Leonita Anggraeni

How to answer reading comprehension?

Reading Skills are a perennial topic for standardized tests. Nursing Entrance Test generally have a reading comprehension component as do most College Entrance Exams.  Some tests, like the Nelson Denny, is primarily reading comprehension.  Before entering University or Nursing School, the institution wants to make sure that you will be able to handle reading technical material and textbooks.   Most High School Tests have reading comprehension components as this is a critical skill required for graduation.

At first sight, reading comprehension tests look challenging especially if you are given long essays to answer only two to three questions. While reading, you might notice your attention wandering, or you may feel sleepy. Do not be discouraged because there are various tactics and long range strategies that make comprehending even long, boring essays easier.

Your friends before your foes. 

It is always best to tackle essays or passages with familiar subjects rather than those with unfamiliar ones. This approach applies the same logic as tackling easy questions before hard ones. Skip passages that do not interest you and leave them for later when there is more time.

Don’t use ‘special’ reading techniques. 

This is not the time for speed-reading or anything like that – just plain ordinary reading – not too slow and not too fast.

Read through the entire passage and the questions before you do anything. 

Many students try reading the questions first and then looking for answers in the passage thinking this approach is more efficient. What these students do not realize is that it is often hard to navigate in unfamiliar roads. If you do not familiarize yourself with the passage first, looking for answers become not only time consuming but also dangerous because you might miss the context of the answer you are looking for. If you read the questions first you will only confuse yourself and lose valuable time.

Familiarize yourself with reading comprehension questions.

If you are familiar with the common types of reading questions, you are able to take note of important parts of the passage, saving time.

• Main Idea– Questions that ask for the central thought or significance of the passage.
• Specific Details – Questions that asks for explicitly stated ideas.

• Drawing Inferences – Questions that ask for a statement’s intended meaning.
• Tone or Attitude – Questions that test your ability to sense the emotional state of the author.

• Context Meaning – Questions that ask for the meaning of a word depending on the context.

• Technique – Questions that ask for the method of organization or the writing style of the author.

Read. Read. Read. 

The best preparation for reading comprehension tests is always to read, read and read. If you are not used to reading lengthy passages, you will probably lose concentration. Increase your attention span by making a habit out of reading.

Reading Comprehension tests become less daunting when you have trained yourself to read and understand fast. Always remember that it is easier to understand passages you are interested in. Do not read through passages hastily. Make mental notes of ideas that you think might be asked.

When facing the reading comprehension section of a standardized test, you need a strategy to be successful. You want to keep several steps in mind:

• First, make a note of the time and the number of sections. 

Time your work accordingly. Typically, four to five minutes per section is sufficient. Second, read the directions for each selection thoroughly before beginning (and listen well to any additional verbal instructions, as they will often clarify obscure or confusing written guidelines). You must know exactly how to do what you’re about to do!

• Now you’re ready to begin reading the selection.

Read the passage carefully, noting significant characters or events on a scratch sheet of paper or underlining on the test sheet. Many students find making a basic list in the margins helpful. Quickly jot down or underline one-word summaries of characters, notable happenings, numbers, or key ideas. This will help you better retain information and focus wandering thoughts. Remember, however, that your main goal in doing this is to find the information that answers the questions. Even if you find the passage interesting, remember your goal and work fast but stay on track.

• Now read the question and all the choices. 

Now you have read the passage, have a general idea of the main ideas, and have marked the important points. Read the question and all the choices. Never choose an answer without reading them all! Questions are often designed to confuse – stay focused and clear. Usually the answer choices will focus on one or two facts or inferences from the passage. Keep these clear in your mind.

• Search for the answer. 

With a very general idea of what the different choices are, go back to the passage and scan for the relevant information. Watch for big words, unusual or unique words. These make your job easier as you can scan the text for the particular word.

• Mark the Answer. 

Now you have the key information the question is looking for. Go back to the question, quickly scan the choices and mark the correct one. Understand and practice the different types of standardized reading comprehension tests. See the list above for the different types. Typically, there will be several questions dealing with facts from the selection, a couple more inference questions dealing with logical consequences of those facts, and periodically an application-oriented question surfaces to force you to make connections with what you already know.

Some students prefer to answer the questions as listed, and feel classifying the question and then ordering is wasting precious time. Other students prefer to answer the different types of questions in order of how easy or difficult they are.

Task	Time	Date
Make posters	1 P.M.–4 P.M.	December 5th
Set up gym	11 A.M.–4 P.M.	December 11th
Help performers	9 A.M.–4 P.M.	December 12th
Welcome guests	10 A.M.–2 P.M.	December 12th
Clean up gym	4 P.M.–7 P.M.	December 12th