Reading Comprehension (Prose and Non-fiction Texts)
Reading Comprehension tests your ability to read unseen Rumanyo prose and non-fiction and answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions.
Method
- Read the title and first and last paragraphs for gist.
- Read the questions; underline the key word and the line reference.
- Scan to the relevant lines, then close-read the sentence before and after.
- Answer in your own words when instructed; keep the same meaning.
Question types
- Literal: find and state.
- Inference: read between the lines; support with a word or phrase.
- Purpose and tone: ask why the writer wrote it and how they feel.
- Fact and opinion: check whether the statement can be verified.
- Vocabulary in context: use the surrounding sentence, not a dictionary meaning.
Worked example
A non-fiction passage describes a garden committee: 'They met once, in the first month. The fence was never repaired.' The question asks what the writer suggests about the committee. 'Met once' and 'never' are the evidence; the suggestion is inactivity, not simply that a meeting happened. A strong answer: 'The committee did not carry out its work.' A weak answer copies the first sentence.
Traps
- Copying long chunks instead of answering.
- Ignoring 'according to the passage' and importing outside knowledge.
- Confusing the writer's view with a quoted speaker's view.
- Missing 'EXCEPT' or 'NOT' in the question.
- Over-answering one point when the question asks for two.