Answering Reading Comprehension Questions

Answering reading comprehension questions
1. Read the passage very fast.

2. Read the passage again slowly and take note of the words that you do not
understand. You could do this by underlining the words.
3. Try to get the meanings of some of the words from the context of the passage
before looking them up in your dictionary. This is a good habit because in the
examination room you will not have a dictionary.
4. If you find that you cannot understand the words, try to look them up. (that is in the
case of classwork or assignment as that is not possible when writing a test or
examination).
5. Take your third reading when you have understood many of the words. You may not
necessarily understand all the new words.
6. Now it is time for you to have a look at the questions.
7. Study each question very carefully before attempting it. You could do this by
underlining the key words.
8. Refer to the passage for the answers. Some questions require answers that may be
‘lifted’ or taken directly from the passage as they are. For example, a question like,
‘what is the name of the author’s companion? Another example could be, write one
word found in paragraph 2 that is used to give the writer’s feelings. Please note that
the answer in the above case should be just one word and not more. If your answer
is two or more words you get a zero.
9. Some questions may require you to read between the lines (infer the answer from
the information that is in the passage). Note that in this case the answer is not
found in the passage but you have to use the information found in the passage to get
to the answer.
10. Some questions require you to write the answer in your own words. In this case, you
first have to identify the words of the passage that respond to the question. You can
underline those words in the passage. Thereafter, study the underlined words and
decide the key words which you need to paraphrase or express in your own words.
If you know synonyms for them, use them. If not, you can write short phrases to
define those words in the context of the passage. Always bear in mind that a word
can have many meanings, but not all the meanings will fit into every context.
Example, ‘the soil was very rich’. The word rich means wealthy / having a lot of
money / fertile depending on the context. In the above context rich does not mean
that the soil has a lot of money or that it is wealthy but means that it is fertile.
11. Sometimes you will find questions that require you to use your own words, though
you will have to infer this from the question. For example, explain the expression
“the overwhelming fear” Such a question requires you to use your own words for an
answer.
12. Sometimes questions may require you to quote from the passage. Use quotation
marks when you give your answer. An example could be ‘Quote five consecutive
words that show the main character’s fear of being in a dark place.’ Be careful to
quote only what is required. This is because any excess information, even if it is only
one word, will render your answer wrong.
13. Sometimes you will be required to give antonyms (words with opposite meanings)
of some words. In order to do this, you need to know or at least have a vague idea
about the meaning of the given word.
14. One section requires you to write the meanings of some words in one word or a
short phrase of not more than seven words. In this case, the knowledge of
synonyms (words with similar meanings) is very essential. It is very important
though to remember that not every synonym you know for the given word will fit
into the context of the given sentence, or phrase. (Just like in 10 above). Watch out
for such words that seem so easy that you may be tempted to write the synonym
without even thinking about the context. Study the following sentences and
differentiate ‘dying’ and ‘dying’; ‘dream’ and ‘dream’. ‘She was dying when she
uttered those words.’ ‘I am dying to see my mother at the end of the month.’ ‘Last
night I had a weird dream.’ ‘I would never dream of killing anyone.’
15. A good student always attempts all the questions that he is expected to answer.
16. If you find a question too hard for you, leave enough space for it. You will come back
to it later. Please make sure you do.

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Answering reading comprehension questions

1. Read the passage very fast.

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