Reading Comprehension Breaking Down the Text Reading Comprehension

Approaching Reading Comprehension Questions Think of Reading Comprehension as a book The correct answer to every question is somewhere in the book Reading comprehension questions are tricky Test takers often spend too much time trying to understand what they have read Your critical thinking skills may cause you to overanalyze the text

Structure and Tone A key strategy for Reading Comprehension is to understand its structure and tone Many question sets will contain a question that concerns how the author organizes or expresses his or her ideas.

Here Are Some Classic GRE Passage Structures: Arguing a position Often used in social science passages Discussing something specific within a field of study For example a passage about Shakespearean sonnets in literature Explaining some significant new findings or research Often a science passage

Tone Refers to an author’s attitude towards his or her topic, or how he or she expresses a point of view. In passages that cite significant new findings or research, the tone is likely to be academic or detached In passages that argue a position, the tone may be more forceful and opinionated In some passages, the author may be describing the opinions of someone else. In this case, the tone might be narrative or descriptive The tone would be argumentative if the author mentions the opinions of others in order to debunk them

Using Process of Elimination The correct answer choice for a tone question will use language similar to that found in the passage; a correct answer choice will not use the language more extreme than that used in the passage

Extreme Answer Choices Moderate Answer Choices Avoid Extreme Answers! Extreme Answer Choices Moderate Answer Choices Must The first Each Every All The best Only Totally Always No May Can Some Many Sometimes Often

Determine the topic, scope, and author’s purpose Every passage boils down to one or more main ideas Your job is to read through the passage and find it The main idea is often presented in the first third of the passage, but occasionally the author builds up to it gradually Everything else supports the main idea

Topic, Scope, and Purpose You can break down the main idea of the passage by determining the topic, scope and purpose of the passage Topic vs scope A topic is broad A scope is focused and particularly important because answer choices that go beyond it will always be wrong Author’s Purpose The author develops a passage by including certain aspects and excluding others. Those choices reflect the author’s purpose and main idea.

As you read each passage, remember to do the following Identify the topic Narrow it down to its precise scope Make a prediction about why the author is writing and where he or she is going with the passage

Read Strategically You can be an active reader by Thinking about what you’re reading Paraphrasing complex ideas Asking yourself questions about the passage as you read Jotting down notes about the author’s arguments counterarguments

Let’s Practice!

Use the strategies we learned in class today to help you deconstruct Reading Comprehension passages such as this one: The admissions policy at Carver City University stipulates that in considering applicants for freshmen admission from potential students who meet the entrance requirements, preference will be given to high school graduates who are permanent residents of Carver City. This policy is followed consistently by all admissions officers; however, although over 600 students have graduated from Carver City’s high schools in the past year, some slots in the freshmen class of 200 are filled by students who are not permanent residents of Carver City.

As a Class… Let’s identify The topic The scope The author’s purpose