Subsection 2.1.3 Skimming
In general, the more actively and patiently you approach a text, the more comprehensive your reading will be. However, sometimes it is highly impractical to read a source in its entirety. Whether you’re doing some preliminary reading to familiarize yourself with the existing scholarly discussion or to cram for class, skimming can be a good way to extract the main idea of the text in as little time as possible.
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Read the introduction and the conclusion.Doing this will give you a sense of the general trajectory of the argument.
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Read the first sentence of every paragraph.This sentence is usually sufficient to tell you what the main point of the paragraph is and whether you should spend time reading it.
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Read both horizontally and vertically.Let your eyes roam. Look for keywords and bolded or italicized items.
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Read for points and not for analysis.Though it’s always good to understand how the author arrived at a claim, it is more productive in a pinch to skip the analyses and return to them later.
