2. Learning Objectives
To understand the importance of a quick search
for a single piece of information in a sea of
facts
To apply scanning skills to search and zoom in
on required information effectively
3. Introduction
Have you encountered these difficulties before?
1) Slow reading
2) Comprehension answers copied wrongly
3) Spelling mistakes made when copying from
text
4) Unable to complete Booklet A or B in time.
5) Reads several times to understand a passage.
These are all poor signs of scanning skills!
4. What's Scanning?
Scanning is a search for a specific piece of
information buried in a sea of information, for
example, in Compre OE or Cloze.
Scanning happens in real-life too:
1)Performed by a computer to search for viruses.
2)Looking out for a friend in a sea of faces.
3)Searching for landmarks to reach a destination.
Q: What's the sea of information in each case?
5. Scanning for information
Scanning skill helps you in Booklets A & B by
helping you find information you want quickly.
Some of the possible uses of scanning:
1) When searching for key words
2) When searching for contextual clues
3) When searching for compre's direct answers
4) When asked to quote a word/phrase from text
Good scanning skill helps you effectively
locate key information while ignoring others.
6. Scanning in action
Since scanning helps you to find the
information you want, how does it work?
One important part of this skill is to see which
words belong together as a meaningful unit or
sense unit.
A sense unit is the equivalent of the NAVAP
(Noun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Prepositional)
phrase.
Each NAVAP Phrase is a key idea.
7. Sense units
Sentence: The heroic and quick-thinking
firefighters arrived quickly after the alarm and
put out the flames so fast that only the seat
coverings on the front seats were burned.
Sense units: The heroic and quick-thinking
firefighters / arrived quickly / after the alarm /
put out the flames / so fast / that only the seat
coverings / on the front seats / were burned.
Each of these belong to one sense unit or
NAVAP phrase.
8. Sense units identified
Noun phrase – The firefighters / only the seat
coverings
Verb phrase – arrived quickly / put out the
flames / were burned.
Adjectival phrase – heroic and quick-thinking
Adverbial phrase – after the alarm / so fast
Prepositional phrase – on the front seats
9. Tips in sensing Sense Units
1)Know what you are looking for. This sounds
simple but if you don't have an idea of what
you are looking for in the first place, you will
not find it!
2)Specifically, know what type of info you're
looking for – which NAVA is it?
3)Sense units are made up of NAVA and
Prepositional Phrases. So look for them.
4)They start from key words or NAVA. So ignore
the non-key words.
10. Learning Activity
Sense the sense units of this sentence:
In the centre of the beach stood ten platforms,
where helpers held up the kites, and a row of
tense competitors holding the lines of their kites
waited for the countdown to release their kites.
11. Learning Activity Answers
In the centre (Pre P) of the beach (NP) stood
ten platforms (NP), where a large army of
helpers (NP) held up (VP) the kites, and a row
of tense competitors (NP) holding the lines of
their kites (VP) waited for the countdown
(AdvP) to release their kites. (VP)
12. Discussion
What does scanning do?
How does it work?
13. In Summary
Scanning helps you to locate key ideas
effectively in Compre OE and Cloze Passages.
Scanning involves spotting groups of words or
NAVAP phrases as these represent key ideas.
