Two Kinds of Reading
Written by Studio AM.
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Not all reading is the same. Scanning looks for a specific fact: a price, a time, a yes or no. It is fast and useful, and we do it dozens of times a day.
Deep reading has a different purpose. It asks you to build a model in your head of what the writer is saying, to test it against what you already know, and to carry an idea from one paragraph into the next. Both approaches matter, and both can improve with practice.
The useful question is what you need from a text. Scanning helps when you need one detail. Skimming gives you a quick overview. Deep reading helps you examine how ideas and evidence fit together. A good daily habit is small but deep: choose one short passage, read it with full attention, and explain its main point in your own words.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
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Question 1 of 4
What is the main point of the passage?
The answer is B: Choose a reading approach to fit your purpose, and practise careful reading as well.
The passage gives different purposes for scanning, skimming, and deep reading, then recommends a small daily habit of reading carefully.
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Question 2 of 4
According to the passage, what does deep reading ask you to do?
The answer is B: Build and test a mental model across paragraphs
Deep reading asks you to "build a model," "test it," and "carry an idea from one paragraph into the next."
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Question 3 of 4
Why does the author suggest explaining a passage in your own words?
The answer is B: To check whether you understand its main point
Explaining the main point in new words requires understanding it, which fits the passage's emphasis on building and connecting ideas.
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Question 4 of 4
In the passage, "Scanning" most nearly means:
The answer is D: looking over quickly for one thing
Scanning "looks for a specific fact: a price, a time, a yes or no." It means a quick search for a particular piece of information.
Score: none answered yet.