Reading Help
This page gives reading help for the reading comprehension sections of many standardized tests. It helps you recognize the types of reading questions you may encounter, and it also gives reading strategies and tips for answering reading comprehension questions efficiently and correctly.
Reading comprehension is a common section on standardized tests because it is an extremely important academic skill. Reading comprehension question types on standardized exams generally fall into seven question types:
(1) Main Idea
(2) Specific Detail
(3) Inference or Implication
(4) Tone & Style
(5) Author’s Opinion, Influences, or Audience
(6) Structure of the Passage
(7) Vocabulary in Context
Main Idea:
For main idea questions, you have to determine the “primary purpose” or “overall point” of the passage. To answer these types of questions correctly, you should identify the thesis statement of the reading passage. Remember that the thesis statement is normally included in the first paragraph of the passage, and it is very often the last sentence of the first paragraph. The incorrect answer choices (known as distractors) will contain some specific details from the passage, but for this type of question think generally, instead of getting distracted by specific points.
Specific Detail:
Specific detail reading comprehension questions normally begin with the phrases “according to the passage” or “the passage states that.” Questions in this category rely on your ability to search through the passage and find a specific piece of information. The distractor answers will be of three types: (a) specific information that does not answer the question, (b) information that is too general, or (c) answers that seem correct but which are not directly stated in the text.
Inference or Implication:
Inference or implication reading comprehension questions usually begin with the phrases “the passage implies” or “it can be inferred from the passage that.” The word “suggests” is sometimes substituted for “implies.” Remember that these reading questions are asking you to make only a very small logical conclusion based upon information that is clearly stated in the passage, so you will need to find the specific sentence in the passage that provides the basis for the conclusion given in the correct answer. Distractor answer choices will require significant assumptions or “wild guesses.”
Tone & Style:
These types of reading comprehension questions ask you to determine the attitude or mood of a paragraph or of the entire passage. The answer choices are usually one to three-word phrases containing adjectives. Distractor answers will be based on a single word from a paragraph or passage. Remember that you are looking for the overall tone, so single words or their synonyms are not enough to define the tone of the entire paragraph or passage.
Author’s Opinion, Influences, or Audience:
These types of reading questions are a combination of the “tone and style” and “inference or implication” question types. The answer choices will be short, descriptive noun phrases. For this type of question, you first need to consider the tone and style of the passage, and then make a logical conclusion about the author’s opinion, influences, or audience, based on the tone and style of the passage.
Passage Structure:
These types of reading comprehension querstions might ask you to identify the relationship between different parts of a passage. Alternatively, you may be asked which word or phrase best fits into a gap in the passage. For this type of question, you will need to determine the relationship between specific sentences or paragraphs within the passage, paying attention to connecting words and phrases such as “because of this” or “due to the fact that.”
Vocabulary in Context:
These questions will focus on academic vocabulary. You will be asked the meaning of a word from the passage and will need to determine the meaning of the word from the general meaning of the sentence or the overall meaning of the paragraph.
Reading Comprehension Tips:
The best way to improve your reading comprehension score is to practice. Taking practice tests will help to improve your reading comprehension skills and to determine what type of questions are normally asked on the particular exam that you are going to take. Practice will also help you with your time management because if you take the practice tests at home under timed conditions, you will see how long it takes you to complete the passages.
You might also want to consider vocabulary booster materials in order to become accustomed to higher-level academic vocabulary. Investing in study materials designed for the test you will be taking will certainly reap rewards. Some students might also benefit from taking test prep classes or tutoring.