Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension tests how well you extract and interpret meaning from unseen passages. Questions usually ask for explicit detail, a paraphrase, an inference, the writer’s purpose or tone, and the meaning of a word in context. The passage-not your general knowledge-supplies the answer, so every choice must be checked against the text.
Core moves
- Read once for the gist: who, what, where, why, and the writer’s attitude.
- Underline discourse markers such as however, therefore, although, and for example; they show contrast, cause, and illustration.
- For detail questions, locate the exact line and read the sentence before and after it.
- For inference, find the sentence that supports the answer. A true statement is not automatically right if it does not answer the question.
- Track pronouns: it, they, and this usually refer to a nearby noun or idea.
Worked example
Passage: “Although the library extended its opening hours, borrowing fell because the new bus timetable left students on campus after the last service.” Question: Why did borrowing fall? Reasoning: Although introduces a contrast, so extended hours did not cause the fall. Because names the cause: the bus timetable. The answer must link the timetable to students being stranded, not simply repeat “library hours.”
Traps
- Choosing an option because it repeats words from the passage.
- Ignoring NOT, EXCEPT, or according to the writer.
- Confusing a character’s opinion with the writer’s view.
- Selecting an extreme answer when the passage says some, often, or may.
- Answering from memory of a similar topic instead of the passage in front of you.