IELTS Reading Skimming Strategy

Skimming involves quickly glancing over a text to get the main idea without reading every single word.

First, when you encounter a new passage, try spending about 30 seconds to 2 minutes skimming it. Your eyes can move quickly over the text, focusing on key elements like the first and last sentences of each paragraph, headings, and any words in bold or italics.

Next, you could look at the questions related to that passage.

This step helps you know what specific information you need to find when you read more closely.

Finally, you can go back to the text and read more carefully, now armed with a general understanding of its structure and content. This targeted reading is often more efficient than starting from scratch.

Examples

Let’s see how this might work in practice with three different types of IELTS Reading tasks:

For multiple choice questions

Imagine you’re faced with a passage about climate change. As you skim it quickly, you notice:

1. The first paragraph introduces the topic, defining climate change and briefly mentioning its global importance.
2. The second paragraph discusses natural causes of climate change, such as volcanic eruptions and variations in Earth’s orbit.
3. The third and fourth paragraphs focus on human-induced causes, with particular emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation.
4. The fifth paragraph outlines the major effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss.
5. The final paragraph talks about potential solutions, mentioning renewable energy adoption, carbon pricing, and international cooperation.

When you look at the questions, you see one asking about proposed solutions to mitigate climate change. Thanks to your strategic skimming, you know to focus on the last paragraph for this answer, saving you valuable time. You can quickly scan that paragraph to find specific solutions mentioned, such as transitioning to renewable energy sources, implementing carbon taxes, or enhancing international climate agreements.

For matching headings to paragraphs

Let’s say you have a text about different types of renewable energy. As you skim, you notice each paragraph starts with a clear topic sentence introducing a new energy source:

1. “Solar power harnesses the energy of the sun through photovoltaic cells or concentrated solar power systems.”
2. “Wind energy utilizes the power of moving air to generate electricity through wind turbines.”
3. “Hydroelectric power captures the energy of flowing water, often through dams or run-of-river systems.”
4. “Geothermal energy taps into the Earth’s internal heat for power generation and direct use.”
5. “Biomass energy involves the use of organic materials, such as wood or agricultural waste, to produce heat or electricity.”

When you see the task is to match headings to paragraphs, you can quickly match them based on these topic sentences, without needing to read each paragraph in full. For instance, if one of the headings is “Harnessing Earth’s Internal Heat,” you can immediately match it to the fourth paragraph based on the topic sentence mentioning geothermal energy.

For True/False/Not Given questions

Picture a passage about the history of coffee. Your initial skim tells you the text is organized chronologically:

1. The first paragraph discusses the legendary discovery of coffee in Ethiopia around the 9th century.
2. The second paragraph covers the spread of coffee cultivation to the Arabian Peninsula in the 15th and 16th centuries.
3. The third paragraph focuses on the introduction of coffee to Europe in the 17th century and its rapid popularity growth.
4. The fourth paragraph describes the expansion of coffee plantations in the Americas during the 18th and 19th centuries.
5. The final paragraph talks about the global coffee industry in the 20th and 21st centuries, including the rise of specialty coffee and sustainability concerns.

When you encounter a statement about coffee consumption in Europe during the 18th century, you can quickly locate the relevant part of the text (likely the third or fourth paragraph), rather than reading from the beginning. This allows you to efficiently determine whether the statement is true, false, or not given based on the information provided in those specific paragraphs.

For Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Imagine you’re faced with a 700-word passage titled “The Journey Through Time: Evolution of Transportation”. During your 30-second skim, you notice the text is structured chronologically, with clear subheadings:

• Ancient Methods (3000 BCE – 1500 CE)
• The Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840)
• The Age of Automobiles (1880s – 1950s)
• Aviation Takes Off (1900s – Present)
• Future of Transportation (2020 and beyond)

You also spot several dates and inventor names in bold, such as “1903 – Wright Brothers” and “1908 – Henry Ford”.

When you look at the questions, you see fill-in-the-blank tasks like:

1. The first commercial airline flight took place in _______.
2. _______ introduced the assembly line for car production.
3. The invention of the steam locomotive in _______ revolutionized land travel.

Thanks to your skimming, you know to focus on the “Aviation Takes Off” and “The Age of Automobiles” sections for questions 1 and 2, and “The Industrial Revolution” section for question 3. You can quickly scan the bold text in these sections to find the relevant information:

1. In the “Aviation Takes Off” section, you spot “1914 – First commercial airline flight”.
2. Under “The Age of Automobiles”, you see “1908 – Henry Ford introduced the Model T and assembly line production”.
3. In “The Industrial Revolution” section, you find “1804 – Richard Trevithick invented the steam locomotive”.

This approach allows you to answer these questions quickly without reading the entire passage in detail.

For Matching Information to Paragraphs

Let’s say you have a 900-word text about different biomes on Earth. As you skim, you notice the text has six paragraphs, each discussing a different biome. Each paragraph follows a clear structure:

1. Definition and location of the biome
2. Climate characteristics
3. Flora and fauna
4. Human impact and conservation status

The biomes discussed are:

• Tropical Rainforests
• Deserts
• Grasslands
• Temperate Deciduous Forests
• Tundra
• Marine Biomes

When you see the task is to match information about conservation efforts to specific biomes, you know to focus on the last sentence of each paragraph. The task looks like this:

Match the following conservation efforts to the correct biome:

A. Faces threat from oil drilling and climate change

B. Endangered due to deforestation and agriculture expansion

C. Overgrazing and desertification are major concerns

D. Pollution and overfishing pose significant risks

For instance, you quickly scan the final sentences of each paragraph:

• Tropical Rainforests: “…deforestation for agriculture and logging threatens this biodiversity hotspot.”
• Deserts: “…desertification due to overgrazing and climate change is a growing concern.”
• Grasslands: “…conversion to farmland has significantly reduced natural grassland habitats.”
• Temperate Deciduous Forests: “…face challenges from urban sprawl and air pollution.”
• Tundra: “…oil drilling and global warming pose severe threats to this fragile ecosystem.”
• Marine Biomes: “…overfishing, pollution, and ocean acidification endanger marine biodiversity.”

Based on this quick scan, you can match: B to Tropical Rainforests C to Deserts A to Tundra D to Marine Biomes

This method allows you to quickly match the information without reading each paragraph in its entirety.

For Summary Completion

Picture a 800-word passage about the process of photosynthesis. Your initial skim tells you the text is organized step-by-step, with each stage of photosynthesis clearly marked by subheadings:

1. Light Absorption
2. Water Splitting
3. Carbon Dioxide Fixation
4. Calvin Cycle
5. Glucose Production

The task is to complete a summary of the photosynthesis process by filling in missing words. The summary looks like this:

Photosynthesis begins with (1)_______ absorbing sunlight. This energy is used to split (2)_______ molecules, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. The plant then takes in (3)_______ from the air, which enters the (4)_______ cycle. Here, the carbon from CO2 is used to produce (5)_______, the end product of photosynthesis.

Because of your skimming, you know which section of the text corresponds to each part of the summary. You can quickly locate the relevant information:

1. In the “Light Absorption” section, you find “Chlorophyll pigments in the leaves absorb sunlight…”
2. Under “Water Splitting”, you see “The energy from sunlight is used to split water molecules (H2O)…”
3. In “Carbon Dioxide Fixation”, you read “Plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air through small pores called stomata…”
4. The “Calvin Cycle” section starts with “The Calvin cycle, also known as the dark reaction or light-independent reaction…”
5. Finally, in “Glucose Production”, you find “The end product of photosynthesis is glucose, a simple sugar…”

This allows you to fill in the summary quickly:

1. chlorophyll
2. water
3. carbon dioxide
4. Calvin
5. glucose

By using this skimming technique, you’re giving yourself a roadmap of the passage. This can help you locate information more quickly and answer questions more efficiently.

Have you used skimming in your IELTS preparation before? Take a look at Using Context Clues To Improve IELTS Reading Comprehension

Share your experiences or questions in the comments below.