Skimming is a mode of fast reading which is used to get a rapid general impression of what a text is about.

In this mode of reading, if the text someone is reading is a non-fictional text, he/she may first look at its table of contents, the summary, and subject index. He/she may next leaf through the text and focus attention on subtitles, headlines, content keywords, or prominent text features (passages printed in bold type, or colour, or with illustrations . !riters often use such features to highlight what they want to say. If, howe"er, the text which someone wants to get a first impression of is a fictional text, he/she may decide to first read the opening scene and the beginning or ending of chapters. #kimming helps to know regarding a book$s characters, plot, topics and style of writing. It may or may not be followed by some more intensi"e reading. Scanning is a mode of fast reading which someone may use if he/she starts with a predefined set of keywords and wants to find out if a gi"en text pro"ides information on them. %ne may leaf through the text and search for passages which contain those keywords. If he/she hit on pages which contain those keyword or semantically related words, it fre&uently is useful to note the page numbers for later intensi"e reading or for making abstracts. #kimming and scanning are modes of fast reading which can be practised by training in high speed reading. 'or an understanding of meaning to occur in speed reading, it is necessary to read in (chunks$. )stimates are that readers$ eyes must scan about *++ words a minute. High speed reading is mostly sustainable for short bursts only. ,he mind needs pauses for e"aluation and assimilation of information (time to think and digest .

Intensive reading is a mode of reading in which readers focus on a fairly comprehensi"e understanding of a gi"en text. ,here is, of course, a difference between reading fictional or nonfictional texts. ,he first generally allows more freedom of imagination than the second. Howe"er, for both types of reading processes it is true that a reader$s understanding of a text can be di"orced from his pre-knowledge, age, and purpose of reading. )ach of these factors contribute to the construction of the meaning and may lead to partially different interpretations of the gi"en text. -ll reading for understanding re&uires the interaction of two types of cogniti"e processes, namely top-down processes and bottom-up processes in the construction of meaning. ,op-down processes start from the reader.s general knowledge of the world and the gi"en topic. ,hey acti"ate a reader.s contextual knowledge which is then used for interpreting the information coming in .bottom up.. ,op-down processes may be triggered by, for example, the title/ topic of a specific text and what the reader knows about that already. ,his preknowledge creates certain expectations which are then matched, in bottom-up processes, against the information which comes in with each new sentence and paragraph. /nderstanding thus is the joint product of an anticipation of meaning and its confirmation or refutation by the literal study of the textual document.

0ood readers try to be critically aware of what they contribute to the construction of meaning. !hen reading an essay they do two things in parallel1 ,hey first try to identify its topic, that is which &uestions the authors sets out to answer, and the critically compare his answers to their own understanding of the issue which may be modified by what the author has to say on it. !ith regard to reading for study purposes this often means that it is no use complaining that the author does not focus on what the reader is presently interested in or or would ha"e wished the author to focus on.

Advantages

It pro"ides a base to study structure, "ocabulary and idioms. It pro"ides a base for students to de"elop a greater control of language It pro"ides for a check on the degree of comprehension for indi"idual students

Disadvantages

,here is little actual practice of reading because of the small amount of text. In a class with multi-reading abilities, students may not be able to read at their own le"el because e"eryone in the class is reading the same material. ,he text may or may not interest the reader because it was chosen by the teacher. ,here is little chance to learn language patterns due to the small amount of text. 2ecause exercises and assessment usually follow intensi"e reading, students may come to associate reading with testing and not pleasure.