Reading and writing

• Effective techniques for skimming


  • Use your finger as a guide when reading across the line
  • Focus more on the first and last sentences of each paragraph; they usually contain the main idea of the text
• The main idea

  • Can be found in either or both the first and last sentences of a paragraph
  • Can appear in the middle
  • May simply be implied and not explicitly stated in the text
• Skimming


  The type of quick reading which aims to get the main idea and to get the overview of the material
• Skimming is usually done when reading newspapers, magazines, books and letters
• Locating the main idea

  The process of identifying the central message of a reading selection