Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension tests unseen material - a prose extract, a poem, and a non-fiction piece - and asks you to retrieve, interpret, and evaluate rather than recall. Every answer must be anchored in the passage.
Work from the question to the text
Read the questions first, then the passage. Identify the instruction word: state, infer, compare, explain the effect. Underline the line reference. Answer in your own words unless the question asks for a quotation.
Three levels of response
- Literal: a fact stated directly.
- Inferential: a conclusion the wording supports but does not state.
- Evaluative: tone, purpose, attitude, or the effect of a device.
Reference and cohesion
Pronouns (it, they, this) point backwards or forwards. Track what each refers to before answering a vocabulary-in-context or summary item.
Worked example
Passage: The village clock had stopped years ago, yet every evening the old watchman climbed the tower and wound the empty mechanism. Question: What does the detail suggest about the watchman? Reasoning: empty mechanism is literal; yet every evening marks a contrast between usefulness and habit. The action cannot serve a practical purpose, so it must serve a personal one. Answer: his routine is a ritual of loyalty and fidelity rather than function. Quote the evidence, then interpret it.
Traps that cost marks
- Importing outside knowledge instead of using the passage.
- Selecting extreme absolutes when the passage is qualified.
- Confusing the topic with the tone.
- Missing NOT or EXCEPT in the stem.
- Quoting without explaining.
- Treating a poem's speaker as the poet.