Scanning for a Specific Fact

Learn to move your eyes quickly through a text to find one piece of information.

Scanning is different from skimming. When you skim, you want the big picture; when you scan, you are hunting for one target, such as a date, name, number, or keyword. Before you start, decide what the target looks like. A year looks like four digits. A name begins with a capital letter. A measurement has units. Then sweep your eyes down the page without reading every word, stopping only when something matches. Example: you need to know when a lighthouse was built.

You scan for four-digit numbers and land on 'Construction ended in 1874, two years after the storm. ' Now slow down and read that sentence fully, because the first number you spot might not answer your exact question. Here, 1874 is when building ended; 1872 is the storm. Scanning finds the spot; careful reading confirms the answer.

• 1Scanning hunts for one target; skimming gets the gist
• 2Picture what the target looks like before you start
• 3Once you find it, slow down and read the whole sentence