Reading Skill

Developing strong reading skills means that you interact with what you read—ask questions, locate main ideas, and draw conclusions.

Reading comprehension is defined as a complex activity involving multiple variables that enables learners to decode, analyze, and express ideas about written materials

Reading Skill

Becoming an active reader takes practice. To improve your com prehension skills, try the following techniques while you read:

• Skim ahead = Scan the text before you read.

• Item = Jump back. Review the text after you read.

• Look up new words.

• Highlight important information.

• Take notes

• Connect what you read

Reading Skill: Questions

The reading comprehension questions can be classified into nine categories:

• Main Idea

• Supporting Details

• Exceptions

• Location of Information

• Vocabulary

Reading Skill: Questions

The reading comprehension questions can be classified into nine categories:

• Inferences

• Reference

• Paraphrased sentences

• Sentence insertion

Main Idea

This question type asks you to locate the main idea of a passage or paragraph. Examples:

• Which sentence best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

• What is this paragraph mainly about?

• What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

• What would be the best title for this passage?

Practice

Supporting Details

For this kind of question, you will identify a specific fact or detail described in the passage.. Examples:

• What causes Type II diabetes?

• How many people in the United States have Type II diabetes?

Practice

Exceptions

For this question type, you will identify a specific fact or detail that was not mentioned in the passage.. Examples:

• Which characteristic does NOT describe the cuttlefish?

• The author mentions all of the following as important causes of acid rain EXCEPT:

Practice

Location of Information

These questions ask you to find the place in the passage where specific information is given. Examples:

• Where in the passage does the author define the term ecosystem? ■

• Computer test only: Click on the sentence in paragraph 3 in which the author mentions the symptoms of lupus.

Vocabulary

There are two kinds of vocabulary questions: one asks you to determine the meaning of a word based on how it is used in the passage; the other asks you to choose a synonym for the vocabulary word. Examples:

• The word intrinsic in paragraph 2 most likely means:

• The word commotion in paragraph 5 could best be replaced by:

• Computer test only: Look at the word decadent in the passage. Click on another word in the bold text that is closest in meaning to decadent.

Practice

Inferences

For this question type, you will draw a logical conclusion based on the information in the passage. Examples:

• The author suggests that cloning will lead to:

• This passage suggests that racial profiling is discriminatory because

Practice

Reference

These questions require you to determine what a specific word (often a pronoun) or phrase refers to in the passage. Examples:

• The word it in line 7 refers to:

• Computer test only: Look at the word one in the passage. Click on the word or phrase in the bold text that one refers to

Practice

Stop reading and...
Let's talk about what you've read:
Orwell's Animal Farm