? In academic context, the purpose of reading is to grow your knowledge to be able to complete your course work or assignments. On this page you will learn about reading techniques, source evaluation, note taking and the use of mind maps to support your academic writing process.
Skimming and scanning
Step 1: Skimming Since you won’t have time to read every source you come across in-depth, using a variety of study techniques will make your study sessions go more easily. The process of determining if a source is suitable and relevant for your project is known as skimming. The first question you should ask yourself is if it satisfies the specifications listed in your assignment brief.
When Skimming a text, it is all about taking a quick glance at the text to understand the main message.
Pay special attention to:
- The abstract or summary
- The introduction
- Any headings or subheadings
- Any lists or words in bold.
Step 2: Scanning After you’re certain that the source satisfies the prerequisites for your assignment, you can scan the article to learn more. Scanning means that you want to look for a specific piece of information. Using this method, you look for the most important phrases or ideas from your assignment topic, focusing exclusively on the details that are most important to you.
Look for the following aspects:
Thesis statement – found in the last sentences of the introduction.
- Introduction.
- Conclusion.
- Summary (if it has one)
- Sub-heading and first sentence of every paragraph Use CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to find specific words in a text.

