What key strategy should be used when approaching unfamiliar texts during the exam?

When approaching unfamiliar texts during an exam, skimming for main ideas and scanning for specific information is a highly effective strategy. This method allows you to quickly gather a general understanding of the content and identify important details without getting bogged down by every word or complex sentence structure. By skimming, you can capture the central themes, the tone, and the overall structure of the text, which are crucial for answering questions.

Moreover, scanning for specific information helps you locate necessary facts, quotes, or data that can support your answers. This two-pronged approach of skimming and scanning increases efficiency, especially under time constraints, allowing you to allocate more time to analyzing and responding to the questions rather than getting lost in the details of the text.

In contrast, reading every word slowly can be time-consuming and may lead to unnecessary confusion, especially when the goal is to understand the broader context. Focusing solely on the last paragraph could result in missing vital information presented earlier in the text. Revisiting the text multiple times may be useful in some contexts, but without prior skimming and scanning, it can lead to a less effective use of time, preventing you from forming a comprehensive understanding of the text quickly enough to answer questions confidently.