Scribd
Upload
2 views

Comprehension Lesson

Uploaded by

Nonde K Justin In
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2 views

Comprehension Lesson

Uploaded by

Nonde K Justin In
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

COMPREHENSION

Comprehension is a verb meaning to appreciate something. It is drawn from the root word
‘comprehend. According Longman Dictionary of contemporary English to comprehend means is to
‘understand’.
Comprehension passages are fairly short and are drawn from all aspects from life. A passage may be
on Sport, Science, Politics, Religion History, people’s activities, Tourism Geography and from works
of fiction. Some of the passages may be technical. i.e the use of English in those passages may be
specialised. This is the type of English which is unusual in everyday conversations.
The instructions at the beginning of the passage are straight forward. A candidate is expected to read
the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow the passage. Below are some hints on how
to approach a comprehension passage.
 It is essential to read through the passage very quickly to help you determine what kind of passage
it is. The first step is called skimming. To ‘skim’ means to read through quickly in order to get the
main ideas. You can at this stage skim through the questions as well.
 The second step involves reading through the passage again, this time carefully and with
understanding. Take note of the difficult and underlined words. This process of reading s called
scanning. To ‘scan’ means to examine closely or making a search for something.
 Now you are ready to answer the questions in comprehension and there are three types of questions
in comprehension, these include;
(i) The multiple choice questions.
(ii) The open-ended (free response) questions, where candidates are free to use their own words other
than those in the passage.
(iii) The vocabulary questions.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS.


This part usually comprises questions 1-8 each question carrying 2marks in most cases. When
answering multiple choice questions, read the questions carefully and examine the four free
alternatives which are usually A, B, C and D. Candidates have to be extra careful when aiming at the
best answer. They need to examine critically the part of the passage (paragraph) from where the
question is asked. Sometimes the difference between the best answer and the distracter is very
minimal. This can be in form of a word, a phrase, tense or even a spelling mistake. Multiple choice
questions usually have special reference to the paragraph the question is related. The question may
begin as follows;
According to paragraph 1……
Reference should be made to the exact paragraph in question. For instance, you cannot go to
Paragraph 8when you have been asked to make reference to Paragraph 7. Always obey the
instructions.
Do not introduce your own ideas into the passage from your own experience or general knowledge,
unless you have been specifically asked to do so.
NOTE: If you cannot arrive at a decision, do not put two choices as your answers. For example,
writing two choices A or B. You will get no mark in this particular situation. If you cannot
understand the question, leave, but always remember to get back to it.

Handling Multiple Choice Questions


When handling multiple choice questions, it is wise to begin by reading the passage and then
studying the questions’ demands.
• You will be given four or five options in which case your role will be to arrive at the answer that
outstands or summarizes all other answers given.
• Distracters are incorrect responses which are there to confuse you, hence, you should be very
careful as some distracters appear as similar as possible to the correct answer or key.
Method of Arriving at an Answer
• The best method you can use in arriving at the correct answer is called Elimination Method where
all distracters are eliminated carefully until convincingly you remain with only one correct answer.
• Comprehension exercises require logical reasoning and thinking on your part.

OPEN- ENDED /FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS


This is usually Question 9 and it also carries 2 marks.
Regarding this type of question, a candidate is required to use his or her own words but basing on the
passage read and the instructions given. Remember the use correct form of English in terms of tense
and spellings is very important at all times.
VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
This is the last question. This type of the question requires a candidate to work out the meanings of
the words from their contexts. In order to understand what the words mean. It is helpful to always
make reference to the related paragraph and the underlined words in order to arrive at a correct
answer. Be reminded that the examiner is also interested to know if you are able to recognise the
tense in which a required word is written.
COMPREHENSION SAMPLE
Read the passage carefully and answer questions that follow.
If a swarm settled on the railway line where there was a slight up-gradient, the driving wheels of the
engine slipped on the fat which oozed from the crushed bodies; and the train came to a standstill. One
of my jobs was to see how this could be prevented; and I shall be grateful to the locusts for providing
me with an excuse to travel for kilometers full length on the cowcatcher of a railway engine. Who can
say that the life of an entomologist is dull?

QUESTIONS
1. According to the passage, what caused the train to come to a standstill?
A. a slight up-gradient
B. the oil from the engine of the train
C. the fat from the crushed locust bodies
D. the oil from the bodies

As you may have seen, the correct answer is C. This question is factual as it asks for factual
information.

2. We can tell from the passage that A. the writer hated locusts
B. the writer is an entomologist
C. the writer did not enjoy his job
D. the writer liked locusts

• The correct answer is B. This question is inferential because an answer (entomologist) is


not directly stated. We can only infer from what has been said.

3. Which word in the passage means ‘passed or flowed smoothly’?


A. prevented
B. crushed
C. slipped
D. oozed

• The correct answer is D. This is a lexical question requiring you to provide the meaning of
the word or phrase.
• In this regard, you can know the meaning of the word using contextual clues or the context
in which the word is used. The context here is simply the situation around which the word appears.

You might also like