SPC Speed Reading Skimming & Scanning Techniques 3

Question 1

Which scenario calls for scanning rather than skimming?

Accepted Answer

Finding a flight number on a departures board

Answer

Scanning is used when you know exactly what item of information you are looking for.

Question 2

Why does knowing the format of your target (e.g., a dollar amount) speed up scanning?

Accepted Answer

Your eyes can filter for the visual pattern and skip everything else

Answer

A known visual pattern, like a dollar sign, lets the eyes reject non-matching text almost instantly.

Question 3

While skimming, which sentence in a well-structured paragraph usually carries the main idea?

Accepted Answer

The topic sentence, usually the first

Answer

Most expository paragraphs state the main idea in an opening topic sentence.

Question 4

A common mistake that slows down scanning is:

Accepted Answer

Stopping to read interesting but irrelevant passages

Answer

Getting drawn into unrelated content breaks the scan and wastes time.

Question 5

Which eye-movement pattern is commonly recommended for skimming a full page quickly?

Accepted Answer

A zigzag or S-shaped sweep down the page

Answer

An S-pattern lets the eyes sample text across and down the page without reading every line.

(SPC) Speed Reading Course Practice Test