Scanning For Specific Information

Scanning For Specific Information

We scan a text because we need to know a specific information or before we read an article thoroughly. There may be several reasons why we scan a reading material aside from the ones mentioned above. The following are some useful purpose of scanning.

Before we read an essay or article thoroughly, we have to quickly scan the pages for hints to help us figure out why the author writes it. The title, language, style, and all the features the writer makes use of are important clues to understand his purpose. See for example, texts that use more poetic languages are more likely to be descriptive. Descriptive essays are very unique than hard news are.

Other instances that scanning is applied is when we want to know what the book is about. Usually, we start reading the instant we have a book. Ideally, however, we need to get its overview. For plays, we may need to take a look at the list of characters. Then, flipping through the pages may as well help us familiarize the book's arrangement. This way, we can plan our reading time.