Reading Comprehension of Unseen Prose
Reading Comprehension of Unseen Prose
This domain tests whether you can read an unfamiliar prose passage, locate explicit information, infer unstated meaning, explain vocabulary in context, and recognise tone. Answers are usually short, so precision matters more than length.
Core rules and concepts
- Read twice: first for gist, second for detail. Mark names, dates, negatives, and contrast signals such as 'but', 'although', and 'instead'.
- Answer in your own words unless the question says 'quote'. Keep the question's word class: 'Why' needs a reason, 'How' needs a method.
- Treat inference as evidence plus logic, not guesswork. A valid inference can be supported by a word or clause in the passage.
- For vocabulary, test the word in the sentence; a dictionary meaning may not fit the context.
- For true/false with reason, the reason must quote or paraphrase the exact clause that proves the judgement.
Worked example
Passage: 'When the power failed, the clinic's generator coughed twice and died. Nurse Haq lit a kerosene lamp and continued stitching by its unsteady light.' Question: What does 'unsteady light' suggest about the situation? Reasoning: 'Unsteady' is not merely a fact about the lamp; it shows the emergency is ongoing and the nurse must work under unreliable conditions. A weak answer says 'the light was moving'. A strong answer says 'the nurse had to continue a delicate task without dependable power, which emphasises her concentration and the clinic's vulnerability'. The verb 'continued' supports that inference because it shows she did not stop.
Traps
Copying a full sentence instead of answering; over-reading one word into a theme; missing 'except' or 'not'; confusing the writer with a character; giving a synonym that ignores context; inventing a cause the passage never states.