CSS English Prep Classes with Riaz Laghari at Excellence Academy,H.No# 8, Street# 37, Sector G-6/2, Islamabad Email:hrexcellence@hotmail, Twitter:@ExcellenceHR, Skype:excellencehr Land-line: +92-51-262-38-39, Vfone:+92-51-430-20-42 , Cell: +92-333-570-47-66 HOW TO ATTEMPT COMPREHENSION QUESTION Comprehension of a passage is generally difficult for most candidates because the topics are varied. They may be about medicine, science and technology, religion or philosophy. Some of the subjects discussed may not be familiar to you. Here speed as well as understanding of the contents of the given passage is of the essence because in every competitive examination, several such passages are given. Comprehension tests ascertain your ability to understand the passage and remember its main points. Questions on the passage are mostly fact-based. In some cases, the candidates are asked to draw inferences from what is stated or implied in the passage. Such passages are difficult and need a lot of practice. GUIDELINES 1. Read newspapers and magazines regularly. 2. Give yourself an environment of English; converse in English with your friends and peers. 3. Read the first few lines (or the paragraph) very carefully as this part generally contains the central idea of the passage. 4. Develop a sense of urgency while reading the passage. 5. Practise at least one typical passage under test conditions every day. Give yourself five to seven minutes to read a small passage and ten to fifteen minutes in case of a long passage. 6. Take random selection book test. This means take a good book and open it randomly at any page. Select one paragraph. Give yourself five minutes to read the passage. Take a blank sheet of paper and note down all the information you can recall from what you have just read. Then, go back to the page and check what you have missed out. Do this at least twice a day. Gradually try and reduce the time to three minutes per page. 7. Have a clear and logical thought process. Do not clutter your brain with unnecessary and irrelevant thoughts and details. IN THE EXAMINATION HALL 1. Read the passage at least twice and understand its contents well. This should not take more than five minutes for a small and ten for a long passages. 2. Do not read the questions first. This may tempt you to look for only particular information in the passage and consequently, affect full comprehension. It is important to first understand the passage before you go to the questions because if the questions are not very specific, you may commit a lot of mistakes. Generally, the passages have a mix of implied ideas and specific detail type of questions. 3. Eliminate regression, i.e., going back to the lines you have just read. This is out of habit developed over years of wrong or half-hearted reading. This must be done away with as the maximum time you should take to answer all the questions after reading a passage is about seven minutes. Regression is the result of lack of concentration and assumptions. 4. Do not let your own knowledge (or lack of it) interfere with the contents of the passage. Do not make any attempt to agree or disagree with the author. 5. Your principal task in attempting a comprehension passage should comprise: i. Finding the topic. The topic must be precise. Generally the topic is found either in the first or in the last line. ii. Finding the main idea. This can be a definition, a classification, a purpose or an elaboration of the topic; often the topic and the main idea are the same. iii. Finding major supporting details. The supporting details modify, explain or elaborate the main idea. You should learn to recognize these supporting details that explain, illustrate, compare and contrast, show cause-effect relationship or merely restate the main idea in other words. 6. Underline the words you don’t know the meaning of. Try to relate them to the given context. 7. Resort to sentence analysis and break a sentence into parts, looking for answers to who, what, whom, when, where, which, why and how. 8. Locate reference words and check what they refer to. 9. Underline signal words and look for what they indicate. 10. If the passage contains more than one paragraph, resort to paragraph analysis in the manner given above (5 to 10). A SOLVED EXAMPLE Long ago Emerson wrote.” A man’s task is his life preserver.” This seems to be remarkably correct in our modern life. The man without a task is like a ship without ballast and anchor; he is all too often merely a drifter. Very few men seem to have initiative enough to choose a task for themselves if they do not need to work. When the inevitable disappointments come, as they assuredly will, they are completely overwhelmed. But the man who has his task has no time for vain regrets; he escapes the disastrous fate which over takes his less fortunate brothers. Work is one of the greatest safety-valves which was ever invented, and the youths especially need it. We sometimes pity the man who is a slave to his task, and perhaps we are right; but a man who has no task is a slave to his ennui, which is very much worse. Even a disagreeable task is better than none; the man who does work which is disagreeable to him will yet live more happily, than if he had had no task at all. And the man with the task is easier to live with, and will prove a more contented citizen, and a more valuable one, than the one who lacks such a task. Even so-called invalids are often the better for some task which is suited to their powers, and they often live all the longer if they work hard. The man who starts life with a solid task which taxes his powers had better thank God, and do his best, for this is one of humanity’s greatest boons. Questions: 1- What disadvantages will a man without a task suffer? 2- Why is even disagreeable task considered better than none? 3- In what ways is a man with some task the better for it? Answers: 1- A man without a task, that is, purposeful work, will lack both will and direction. He will not be able to engage himself in any useful activity. Consequently he will neither work nor achieve anything. He will simply stagnate, suffer disappointments, and bring ruin upon himself. 2- A man without any work to do will inevitably lead a life of boredom and lethargic inactivity. Such a life will be one of unchanging monotony and misery. It is, therefore, better to be engaged in any task whatsoever, even if it be an unpleasant one, than to have nothing to do and suffer endless boredom and unhappiness. 3- A man who has some work, or who is usefully employed, will be a more contented person and also easier to live with than a man without any work. Work has a therapeutic value in the case of invalids, for if they are purposefully employed, according to their capabilities, they will add years to their life. Work is a life preserver; it helps a man to live longer and more happily than a man who has no task in life. Comprehension Comprehension of an unseen prose passage forms quite an important part of CSS/PCS English. You may be asked to answer given questions on it or make a précis of it. In either case you will have to comprehend it thoroughly and interpret it correctly. You will have to read the passage twice or thrice in order to grasp its meaning. The first reading of the passage will enable you to know its theme; its second reading will enable you to find out the author’s approach. The third reading will give you the salient points the passage contains. While reading the passage for the first time, mark all the words and phrases of which the exact significance is not known to you. Consult a good dictionary to know their meaning. Take note of all the similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech and find out their significance in the context. After having done all this, you will have thorough understanding of the passage. This is comprehension. You are now in a position to interpret it, i.e. to explain certain points in the passage by answering given questions. You may be asked to explain what the author means by a certain sentence. You may be asked to show its significance in the context. You may be asked to comment on the passage as a whole. You may be asked to criticise the general argument of the passage, stating whether or not you agree with the author’s argument and your reasons for doing it. You may be asked to write a note on the style and character of the author as revealed in the passage. You may be asked to explain certain words and phrases and to use them in sentences of your own. You may be asked to explain certain points in the passage. If the passage is one of reasoned argument, you may be asked to point out flaws, if any, in the argument. Generally speaking, you are asked to answer questions on the given passage. Your answers should be clear and concise. Write them in simple, idiomatic English. Never forget that the answers must be written in your own English. Let your answers be relevant and to the point. Say just what the question asks and say it in complete sentences. Here is a solved example: An unseen passage (comprehension) A classless society does not mean a society without leaders. It means rather one in which every citizen becomes for the first time eligible for leadership, if he has the power to lead. It means a society in which everyone is given, as far as possible, the chance to develop this power by the widest diffusion of educational opportunities in the broadest sense, and by keeping the career wide open to talents of every useful kind. It is often said that a community of equals will not allow itself to be led. But, in fact, most men are, in most things, very willing to be led, and in danger of giving their leaders too rather than too little authority, especially if they are free to choose them, and assured that the leaders cannot exploit them for personal economic advantage; leadership so far from disappearing, will come into its own in a truly democratic society. But it is likely to be a more diffused leadership than we are used to; for a better nurtured people will have more citizens with strong wills and minds of their own wishful to lead, some in politics, some in industry, and some in the professions and arts of life. This is the idea of the classless society. Some will reject it as contrary to their interests, some as Utopian and “against human nature”, for there are some who deny, indeed if not in word, that the aim of society should be to promote the greatest happiness and welfare of the greatest number, and others who hold, with pessimistic honesty, that most men must be driven and not led. Read the above passage and answer the following questions in your own words: Q.1. What is a “classless society” according to the writer of the above passage? Q.2. Does the write believe that “a community of equals” will refuse to follow a leader? Q.3. How will different types of people receive the idea of the classless society? Solution: Ans.1. A classless society, according to the writer, does not mean a leaderless society or a society that will reject a leader. It means a society in which everyone will find adequate opportunities of developing his qualities of leadership to be used for the benefit of society. Ans.2. The writer does not believe that a community of equals will refuse to follow a leader. The writer believers, on the contrary, that most men are quite willing to follow their leaders if only they are assured that they will not become authoritarian and selfish. Indeed, when people are free to choose their leaders, and are confident of their social commitment, they are likely to give their leader too much rather than too little authority to lead them. Indeed, in a classless society, leadership will become truly democratic. Ans.3. Different types of people will reject the idea of a classless society for different reasons. Some will reject it as it will go against their vested interests. Since their position is likely to be affected by it, they will oppose it. Others will think it to be Utopian, unrealistic impracticable, or unrealizable, because such an idea militates “against human nature” which supports inequality and difference. They, therefore, do not agree with the view that society should aim at promoting the greatest happiness and welfare of the greatest number. Finally, there are those who will reject the idea of a classless society because their experience has made them cynical in their view of human beings. With “pessimistic honesty”, that is with honesty and without any hope of improvement, they believe that most men are unfit for enlightened leadership and that they are fit only to be driven, or forced to do things. HOW TO ATTEMPT COMPREHENSION QUESTION Comprehension of a passage is generally difficult for most candidates because the topics are varied. They may be about medicine, science and technology, religion or philosophy. Some of the subjects discussed may not be familiar to you. Here speed as well as understanding of the contents of the given passage is of the essence because in every competitive examination, several such passages are given. Comprehension tests ascertain your ability to understand the passage and remember its main points. Questions on the passage are mostly fact-based. In some cases, the candidates are asked to draw inferences from what is stated or implied in the passage. Such passages are difficult and need a lot of practice. GUIDELINES 1. Read newspapers and magazines regularly. 2. Give yourself an environment of English; converse in English with your friends and peers. 3. Read the first few lines (or the paragraph) very carefully as this part generally contains the central idea of the passage. 4. Develop a sense of urgency while reading the passage. 5. Practise at least one typical passage under test conditions every day. Give yourself five to seven minutes to read a small passage and ten to fifteen minutes in case of a long passage. 6. Take random selection book test. This means take a good book and open it randomly at any page. Select one paragraph. Give yourself five minutes to read the passage. Take a blank sheet of paper and note down all the information you can recall from what you have just read. Then, go back to the page and check what you have missed out. Do this at least twice a day. Gradually try and reduce the time to three minutes per page. 7. Have a clear and logical thought process. Do not clutter your brain with unnecessary and irrelevant thoughts and details. IN THE EXAMINATION HALL 1. Read the passage at least twice and understand its contents well. This should not take more than five minutes for a small and ten for a long passages. 2. Do not read the questions first. This may tempt you to look for only particular information in the passage and consequently, affect full comprehension. It is important to first understand the passage before you go to the questions because if the questions are not very specific, you may commit a lot of mistakes. Generally, the passages have a mix of implied ideas and specific detail type of questions. 3. Eliminate regression, i.e., going back to the lines you have just read. This is out of habit developed over years of wrong or half-hearted reading. This must be done away with as the maximum time you should take to answer all the questions after reading a passage is about seven minutes. Regression is the result of lack of concentration and assumptions. 4. Do not let your own knowledge (or lack of it) interfere with the contents of the passage. Do not make any attempt to agree or disagree with the author. 5. Your principal task in attempting a comprehension passage should comprise: i. Finding the topic. The topic must be precise. Generally the topic is found either in the first or in the last line. ii. Finding the main idea. This can be a definition, a classification, a purpose or an elaboration of the topic; often the topic and the main idea are the same. iii. Finding major supporting details. The supporting details modify, explain or elaborate the main idea. You should learn to recognize these supporting details that explain, illustrate, compare and contrast, show cause-effect relationship or merely restate the main idea in other words. 6. Underline the words you don’t know the meaning of. Try to relate them to the given context. 7. Resort to sentence analysis and break a sentence into parts, looking for answers to who, what, whom, when, where, which, why and how. 8. Locate reference words and check what they refer to. 9. Underline signal words and look for what they indicate. 10. If the passage contains more than one paragraph, resort to paragraph analysis in the manner given above (5 to 10). A SOLVED EXAMPLE Long ago Emerson wrote.” A man’s task is his life preserver.” This seems to be remarkably correct in our modern life. The man without a task is like a ship without ballast and anchor; he is all too often merely a drifter. Very few men seem to have initiative enough to choose a task for themselves if they do not need to work. When the inevitable disappointments come, as they assuredly will, they are completely overwhelmed. But the man who has his task has no time for vain regrets; he escapes the disastrous fate which over takes his less fortunate brothers. Work is one of the greatest safety-valves which was ever invented, and the youths especially need it. We sometimes pity the man who is a slave to his task, and perhaps we are right; but a man who has no task is a slave to his ennui, which is very much worse. Even a disagreeable task is better than none; the man who does work which is disagreeable to him will yet live more happily, than if he had had no task at all. And the man with the task is easier to live with, and will prove a more contented citizen, and a more valuable one, than the one who lacks such a task. Even so-called invalids are often the better for some task which is suited to their powers, and they often live all the longer if they work hard. The man who starts life with a solid task which taxes his powers had better thank God, and do his best, for this is one of humanity’s greatest boons. Questions: 1- What disadvantages will a man without a task suffer? 2- Why is even disagreeable task considered better than none? 3- In what ways is a man with some task the better for it? Answers: 1- A man without a task, that is, purposeful work, will lack both will and direction. He will not be able to engage himself in any useful activity. Consequently he will neither work nor achieve anything. He will simply stagnate, suffer disappointments, and bring ruin upon himself. 2- A man without any work to do will inevitably lead a life of boredom and lethargic inactivity. Such a life will be one of unchanging monotony and misery. It is, therefore, better to be engaged in any task whatsoever, even if it be an unpleasant one, than to have nothing to do and suffer endless boredom and unhappiness. 3- A man who has some work, or who is usefully employed, will be a more contented person and also easier to live with than a man without any work. Work has a therapeutic value in the case of invalids, for if they are purposefully employed, according to their capabilities, they will add years to their life. Work is a life preserver; it helps a man to live longer and more happily than a man who has no task in life. How to Improve Reading Comprehension Key Point Good reading means building frameworks for connecting words to thoughts. The Purpose of Reading. The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you dont know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You dont retain much. For example, try reading these numbers: 7516324 This is hard to read and remember. 751-6324 This is easier because of chunking. 123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure. Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information. Improving Comprehension. Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions. Develop a broad background. Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events. Know the structure of paragraphs. Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic. Identify the type of reasoning. Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking? See section 20 for more examples on critical thinking skills. Anticipate and predict. Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If youre right, this reinforces your understanding. If youre wrong, you make adjustments quicker. Look for the method of organization. Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization. Create motivation and interest. Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension. Pay attention to supporting cues. Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section. Highlight, summarize and review. Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas. Build a good vocabulary. For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings. Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3. Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. See Section 14 for more details. Monitor effectiveness. Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if theyve missed an idea and backup to reread it. Should You Vocalize Words? Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably. Comprehension reading is the main criterion for seperating the passive unskilled reader from active intelligent reader. It requires the reader to be an active constructor of meaning. A good reader possesses following qualities: 1. Predicts what is the main theme of the given passage. 2. Understands the sequence and context of the given passage. 3. clarifies the parts of the text which have confused him. Here are some important techniques to increase comprehension power and ability to answer the questions pertaining to the passage in question. Following them may enable a candidate to attempt comprehension reading to the satisfaction of checker. 1. Never confirm your answer to a question until youve read the entire passage. Information relevant to a question can appear anywhere in the passage. 2. Using your pencil and scratch paper, jot down a rough outline as you read. It will help you locate relevant details quickly as you answer the questions, and minimize re-reading. 3. Dont be overly concerned with details (dates, examples, and lists) as you read; instead, jot down in outline form where these details are located in the passage so you can locate them quickly as needed to respond to the questions. 4. After reading the entire passage, take about 15 seconds to sum it up in one sentence—in the form of a rough thesis statement. Doing so is well worth the effort, because youll be able to answer some Reading Comprehension questions with nothing more than the thesis in mind. 5. No matter what type of question youre dealing with, eliminate any answer choice that runs contrary to the passages overall thesis. 6. Be on the lookout for answer choices that provide information supported by the passage but not responsive to the question. This is one of the test-makers favorite wrong-answer ploys. 7. If the author of the passage adopts a position, or stance, on an issue, but discusses other viewpoints as well in the passage, be on the lookout for answer choices that confuse the authors viewpoint with the viewpoints of others. This is another common wrong-answer ploy. 8. Clarify your purpose. A good understanding of what you already know and what you need out of the reading is the key to reading comprehension. READING SKILL “Reading is getting information from the printed text and relating it to what the reader already knows in order to create a meaning for the text as a whole.” It is essential to distinguish clearly between two activities which go by the name of reading. 1. 2. HOW MEMORY SYSTEM WORKS 1. Sensory store 2. Short term memory 3. Long term memory USES OF READING 6 USES READING PURPOSES 1. Reading For Information: 2. Reading For Research: 3. Reading For Summarizing: 4. Reading for tests: 5. Reading For Enjoyment: VARIOUS MODELS OF READING THEORIES OF READING 1. Bottom Up Theory: 2. Top Down / Schema Theory: 3. Interactive Model: TYPES OF READING • Intensive reading • Extensive reading • Skimming • Scanning • Silent reading • Oral reading • Model reading • Undivided model reading • Divided model reading • SQ3R: 1. Survey: 2. Questions: 3. Reading: 4. Recitation: 5. Review: TEACHING READING 1. 2. 3. APROACHES TO TEACHING READING SKILLS 1. Pedagogical Approach: 2. Expliction De Texte Approach: 3. Fast Reading Approach: 4. Communicative Approach: . TEACHING READING CONPREHENSION PHASAS OF READING A LESSON 1. Pre-reading: 2. While-reading: 3. Post-reading: AT THE STAGE 1. Reading And Writing: 2. Reading And Listening: 3. Reading And Speaking: READING TECHNIQUES 1. Sensitizing: 2. Inference: 3. Understanding. 4. Linking Sentences And Ideas: 5. Assessing The Text: 6. Writer’s Intention And Language: FROM SKIMMING TO SCANNING 1. Predicting 2. Reviewing 3. Anticipation 4. Skimming and scanning 5. Speed improving activity PROBLEMS OF LEARNING TO READ 1. Imperfect Fit: 2. Graphic Contrast: 3. Vocabulary: 4. Grammar: 5. Content: 6. Culture: There are various types of reading. Did you know that? Dont use the same approach to reading all the time. Choose your approach to suit the task in hand. What follow are notes on different types of reading. These techniques apply to books, magazines, or anything else in printed form. RAPID SURVEY Check what you are reading - a rapid glance is all thats necessary. Is it what you need? up to date? right for the task? Are all the contents relevant - or only some? Are they written at the right level for you? Answer these questions quickly. This is also known as previewing. SAMPLING Here you explore the contents in a little more detail. Look at chapter headings, or the introduction. Skim read a page or two in various chapters. Keep asking yourself Is this book suitable for me? If the answer is No - move on to something else. SKIMMING This is making a rapid survey of the subject. This may be to get a rough idea, or to see what the book is about. Glance through the book quickly and pick up the main points. Try to get a general picture of what its about. This is a very useful skill which becomes easier with practice. SEARCHING Here you are looking for a single piece of information. For instance, someones telephone number. Go straight to the contents, or the index, or locate the page. Look up the item you need - and write it down. Put the book back - and move on without browsing. SELECTING This is focusing your attention on one part of a book. Only one part is important for what your need. Read the section, get the idea, and leave the rest alone. Dont be distracted into browsing over more than you need. This requires self-discipline, but its a very useful skill. STUDYING Here you are reading to understand the contents of a book. Its the most common approach in any serious form of study. You need to concentrate whilst reading. You should try to understand what the writer means. You might also be taking notes whilst reading. The reading may be part of your coursework, or research for a project. You might also need to read a book more than once to grasp the point it is making. CLOSE READING This is reading for appreciation. This approach is used in subjects such as literature and religious studies. Every word may be studied in close detail. You are looking for any possible meaning it may contain. The result of this is a deep understanding of the book. RAPID READING Here you are reading to find out what happens next. For instance, when reading popular fiction. You will rarely dwell on the book or study it closely. This is reading for pleasure or entertainment. You dont need to pay attention to every word. SPEED READING Speed reading courses teach you ultra-rapid skim-reading techniques. This may be useful for absorbing information at a surface level. Its not really suitable for understanding and retaining information. Its unlikely to help if you are engaged in studying. Keep in mind the Woody Allen joke: I went on a speed reading course last week - and it worked! Yesterday I read War and Peace in an hour ... Its about some Russians. ONCE AGAIN ... Choose your style of reading to suit the task in hand. Dont think that all books should be read in the same way. Keep in mind why you are reading. Youll get more done! Dawn is the Best newspaper ascribed by a lot of CSPs and teachers. But I suggest you to not rely on just one News paper. By coming to point, one need to develop ones interest towards remembering the facts and figures mentioned in newspapers. As far as my own way of reading Dawn concerns, • I read the Heading and afterwards the first paragraph of the news. • If it seems to be valuable for me, I read out the next paragraphs as well. Otherwise, I leave that news for the next headings. • I never ignore the News about the Governmental, international affairs, international complements about Pakistan Govt. • I never miss the Pp.6 and 7, those are the pages of opinions of different people about govt. (Known as editorial page). Its the very very important one for knowledge gaining of Current affairs. Miss out the News but NEVER MISS reading of editorial page.Dont even think to miss it out.(Doesnt mean to ignore but just trying to show the importance of this page.) • Next page of TV Programs schedule and the word games. Play those game for refreshment of your mind and IQ level. (As IQ level can be increased by playing mind games.) I never miss it, I prefer to play even just one but I used to do this activity. • Bushiness pages has so much importance as well for being aware of Economical circumstances. • National, International pages cant be neglected ever but can be read as told you earlier. • Sports page couldnt succeeded in getting a place in my heart ever but I suggest you to read it as well. In the end, I suggest you to read more and more news, articles and criticisms. And again, dont rely on just one News paper. As news papers are the source of knowledge and information which lead one towards wisdom and later on success. Comprehension reading is the main criterion for seperating the passive unskilled reader from active intelligent reader. It requires the reader to be an active constructor of meaning. A good reader possesses following qualities: 1. Predicts what is the main theme of the given passage. 2. Understands the sequence and context of the given passage. 3. clarifies the parts of the text which have confused him. Here are some important techniques to increase comprehension power and ability to answer the questions pertaining to the passage in question. Following them may enable a candidate to attempt comprehension reading to the satisfaction of checker. 1. Never confirm your answer to a question until youve read the entire passage. Information relevant to a question can appear anywhere in the passage. 2. Using your pencil and scratch paper, jot down a rough outline as you read. It will help you locate relevant details quickly as you answer the questions, and minimize re-reading. 3. Dont be overly concerned with details (dates, examples, and lists) as you read; instead, jot down in outline form where these details are located in the passage so you can locate them quickly as needed to respond to the questions. 4. After reading the entire passage, take about 15 seconds to sum it up in one sentence—in the form of a rough thesis statement. Doing so is well worth the effort, because youll be able to answer some Reading Comprehension questions with nothing more than the thesis in mind. 5. No matter what type of question youre dealing with, eliminate any answer choice that runs contrary to the passages overall thesis. 6. Be on the lookout for answer choices that provide information supported by the passage but not responsive to the question. This is one of the test-makers favorite wrong-answer ploys. 7. If the author of the passage adopts a position, or stance, on an issue, but discusses other viewpoints as well in the passage, be on the lookout for answer choices that confuse the authors viewpoint with the viewpoints of others. This is another common wrong-answer ploy. 8. Clarify your purpose. A good understanding of what you already know and what you need out of the reading is the key to reading comprehension.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 11:37:52 +0000
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