Reading

Comprehension
Techniques
 THE CHALLENGE
Think of the reading comprehension section
as something like a reality TV show where
you are dropped in the middle of a jungle
with no clues about where you are. You have
an essay dropped in front of you where you
have no background on it whatsoever. While
you are reading the essay you must make
sense of it, find your way and ultimately beat
the questions.
Imagine reading an essay where:
• You don’t know what the title is.
• You don’t know who the author is.
• You don’t know when or where it was
published.
• You can’t see the paragraphs before or after the
essay.
• You don’t have enough time to read it properly
• The content is dense, academic, boring, filled
with jargon, and covers a topic you have no
knowledge about or interest in.
 Five
Questions to
ask yourself
while reading
Question 1.
What is the Passage Type?

• Figuring out what the passage type is will

quickly give you a handle on how to start
reading and what to read for.

• Passages can be categorized by subject

matter and primary purpose.
Subject Classification
No matter what the subject, rely only on the
passage for factual information. You are not
expected to have any outside knowledge with
which to answer the questions. If a question
appears to ask for outside knowledge, look for the
information in the text. The answer will be there.
That means you should choose the answer best
supported by the passage, not the one that
appears most correct based on your general
knowledge. Use only what you have been given.
1. Humanities: literature, languages,
history, art, philosophy

Expect a heavy dose of jargon in these

passages. You’ll be treated to hermeneutics,
phenomenology, and other vocabulary
delights. Sentences may be unnecessarily
long and complicated. Everything you need
to know will be in the passage.
2. Social science: political science, psychology, economics,
sociology, anthropology

These essays will bring up controversial points. Many of these

essays may carry heavy political bias or may be loaded with
assumptions. These are often persuasive pieces. The trick here
is to see that the essays are in fact biased and persuasive
arguments. Follow the argument as best you can and be able
to summarize it before you go on to the questions. On the
other hand, if you do see the essay’s bias and happen to have a
personal bias in the other direction, be careful not to let this
interfere with your comprehension of the topic.
3. Science: biology, physics, chemistry, geology, earth science.

Science essays are detail intensive and have jargon you may not
understand. It is critical you don’t get bogged down on content you
don’t understand and focus on the main points.

Don’t think that just because it is a science essay it is hard. If you can
get through the haze of intimidating jargon the test writers use to
confuse you, you will see that these questions are easier than they
seem.

The scientific explanations are there mainly for two reasons:

1) To intimidate you,
2) To waste your time.
3. Science: biology, physics, chemistry, geology, earth science.

Science essays are detail intensive and have jargon you may not
understand. It is critical you don’t get bogged down on content you
don’t understand and focus on the main points.

Don’t think that just because it is a science essay it is hard. If you can
get through the haze of intimidating jargon the test writers use to
confuse you, you will see that these questions are easier than they
seem.

The scientific explanations are there mainly for two reasons:

1) To intimidate you,
2) To waste your time.
  
Tips for Science Passages

a) Often the introductory paragraph in a science essay will

just provide a background. You can skim through this
and get to the essay’s main point in the later paragraphs.

b) If you’re short on time, skip lengthy scientific

explanations. You may not need them at all. But try to
understand the point of the science. If the author is
describing the molecular biology of addition, ask
yourself: why? What is the function of the scientific
discussion in the passage? What bearing does the
scientific information have on the essay?
 
4. Business: management, entrepreneurship, corporations

These essays may also be jargon intensive. If you are a

business school graduate or if you have a training in
business management, you may have a background
knowledge in this area. This is usually beneficial, as it
makes the passage easier to read; just remember that
specific outside knowledge will never be called upon to
answer an essay question. All the answers can be found in
the essay itself.
 
Purpose for Classification

Specific purposes can be put into three main categories of action. 

1) Describe: Author’s main purpose is to convey information, to

present a situation or idea as objectively as possible. The author will
make some opinions or judgments, but there is a pretense of
objectivity. Example Author: Reporter

2) Evaluate: Author describes a phenomenon, situation, viewpoint, or

theory and analyzes it. Example Author: Researcher / Academic

3) Persuade: The author is advocating a particular position and often

against another point of view. Example Author: Debater, Politician
 
Evaluate vs. Persuade 

Evaluate and Persuade are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Some

passages are a little of both. In Evaluate, the author ultimately arrives
at a conclusion through analysis; for Persuade, the author seems to
start out with an argument and then backs it up with evidence.

Just knowing whether a passage describes, evaluates, or persuades

will help you in several ways.

1. It tests your knowledge of the passage. If you don’t know if it was

meant to be descriptive or persuasive, then you obviously did not read
it critically. 

2. You will have a head start on understanding the author’s purpose.

Describe—The author wants to communicate. If you
understand the passage, you’ve met the author’s
objective.

Evaluate—The author is giving you the good and bad,

pluses and minuses in an objective and somewhat
detached manner. The goal is to assess, evaluate, analyze
the topic of the passage and to arrive at the truth.

Persuade—The author is an idea salesman who wants

you to be a True Believer and reject the infidels who
disagree. When you finish, the author wants you to be a
follower of his or her opinion.
 Question 2.
What is each paragraph about?

Some essays are short and only one

paragraph. In these cases you obviously
don't have to analyze the relationship
between paragraphs
Why focus on each paragraph?

Each paragraph is the basic unit of the essay. By

breaking this unwieldy and cumbersome essay into
bite-sized pieces, we can more easily comprehend
what is going on and track the organizational
structure. 

How do I do this?
When reading a paragraph and after finishing it,
make a mental and/or written note of three things:
1. Main Idea of each paragraph

What is the author’s purpose?

Usually the first sentence in a paragraph will be a
topic sentence or transition sentence (or both). It
should tell you the main idea of the paragraph or the
paragraph’s relation to the preceding one. Pay close
attention to the first sentence in each paragraph.
2. Tone of each paragraph

Did the author’s style suddenly change in this paragraph?

Did the author’s tone change from supportive (of the
author’s point of view in a prior paragraph) to
contemptuous of an opposing point of view? 

Some common tones are:

A) Jubilant (=Happy)
B) Lamenting (= Sad)
C) Livid (=Outraged)
D) Awed (=impressed)
E) Ambivalent (=undecided)
TIPS:

As you are reading the essay, keep an eye out for these tone indicators.

The first paragraph in essays are often “backgrounders” that provide a

background to the issue. This paragraph may be detached and
objective. Then in the second paragraph the author will lay out his
point of view and the tone will change.

To draw an analogy, the tone is like the background music in a movie.

When the villain steps in, the music becomes dark and foreboding.
When the hero steps in the music becomes more optimistic and
heroic. The author’s tone sets the context for the ideas being
expressed and helps the reader follow the ideas.

Tone can shift suddenly in a new paragraph.

Example:

There are increasing indications that academic research

has separated itself from practical concerns to such an
extent that, in many academic arenas, the transition
from theory to practice has vanished entirely. Indeed,
public and private institutions alike are awakening to
the need to infuse scholarship with an “ear” for the
practically useful. Yet, the problem appears intractable,
with a chasm between academics and practitioners that
grows only wider. Only radical change will steer
academia back toward a collaboration with practical
concern. But who could devise such a radical, yet
effective, strategy?
I can. I have the answer. All academic research must
seek private funding. Scholarship without funding
has no justification for existence. You, naturally,
think my idea is preposterous. Surely I understand
that commercial value is separate from scholarly
significance? Yet it is you who are mistaken. You do
not understand that the market is the most efficient
measure of worth, be it commercial or scholarly. You
again object, this time almost in a panic, that I speak
nonsense. But you are merely afraid of what you
know to be the one viable path for modern academia.
Follow or be left behind in your blind fear of the most
fundamental economic truths. This is the only way. 
The first paragraph sets up the problem: academics have lost
touch with real life. The second paragraph signals a tone shift
from explanatory to aggressively persuasive, reflecting a shift in
purpose from explaining a problem to aggressively advocating a
solution.
 

“Aggressive” fits the tone of the second paragraph, but you

won’t see that word on the test. Try: “arrogant”, “overly
confident”, or even “dogmatic” (believing in something
whether or not it’s supported by evidence).
 

Tone shifts occur within paragraphs.

3. Relation to preceding paragraph

Look at the last sentence of the preceding paragraph and contrast it with the
introductory sentence of the paragraph you are reading. A good writer will make a
smooth transition to a new paragraph with a new idea. After each paragraph,
mentally note the relation to the preceding paragraph. The paragraph is the main
structural unit of any passage. To find a paragraph's purpose, ask yourself:

1)Why did the author include this paragraph?

2)What shift did the author have in mind when moving on to this paragraph?
3)What bearing does this paragraph have on the main idea of the passage so far?

If you get the main idea, tone, and relation to the preceding paragraph, you
should be able to answer these three questions.
Example: Passage

One of the most persistently troubling parts of national domestic policy is

the development and use of water resources. Because the technology of
water management involves similar construction skills, whether the task
is the building of an ocean jetty for protection of shipping or the
construction of a river dam for flood control and irrigation, the issues of
water policy have mingled problems of navigation and agriculture. A
further inherent complexity of water policy is the frequent conflict
between flood control and irrigation and between requirements for
abundance and those for scarcity of water. Both problems exist in
America, often in the same river basins; one is most typically the problem
of the lower part of the basin and the other the problem of the upper part.
Then there are the problems of cities located along the major American
rivers, not infrequently directly on the very flood plains of highly erratic
streams. In the arid parts of the land it has recently become clear that
climate varies over time, with irregular periods of serious drought
followed by wet periods marked by occasional floods. The problems of
land and water, then, are inherently difficult. For this reason alone,
shortcomings and failures have probably been inevitable. Moreover, in
the scale of the undertakings that have been attempted involving on
occasion no less than the reversal of stream flow and the altering of the
natural features of whole river basins, it is inevitable.
Nevertheless, the most startling fact about the history of water projects
in the United States is the degree to which their shortcomings have been
associated with administrative failures. Again and again these
shortcomings have proved to be the consequences of inadequate study
of water flow: of soil, of factors other than construction technology and
of faulty organization. In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National
Water resources found that twenty different national commissions or
committees charged with examining these problems and seeking
solutions had emphasized with remarkable consistency the need for
coordination among agencies dealing with water.
Exercise:
Paragraph 1

Main Idea: Developing and using water resources is extremely difficult.

Tone: Passionate? Exultant? No! Like an encyclopedia? Yes! Didactic (lecturing), explanatory, impartial. 

Why did the author include this paragraph? 

He or she wants to tell us about water management. The author is filling us in on the problems in water management so he or she can go on
to a more interesting point about the problems.

What shift did the author have in mind in moving on to this paragraph?
No shift applicable, but keep in mind where we started when we move on to the next paragraph.

What bearing does this paragraph have on the main idea of the passage so far?
The first sentence sounds like a main idea candidate. First sentences of first paragraphs are generally IMPORTANT, so pay special attention
to the openers. 
Exercise:
Paragraph 2

Main Idea: In addition to technology and irrigation problems, there are others reasons that water management is a pain in the ass, including climate
control.

Relation to Preceding Paragraph: Last paragraph discussed some problems in water management. This paragraph says “wait, there are more
problems”. 

Why did the author include this paragraph? 

He or she wants to make the case that water management stands out from most other domestic policies as a major pain. The more problems the
author lists, the stronger his or her case. 

What shift did the author have in mind in moving on to this paragraph?
This is a shift in a list. Problems in water management include A, B, C, D. . . . Last paragraph was technology and irrigation. This one is river cities and
climate change. 

What bearing does this paragraph have on the main idea of the passage so far?
It develops the idea that water management poses complicated challenges. And it provides more evidence to support the point. 
Exercise:
Paragraph 3

Main Idea: Despite other problems, biggest problem is administrative (read: government) failure. 

Tone: “Startling” fact, “Again and again”. The author is clearly frustrated with the failure. He or she is critical of the government. 

Relation to Preceding Paragraph: This paragraph takes a turn, but builds on the previous ones. The other paragraphs laid out the typical

descriptive issues you would expect with water management—technology, irrigation, etc. This paragraph begins to be more evaluative and

persuasive: “Yes, water management is tricky, but if the government were really doing its job, we could handle it.” 
Exercise:
Paragraph 3

Why did the author include this paragraph? 

In this paragraph the author makes his or her central point. Turns out the Big Idea is “there are lots of unavoidable problems in water
management, but the biggest problem of all is how incompetently government deals with these problems.”
. 
What shift did the author have in mind in moving on to this paragraph?
This is a shift from unavoidable environmental and technical problems to avoidable, with the most distressing being the government’s
failure to deal with the problems. Now it turns out that the previous two paragraphs were essentially background leading up to his or
her argument. In order to make his or her point about administrative failure, the author had to first sketch out situation. And to look
reasonable, the author also had to acknowledge that water management is not a piece of cake before proceeding to criticize the
government for botching it. 

What bearing does this paragraph have on the main idea of the passage so far?
This paragraph brings out the main idea. 
You uncover the author’s organization
and develop a road map about the text.
 A roadmap is a short exercise you do to
paraphrase the main point of each paragraph.
Making a mental road map takes time. However,
this time is justified and especially beneficial.
1. To uncover the author’s main point on harder essays, you will need to combine the author's statements with his

or her organizational structure; this will help you to discover the essay’s general theme. Outlining the structure will

make the essay’s purpose and underlying reasoning more apparent.

2. Detail questions ask you to answer questions related to a certain topic. If you know the organization of the essay

and have a mental road map of where certain information is located, you will be much faster in pulling details from

the essay.
3. Writing down content doubles its exposure to your brain inputs, increasing the retention rate of

the content. This makes rereading less necessary and ultimately saves you time.

4. The road map is a mental crutch. It forces you to focus on the overall structure and topic issues

rather than details.

Building a roadmap
Let’s look at our example. (Passage Cited )

P1: Author tells us that the passage will be about problems in water management. He gives us two problems: 

Problem 1) technology-related, 

Problem 2) conflict between flood control and irrigation (balance between too much water and too little)

At this point, you know the topic will be a discussion of problems in water management (the author lists two of them, so clearly we’re

getting into the specific problems). 

P2: Author continues to discuss more problems. Cities directly on rivers lead to difficult water management challenges. 

Problem 3) Climate variance (unpredictable change from lots of water to little and back again) 

Problem 4) Extension of problem 3: Difficulties lead to need for dramatic human intervention, including reversing flow of rivers

Paragraph 2 is a natural extension of paragraph 1. Possibly, the author will just list problems in water management. But last

paragraphs, like first paragraphs, often present main idea. We go into paragraph 3 looking for a signal that the author will offer

more than a list. 

P3: Here, we get more than a list! The startling fact is that government has bungled water management. Basically, the biggest

problem is not the inherent difficulties in water management; it’s the incompetent way government has dealt with the problem,

again and again. Specifically, government has done what it often does—make lots of agencies that don’t work together.

So the essay flows from “Water management is tough, Look at all these problems” to “You’d think government would try to

deal with these problems effectively. Instead, it’s making them worse”.  
STRATEGIES:

SHORT ESSAYS

Reading:

Thorough Reading
Read (don’t skim) every sentence because there will be a lot of info contained in a short space.
(Exceptions may be jargon, lengthy technical explanations, and details. However, you should
attempt to understand even the jargon and details. You may receive a couple of questions that
will rely on a detailed understanding.)

Mapping:

Paraphrase
Follow the mapping process. Understand what each paragraph is about (tone, main idea, relation
to preceding paragraph) and jot down a very short (a few words) summary of the main idea.

Big Picture
Pay particular attention to the tone and main idea of the first paragraph. When you have finished
the essay, you should have a good mental road map from doing this process. In fact, it is possible
to intuitively grasp the structure of many short essays simply from reading the essay.
STRATEGIES:

LONG ESSAYS

Reading:

Challenges
Longer essays (sometimes >85 lines) present two additional challenges. 
1. They waste your time simply by taking so long to read. 
2. They become much harder to map intuitively.

Skim
The most efficient way to read long essays is to read closely for main idea but
skim details. The amount you skim will depend on you, but you will hurt
yourself by treating each word as important. (Note the same principle could
apply to short essays, but because they are much shorter, it is just easier to
avoid thinking about importance and instead read every word.)
STRATEGIES:

Prioritize
Read the paragraphs strategically. 
1. Read the first paragraph the most closely (usually every word), unless it
is a “backgrounder”. If it is a backgrounder, then the second paragraph
takes primary importance. Backgrounders will be common.
2. Read the last paragraph with second to highest priority.
3. Skim most of the content of secondary paragraphs (all others). 

Mapping:

Primary
Spend more time understanding the function of the first paragraph (or
second if first is backgrounder) and last paragraph.
STRATEGIES:

Secondary
In skimming secondary paragraphs, you should focus entirely on
understanding tone, main idea, and relation to preceding paragraph. Yet
another use of the mapping system—you will find that this system keeps
you focused on getting the important secondary content without wasting
time on details. Remember to look for slam on the brakes language. In fact,
look for any conspicuous language. 
For example, a science essay might have the format:
P1: Background
P2: Main idea: stem cell therapy faces many problems
P3: Problems in stem cell research
P4: More problems in stem cell research
P5: Conclusion about future
 Key Point
It is very important to understand the general structure of the essay and the
relationship between paragraphs. Make a road map to get a handle on passages
Wouldn’t it be easier if the essay you were reading had a title? 
If it did, you would understand from the start what the main point of the essay is. The writers of the Reading Comprehension examination
specifically exclude the title so that it is up to you to decipher the essay.
Why bother wasting so much time trying to figure out the Big Idea?
Most of the Reading Comprehension questions, particularly higher skill level questions, aren’t about details; they are about the main idea and its
implications. Accordingly, we focus our strategy on finding the author’s point of view and main idea.
The tone, scope and implications of the main idea usually help you answer more than half of the questions on a given passage. So your objective in

reading the passage is to get a handle on the main point and the tone (happy, sad, angry, etc.). 
 Signposts of the Big Idea:

1. First paragraph, first sentence – will often be a strong indicator. If the first paragraph is more of a background introduction to
a subject, such as in a science essay, then the main point will probably be in the second paragraph. In the hardest essays, the main
idea will be more difficult to locate and you will have to look closer for it.

2. Last sentence, first paragraph – will often express the main idea since it will be the summary of the first paragraph.
 Signposts of the Big Idea:

3. Last paragraph, last sentence – will often summarize the argument. Putting the main point in these obvious locations would be too easy. However,
you may have to look much more carefully to find the main idea.

4. “Slam on the Brakes Language”

Any odd language or judgmental tone tells you to start reading very closely because the author is about to reveal his point. Any unusual changes in tone
signal something very significant. It is like a lie detector test when the pen starts jittering. You know something is going on and the person’s true
feelings are being revealed. 
 
“Slam on the Breaks” phrases include :

 Amazing
 successful
 impressive
 remarkable
 greatness
 inadequate
 

“Slam on the Breaks” phrases include :

• invalid
 unfortunately
 inefficient
 leadership
 competition
 startling
 Surprising
 Example:

Nevertheless, the most startling fact about the history of

water projects in the United States is the degree to which
their shortcomings have been associated with administrative
failures. Again and again these shortcomings have proved to
be the consequences of inadequate study of water flow, of soil,
of factors other than construction technology, and of faulty
organization. In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on
National Water resources found that twenty different national
commissions or committees charged with examining these
problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with
remarkable consistency the need for coordination among
agencies dealing with water.
Ask yourself: What is the author’s axe to grind? What is the author’s agenda?
It may not be to overthrow of the world, but there’s some reason the author wrote the passage. Often essays will have a
policy idea or suggestion to fix the problem (discussed most often in the last paragraph). In the weakest case, the author
might simply want to educate people about a subject or clear up a misconception.
The trick here is that academic camouflage often disguises the main idea. Writers try to sound objective. Don’t let that
fool you. There is always something the author wants you to convince you of, or at least, get you to learn from the
passage.
Be careful to distinguish fact from opinion.
Though they look like facts, some statements in the essay may be false claims or unsupported opinions
loaded with bias. Academics are “idea salesmen” and very tactful ones at that. They will write their
persuasive and heavily biased essays in a manner to seem factual. Pay close attention to the language in
order to distinguish fact from opinion. The author’s purpose for writing the essay and his or her
convictions are found in these subtle statements of opinion.
Example:

FACT or OPINION?

1. "One of the most persistently troubling parts of national domestic policy is the
development and use of water resources."
OPINION – “the most troubling” indicates feeling, not fact. The author’s opinion is that the
development of water resources is one of the most troubling parts of national domestic policy. This is
not necessarily the ultimate truth. Some people may not think that development of water resources is
problematic.
Example:

FACT or OPINION?
2. "In the arid parts of the land, it has recently become clear that climate varies over
time, with irregular periods of serious drought followed by wet periods marked by
occasional floods."
FACT – This statement is a review of recent scientific findings about
climate. No opinion here…yet. However, the author is using data
regarding drought periods to back up later claims about water being
mismanaged.
Example:

FACT or OPINION?
3. "Again and again these shortcomings have proved to be the consequences of
inadequate study of water flow: of soil, of factors other than construction technology
and of faulty organization."
OPINION – This statement, though written in a professional manner, is loaded with
bias. “Again and again” indicates frustration on the author’s part. He or she is sure
that administrative failure has caused “inadequate study” of water flow.
Example:

FACT or OPINION?
 
4. "In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National Water resources found that twenty different national
commissions or committees charged with examining these problems and seeking solutions had
emphasized with remarkable consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water."
FACT – The author is citing specific research conducted by a Senate committee. He or
 
she is using these findings to back up the claim that water is mismanaged due to
administrative failure. However, this statement, alone, contains no opinion.
FACT – The author is citing specific research conducted by a Senate committee. He or
 
she is using these findings to back up the claim that water is mismanaged due to
administrative failure. However, this statement, alone, contains no opinion.
3-Step Comprehensive Reading Strategy
STEP 1. The 5 Questions 
Read the essay quickly, but press on the breaks (slow down) when you see signposts that an answer to one of the 5 questions is coming:
Question 1. What is the passage type?
Is this a persuasive essay or a descriptive one? Is it science or humanities?
Question 2. What is each paragraph about?
Look for main idea, tone and transitions.
Question 3. What is the organization?
Make mental road map of essay
Question 4. What is the big idea?
Look for unusual language that makes an important point. 
Pay more attention to first and last paragraphs.
Question 5. What is the author’s purpose?
Look for intention in the essay.
STEP 2. Review

When you are finished with the essay, review it in your mind to tighten up your knowledge of what you just read. Make sure you have a clear-
cut idea about the Big Idea and the organization. Make sure you understand your road map.
 Remember:
The longer you spend reading the passage, the less time you have to answer the questions, so
getting to the questions in the most efficient way is very useful in saving time.
Thank You!