TREMENDOUSLY MEANS

5. tremendously means: ………

PART 4:IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SKIMMING SKILL

Skimming is an essential fast reading skill that you should possess. In the ACTUAL test, skimming

enables you to quickly understand the main idea or gist of the text and also its overall organization. It

allows you to draw a road map of the text and as such, it is easier for you to locate the answers of the

questions on the text.

When you skim a text, your eyes move very quickly and you do not focus on every word but the

sentences or the words which are considered the topic sentences or the key words. After skimming the

text, you are able to answer these following questions:

- What is the main idea of the text?

- What is the topic sentence of this text?

The topic of a reading can generally be expressed in a word or several words. The main idea, on the

other hand, is expressed as a sentence; it is a complete thought.

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

- WHAT IS THE MAIN TOPIC OF THE PASSAGE?

- THE BEST TITLE FOR THE PASSAGE IS ………

- THE MAIN TOPIC FOR THE PASSAGE IS ………

- WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR MAINLY DISCUSS

- THE MAIN IDEA OF THE PASSAGE IS …

How Can I Locate the Main Idea?

Once you can find the topic, you are ready to find the main idea. The main idea is the point of the

paragraph. It is the most important thought about the topic.

To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this question: What is being said about the person, thing, or

idea (the topic)?

The author can locate the main idea in different places within a paragraph. The main idea is usually a

sentence, and it is usually the first sentence. The writer then uses the rest of the paragraph to support

the main idea.

Here’s a paragraph we can use as an example. Try to locate the topic and the main idea.

Most teenagers and young adults do not know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It is a big

decision. There are a number of things you can do to narrow the choices. For example you can take an

interest test, do some research on your own about a career, try volunteer work in the field in which you

are interested, or “job-shadow”, in which you spend a day with a person who is working in a field that

interests you. These are just a few helpful ideas as you begin to choose a career.

In this paragraph:

the topic is jobs or career choices

the main idea is a few ideas to help the reader choose a career

TASK 1:Read the only first sentence in each of the four text below. What do you think each text

will be about?