How to Write Better Essays

Answers

1 Skim to get the general impression of the contents.

2 Scan to see what Amnesty says about political prisoners and their

detention.

3 Skim to identify those things that were discussed at the last meeting

and were to be raised again at this meeting.

4 Not wanting to miss anything, you read word-for-word.

5 You read them carefully word-for-word, like you would a legal docu-

ment, until you are completely clear one way or the other whether

you qualify.

In the next chapter

We can all see the common-sense of scanning the Yellow Pages in

search of the telephone number for a mechanic when our car has

broken down; but in our academic work it seems much more difficult

to use the same common-sense judgement. With many of us, as we’ve

already seen, the most likely reason is that we still harbour the belief

that to pass an exam we must accumulate as many right answers as

Reading Purposefully 81

3 You’ve been asked to take over the job of secretary at your local

cricket club, because of the sudden illness of the current secretary.

You’ve got to compile an agenda for the next meeting by reading the

minutes of the last meeting. Do you skim, scan, or read word-for-

word?

4 After ordering it some months ago you receive a copy of the latest

novel by your favourite author. You start reading it on the train going

to work. Do you skim, scan, or read word-for-word?

5 You’re studying at a university on a scholarship grant. But the terms

of the grant are changing next year, which might mean you no longer

qualify. You’ve just received a copy of the new regulations. Do you

skim, scan, or read word-for-word?

Now compare your answers with those below.

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