Reading Comprehension

GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR READING

• Be familiar with the direction.
• Do not spend too much time reading the passage.
• Do not worry if a reading passage is on a topic you
are unfamiliar with.
• Do not spend too much time on a question you are
unsure of.
• Guess to complete the section before time is up.
 Procedures for Reading Comprehension

1. Skim the reading passage to determine the main idea and the
overall organization of ideas in the passage.
2. Look ahead at the questions to determine the language skills
are being tested in the questions.
3. Find the section of the passage that deals with each question:
a. For main idea questions, look at the first line of each
paragraph
b. For directly or indirectly questions, choose a key word in
the question, and skim for the key word (or a related idea)
in order in the passage
c. For pronoun questions, the questions will tell you where
the pronoun is located in the passage.
d. For transition questions, look at the beginning
or the end of the passage.
e. For vocabulary questions, the question will tell
you where the word is located in the passage.
f. For where-in-the-passage questions, the
answer choices give you the four possible
locations of the correct answer.
g. For tone, purpose, and course questions, look
at the first line of each paragraph.
4. Read the part of the passage that contains the
answer carefully.
5. Choose the best answer to each question from the
four choices listed in your test book.