Scan: To look over quickly and systematically; to look over or leaf through hastily Skim: To give a quick and superficial reading, scrutiny, or consideration; glance Scanninginvolves a process of quickly searching reading materials in order to locate specific bits of information. When scanning you don't start from the beginning and read to the end. Skimming is another technique whose purpose is to gain a quick overview in order to identify the main points. When skimming, you will often skip words, sentences, and paragraphs. Skimming and scanning are very important reading techniques. In short, skimming refers to looking through material quickly to gather a general sense of the ideas, information, or topic itself. When you skim, you read through an article three to four times faster than when you read each word. Scanning refers to reading through material to find specific information. When you scan, you run your eyes over text or information to pull out specific words, phrases, or data