Reading Comprehension

1. Reading Comprehension

2. Analysis Divide the questions into the different reading selections • Identify the different genres (poetry, short story, nonfiction, etc.) • Which genres gave you the least problems? • Which genres did you struggle with? • Identify why you think you struggled with or excelled at these particular genres • Was it the type of language used? (poetry vs. prose) • Was it the subject of the reading selection? • Was it the structure of the reading selection?

3. Look for commonalities between the questions: Do they focus on certain skills? Such as: • Identifying vocabulary through using context • Understanding characterization • Understanding speaker’s tone/attitude • Understanding theme or message • Comprehending meaning of dialogue • Recognizing metaphor, simile, symbol, etc.

4. Goal-setting • Once you have identified the areas you need to work on, develop achievable steps to take to improve your skills • For example, if you struggle with vocabulary, invest more time in learning new vocabulary while you read • If you struggle with terminology (metaphor, simile, etc.) study these as much as possible • If you struggle with poetry, figure out strategies to help you understand it • Do not expect this class to be able to cover ALL areas of need for EVERY student, some of the work has to be done on your own – sorry  • ALWAYS work on these goals!!!

5. Multiple Choice • First and foremost, the BEST way to improve your ability to read is to actually read (I know! That’s a novel idea…get it?) • Multiple choice questions are generally structured in a specific pattern • Two of the four answers are usually easily identifiable as incorrect • One answer is the best of the four • One answer is created to be a distracter – it is an answer that may seem right, but is not the best answer for the question

6. Strategies for answering multiple choice • Cover up the options and try to answer the question before reading the options given – then, if one answer matches your initial answer, chances are that’s the correct one • Identify the key words/terms in the stem of the question • “’The loon has left its voice’ (line 1) implies that the loon’s song” - key words? • “The impression most clearly expressed in lines 6 to 10 is of the” • “In the context of the stanza, the verb ‘empty’ (line 11) means to” • “The simile ‘like five white cups’ (line 13) refers to” • “The image of a nest in a white cup (lines 11 to 14) is a metaphor for the”

7. Read the questions before reading the selection • Acts as a primer for your brain – a signal of things to look for while you read • Answer the questions in order • They are structured in a specific order • The first few questions will clue you in to the bigger ideas in the reading selection • The remaining questions are usually based on those ideas targeted in the first few questions • Reread the citation (line # to #) as well as the surrounding text • If you struggle with a question, leave it and come back to it later – do not spend 20 minutes exhausting your brain and getting frustrated, it will negatively impact the rest of your exam

8. Read ALL aspects of the text: • Title (…seriously) – usually the title of a work speaks to important symbolic or thematic concepts developed in the texts • Preamble – the (usually italicized) paragraph or chunk of text found just before or after the title that is not IN the reading selection, but is ABOUT the reading selection • Stage directions in dramatic pieces – this includes anything about what the character does, how a character speaks, how the set is established, entrances, exits, sound effects, etc. • Footnotes, endnotes, etc. – any explanations made at the bottom or in the margins of the page that relate to parts of the text • Visuals that accompany the text and any captions that accompany or modify the visuals • GUARANTEED you will get somewhere in the ballpark of 5-10 questions asked specifically about the supplementary information included with the actual text