Prose: Comprehension of Prescribed Arabic Lessons
Domain 3 - Prose tests comprehension of the prescribed Arabic prose lessons: literal meaning, vocabulary in context, pronoun reference, sequence of events and the lesson's moral.
Reading routine
- Read the passage once for gist, then again with a pencil.
- Circle proper nouns and pronouns; draw an arrow from each pronoun to its referent.
- Mark negation (لَا، مَا، لَيْسَ) and connectors (ثُمَّ، فَـ، لَكِنَّ، لِذَلِكَ).
- Answer in complete sentences, in Arabic when the question is in Arabic.
Worked example
Passage: يَعِيشُ أَحْمَدُ فِي قَرْيَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. يَسْتَيْقِظُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مُبَكِّرًا وَيَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْحَقْلِ مَعَ أَبِيهِ. Question: Where does Ahmad live, and what does he do every day? Reasoning: يَعِيشُ ('he lives') plus فِي قَرْيَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ answers the first part. كُلَّ يَوْمٍ ('every day') governs both verbs يَسْتَيْقِظُ and يَذْهَبُ; مُبَكِّرًا is a ḥāl, 'early'; مَعَ أَبِيهِ is 'with his father'. Model answer: يَعِيشُ أَحْمَدُ فِي قَرْيَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ، وَيَسْتَيْقِظُ مُبَكِّرًا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ وَيَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْحَقْلِ مَعَ أَبِيهِ.
Traps
- Copying the whole paragraph when the question asks for one fact.
- Ignoring لَا or لَيْسَ and giving the opposite meaning.
- Attaching a pronoun to the nearest noun without checking the sense.
- Explaining a word with a synonym that does not fit the sentence.