Reading Comprehension Notes & Questions

Question 1

How should you be reading the passages?

Answer 1

1. Tell ourselves that we really enojy it, being engaged helps to absorb what is being conveyed.
2. Change your perception, remove any bias you may have with the content when reading it - the mission is to understand the passage as much as possible. When we are fully engaged we don’t spend time wondering whether we like it or not.
3. Know a little something about everything.

Question 2

Since the passages come academic articles, what are some of the structural features of the writing you need to be aware off?

Answer 2

1. Each sentence is connected in thought to the previous sentence
2. The writer emphasises important facts and ideas by using transitional signals
3. Passages are objective (until proven otherwise)

Question 3

What are genuinely the main parts of the passages?

Answer 3

1. The background
2. The twist - what has changed?
3. Result - What is the new thing we got out of it?
4. Implications - sometimes the passage creates new questions and is only the start of a longer journey.

Question 4

What should you do at each ‘stop’ in a passage?

Answer 4

At each stop, ask yourself whether the point of the passage has changed, or whether a new idea was introduced, and if so, write it down briefly.

Question 5

What are negative connecting words? Why are they important to recognise when reading passages?

Answer 5

Words that set up the sentence to counter or propose something different to what was said in the previous sentences. These are key changes you need to look for when reading passages?

Question 6

What should you do if you think you found the answer to a question when reading a sentence?

Answer 6

Don’t stop reading just yet, always read until the end of the paragraph/idea.