Literal Comprehension of Literary Text
What this domain tests
Literary comprehension questions ask about stories, fables, and poems. Candidates should understand characters, setting, and plot, including the problem and its solution. They should be able to retell events in order, identify who said or did something, and recognize the lesson or moral when it is stated or strongly implied. For poems, they should notice rhyme, rhythm, and repeated lines. Understanding dialogue and how characters feel at a given moment is also expected.
Traps in questions
A frequent trap is an answer choice that describes a character in a way the story does not support, or that happens in a different part of the story. Another trap reverses the order of events or confuses two characters. Questions about feelings may offer a feeling that matches the situation but not the character's words or actions. Poems can trick students who assume a rhyming word must mean something it does not.
Rule of thumb
For sequence questions, number the events as they happen in the story, then compare that order with the choices. For character questions, find the sentence showing what the character does or says.
Worked example
Story: "Mia practiced every day. On the day of the race, she stumbled but kept going and finished last. She smiled and said, 'I did my best.'" Asked how Mia felt at the end: choices are "angry," "proud," "scared," "bored." Her smile and words show pride in effort. Answer: "proud."