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Diploma in Higher Education Studies

Reading for the main idea: skimming

HES 101 · English for Academic Purposes — Week 2 of 16

CourseHES 101
Week2 of 16
SemesterI
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This week’s topics

Reading for the main idea: skimming

  1. Reading the title, headings and first sentences
  2. Getting the gist of a text in two minutes

What you will be able to do

  • 1.2 Apply skimming and scanning techniques to extract key information.

Activity

Skim three short texts and match each one to its main idea.

Study materials

Further resources

  • College Success, ch. 5.2: Effective reading strategies (skimming) · PDF · OpenStax (2020), skimming and SQ3R; pp. 141–151 · for registered students
  • Writing for Success, ch. 1.1: Reading and writing in college · PDF · Saylor (2012), reading strategies incl. previewing; pp. 4–16 · for registered students
  • BBC 6 Minute English: Why read books, not screens? (transcript) · PDF · BBC Learning English transcript – practise getting the gist of a short text · for registered students
  • Perceptions of scientific research literature and strategies for reading papers · Open-access article · Hubbard & Dunbar (2017), PLOS ONE. Shows which parts experienced readers look at first to get the gist: title, abstract, headings, figures. · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
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Course plan
  • Week 1: How a non-fiction article is organised
  • Week 2: Reading for the main idea: skimming
  • Week 3: Finding information fast: scanning
  • Week 4: The parts of an academic article
  • Week 5: Formal and informal English
  • Week 6: Building a paragraph: the topic sentence
  • Week 7: Supporting your point with evidence and examples
  • Midterm: Midterm evaluation
  • Week 9: Linking ideas with connectives
  • Week 10: Listening to a short lecture
  • Week 11: Taking notes that work
  • Week 12: Summarising in your own words
  • Week 13: From lecture notes to a summary
  • Week 14: Checking and improving your writing
  • Week 15: Review and coursework completion
  • Final: Final assessment and submission
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