NGSA English: Reading Comprehension

The Reading Comprehension domain tests whether you can understand, interpret, and use information from a passage. NGSA items ask about the main idea, specific details, sequence, cause and effect, inferences, the author's purpose, fact and opinion, and the meaning of words in context. The passage contains the evidence for every answer; your job is to find it and match it to the question.

Identify the question type first

• Main idea: what the whole passage is mostly about. The topic is a word or phrase; the main idea is a full statement.
• Detail: a fact stated directly. Scan for a name, date, number, or key noun.
• Inference: a reasonable conclusion from evidence, not a guess. Ask, 'What does the text suggest without saying it directly?'
• Sequence: use signal words such as first, after, then, finally.
• Cause and effect: look for because, so, as a result, led to.
• Author's purpose: to inform, persuade, entertain, or describe. The tone and details reveal it.
• Fact and opinion: facts can be checked; opinions contain judgement words such as best, should, beautiful.

A method that works

1. Read the passage once for the general sense.
2. Read the question and underline its key words.
3. Return to the text and find the sentence or sentences that answer it.
4. Predict the answer before reading the options.
5. Eliminate options that are untrue, only partly true, or true but do not answer the question.

Worked example

Passage: 'Although the village had no bridge, the children crossed the river every morning to reach school. In the rainy season the water rose above their knees, so they walked in groups, holding hands. Their teacher kept a rope by the door and walked with them whenever the river was high.' Question: What can you infer about the children's journey to school? Reasoning: 'No bridge' and water 'above their knees' show difficulty and possible danger. 'Every morning to reach school' shows determination. The groups and held hands show care. A safe inference is that the journey was difficult but the children were determined to attend school. An option saying simply 'The children lived in a village' is true but does not answer the question.

Traps that cost marks

• Choosing an answer that is true but not asked for.
• Falling for extreme words such as all, never, or always.
• Confusing an inference with your own opinion.
• Missing NOT or EXCEPT in the question.
• Selecting a small detail when the question asks for the main idea.
• Not reading every option before deciding.