Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension (Domain 1) in the BSEH Senior Secondary English Special paper is the only section built entirely on unseen material. It tests three different operations that candidates often merge into one: locating information, reorganising it, and judging it. A discursive passage on, say, urban water policy rewards a different strategy from a narrative extract, so identify the passage type in the first thirty seconds.
Skimming and scanning are separate tools
Skim first for the shape of the argument - the topic sentence of each paragraph, contrast markers (however, nevertheless, on the other hand), and the conclusion. Scan second, only when a question names a detail such as a date, a figure or a name. Never read the questions before the passage, and never answer from general knowledge.
Note-making has a fixed format
Give a title, then numbered headings with sub-points indented under them. Use phrases, not sentences, and abbreviate consistently with a key. Notes must be minimal - usually three or four main headings. The summary that follows is written in full sentences in your own words, roughly one-third the length of the passage, with no new information.
Worked example
Passage line: “The scheme was launched with much fanfare, but within two years it had run into rough weather.” Question: What happened to the scheme? Weak answer: “It was launched with much fanfare” - copies the wrong half. Good answer: “It soon faced serious difficulties.” Reasoning: “but” signals contrast, so the second clause carries the answer; “run into rough weather” is an idiom meaning to encounter trouble. Convert the idiom to plain meaning; do not repeat it.
Traps
Writing full sentences inside notes; exceeding word limits; importing outside facts; and answering vocabulary questions with a dictionary’s first meaning instead of the contextual one.