanding main ideas
Reading practice
By
Ira Suarilah, S.Kp., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Faculty of Nursing
Universitas Airlangga
2022
Understanding Written English
Reading techniques needs a rapid eye movement to move
quickly through text to find the correct word(s), number(s) or
sentences.

In Bahasa “Tersurat” and / or “Tersirat”

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Scanning

• Scanning is reading rapidly in order to find specific facts.

• Scanning a text means looking through it quickly to find
specific information.
• Scanning is commonly used in everyday life, for example when
looking up a word in a dictionary or finding your friend's name in
the contacts directory of your phone.

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Scanning
• To find out the specific information in the text quickly
without reading the whole text
• Scanning ignoring unrelated information

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Skimming

• Skimming is reading rapidly in order to get a general overview

of the material.
• Skimming is defined as taking something off of the top.
• Skimming The overall understanding is reduced because no
need to read everything Read only what is important to the
purpose.
• An example of skimming is getting data the aetiology of early
stage CKD among working age group in a decade.

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4 steps of Skimming

• Read the first line of each paragraph. 

• Look for important information such as names, dates and
unusual words. 
• Read headings and subheadings. 
• Read the conclusion or summary

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Advance your skimming skill

1.Know what you want. ...

2.Read vertically as well as horizontally. ...
3.Think like the author. ...
4.Pre-read before you start skimming. ...
5.Try to detect the main idea in the introductory paragraphs. ...
6.Read the first sentence in each paragraph.

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 Scanning
helps to find
the main idea
and predict
the content of
the text
Skimming

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Understanding main ideas

• The main idea is the primary concept of a sentence and

represents what the author is trying to say.
• Main Ideas: Stated and Implied.
• In Bahasa “Tersurat” and / or “Tersirat”

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How to Find the Main Idea

1.Identify the Topic.

2.Summarize the Passage.
3.Look at the First and Last Sentences of the Passage.
4.Look for Repetition of Ideas.

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 How do you find the
main idea and topic
sentence?
• To figure out the main idea, ask
yourself this question: What is
being said about the person,
thing, or idea (the topic)? 
• The author can locate the main
idea in different places within a
paragraph.
• The main idea is usually a
sentence, and it is usually the
first sentence.

https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-reading-practice-sets.pdf
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What is the difference between a topic and
main idea?

• The topic is the general subject of a paragraph or essay.

• Topics are simple and are described with just a word or a
phrase.
• The main idea is a complete sentence; it includes the topic and
what the author wants to say about it.
• If the author states the main idea in his paragraph it is called a
“topic sentence.”

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Prediction
What is the purpose of prediction?

• Predicting supports the development of critical thinking

skills by requiring individuals to draw upon their prior
knowledge and experiences as well as observations to
anticipate what might happen.
• The ability to make logical predictions supports the
development of the ability to formulate hypotheses.

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Prediction
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prediction

Examples:
Journalists have begun making predictions about the winner
of the World Cup League.
Despite predictions that the G20 meeting would fail, it has
done very well.
The figures and statistics are used for the prediction of future
2023 economic trends (do you believe in the global
economic recession?)

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Practice of prediction
• https://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/better-learning-insi
ghts/corpus
• Question and Answer

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Reading practice
• https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/take-ielts/prepare/free-ielts-practice-tests/reading/academic

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 Reading
practice

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/take-ielts/prepare/free-ielts-practice-tests/reading/academic
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 Thank you

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