Skimming reading

There are different styles of reading for different situations. The technique you choose will depend on the purpose for reading. For example, you might be reading for enjoyment, information, or to complete a task. If you are exploring or reviewing, you might skim a document. If you're searching for information, you might scan for a particular word.
Skimming is the most rudimentary type of reading. Its object is to familarize people as quickly as posssible with the material to be read because speed and comprehesion depend on familiarity. The more comfortable readers are with the manner in which the material is presented, the faster you will move through it and the more you will retain. One of the attempt to become familiar with the subjext matter is by leafing through the material looking at the tittles, subheadings, illustrations, maps, and charts.
However skimming is a process of speed reading that involves visually searching the sentences of a page for clues to meaning. For some people, this comes naturally, and usually may not be acquired by practice. Skimming is usually seen more in adults than in children. It is conducted at a higher rate (700 words per minute and above) than normal reading for comprehension (around 200-230 wpm), and results in lower comprehension rates, especially with information-rich reading material.
Another form of skimming is that commonly employed by readers on the Web. This involves skipping over text that is less interesting or relevant. This form of reading is not new but has become increasingly prevalent due to the ease with which alternative information can be accessed online. Some of the sentences have minor information which may not be required.
Therefore skimming enables people to begin identifying the main ideas of a text by reading first and last paragraphs, beginning sentences in other paragraphs (topic sentences), and noting other organizational clues such as title, bold type, italics, capitalized words, captions etc. In skimming, people are not looking for specific information as in scanning. Skimming enables people to cover a large amount of textual material in a limited amount of time.
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.
 
There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.
  

Beside that, skimming may also be used to search out certain short passages ones have lost. The readers’ eyes should race over the pages looking for the clues which will help them to narrow down the probable location. Though they feel completely lost, the act of skimming will refresh their memory and lead them to the passage.
However reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper. Although they can read and comprehend at the same rate as paper, skimming on the computer is much slower than on paper.



References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_reading
http://42explore.com/skim.htm
http://kn.pacbell.com/21stcent/Iskim
http:/ ababasoft.com/subvocalization/skiming_and_subvocalization.htm