Reading Comprehension (Longer Passages and Graphs/Charts)
What longer passages and graphics test
Longer readings combine two or more paragraphs with a table, bar chart, line graph, or pie chart. Nara's exam uses these to test integration: you must connect a sentence such as 'the number doubled' to the correct year and category, and separate data from the writer's opinion.
Core rules
- Read the title, axis labels, units, legend, and years before the prose. A graph's meaning depends on its scale.
- Locate the paragraph that mentions the graph; the answer often needs both sources.
- Track comparisons: increase, decrease, remain steady, peak, double, half.
- Identify purpose: inform, persuade, warn, or recommend. Opinion words include 'should', 'better', 'worrying'.
- For cause and effect items, find the linking word: because, so, as a result, therefore.
Worked example
Passage: 'The science club had 20 members in 2022 and 30 in 2023. Membership fell to 25 in 2024, so the club started a poster campaign.' Graph: 2022 = 20, 2023 = 30, 2024 = 25. Question: In which year did membership decrease? Reasoning: Compare consecutive years: 20 to 30 is a rise; 30 to 25 is a fall. The answer is 2024. 'The club started a poster campaign' explains a response to the fall, not the year of the fall itself.
Traps that cost marks
Reading a bar's height without checking the unit; assuming a line that goes up on the page means an increase when the axis is reversed; choosing the most recent year for every trend; and treating the writer's recommendation as data. Check whether the question asks for a fact, a reason, or the writer's view.