Scanning means searching for specific information. For example, when you look for your friend’s phone number in the phone book, you do not read every name in the book; instead, you scan to find the name that you want. You also use scanning when you look in the dictionary, or find the time of the next bus on the timetable.

In the IELTS test, you can use scanning in order to find:

• the right place in the text to answer a question.
• specific information such as names or numbers.
• information to fill in gaps in a chart, diagram or table.