%% #💡 #🟢 %% # systematic skimming Also known as pre-reading, this is the first step in [[inspectional reading]]. The goals of skimming are 1) to determine whether the book requires more thorough reading, and 2) to gather information from the book even if you choose not to read it fully. #### Steps to pre-reading 1. **Quickly read the title page and preface** - Note subtitles or other clues to the scope or purpose of the book - Get an idea of the subject and categorize the book 2. **Study the table of contents** - Get a sense of the book's structure 3. **Check the index** - Note the range of topics covered and kinds of books and authors referred to - Look up some passages of crucial terms 4. **Read the publisher's blurb on the dust jacket** - Author often summarizes main points of book 5. **Scan chapters that seem pivotal** - Read summary statements in their opening and closing pages 6. **Thumb through book reading a chapter or a page here or there** - Look for signs of the main argument or point of the book - Read the last 2-3 pages of the book (not the epilogue) ## Sources [[How to Read a Book - Adler & Van Doren]] ## Tags [[Reading]] | [[Learning]] --- <small>*Created on:* 2022-02-27</small> <small>*Last modified on:* 2022-02-27</small>