Reading intensively for detail is a skill that requires you to understand details or detailed information. It is different to skimming and scanning because you need to read more slowly in order to understand the details. To locate these details, however, you first need to skim and scan.
Remember, skimming is used to get an overview of a paragraph or passage so you can understand the main idea, while scanning is used to locate words, phrases or specific information quickly. However, to read intensively for detail you need to understand whole sentences and ideas.
The Process: Reading intensively for detail
First, follow Step 1 and 2 of the process for scanning for specific information. You do this to locate where the specific information is likely to be found in the passage. Once you have located the specific information, you can then move on to Step 3 of the process. The steps to follow are:
| Step 1 Identify the key words in the question. These words indicate what you need to scan for. Underline them. Keep them in your mind. ⇩ |
| Step 2 Scan the passage for the key words (or words with similar meaning) from the question. When you locate these key words (or words with similar meaning) in the passage, circle them. You have now located where the answer should be. ⇩ |
| Step 3 Read slowly in order to understand the detail and to answer the question. The answer could be in the same sentence, the sentence before or the sentence after, so you need to read carefully to locate it. ⇩ |
Demonstrating Reading for Details
Let’s look at an example Short Answer question for the passage:-
| Title: The Role of Comics in Early Education Paragraph B In the early 20th century, educators began to realise that comics could be used as powerful teaching tools. Studies conducted in the 1930s and 1940s showed that comic strips helped children understand historical events more easily when compared to traditional textbooks. Some schools even developed reading programmes that used comics to assist struggling readers. Despite criticism from some academic circles, many teachers found comics to be engaging and effective, especially for visual learners. In recent decades, governments and educational publishers have also explored the use of specially designed comics to teach subjects such as science and health. Answer the following question using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. 1. In what subjects have specially designed comics been used in recent years? |
Let’s now use the three-step scanning process below to answer Question 1.
| Step 1: Identify Key Words in the Question Question: In what subjects have specially designed comics been used in recent years? Key Words to underline: what subjects → looking for specific school subjects specially designed comics recent years → time expression = a possible clue 📌 We’re looking for: subject names + time reference. |
| Step 2: Scan the Passage for Key Words or Synonyms Now quickly scan the passage for: “specially designed comics” or similar phrases Time reference like “recent years” or “in recent decades” Subject names In Paragraph B, you find the sentence: “In recent decades, governments and educational publishers have also explored the use of specially designed comics to teach subjects such as science and health.” 👀 We’ve found the exact phrase “specially designed comics” and the time phrase “in recent decades”. |
| Step 3: Read the Sentence Carefully Now read the full sentence slowly: “In recent decades, governments and educational publishers have also explored the use of specially designed comics to teach subjects such as science and health.” ✍️ Final Answer: science and health |
When do you read intensively for detail?
You need to read intensively for detail in order to answer almost all question types in the IELTS Reading test: all Specific Information questions , Summary Completion questions and Viewpoint questions ). The process is the same for each of these question types.