Reading Comprehension Tips & Strategies | English Language for Grade 10 PDF Download

Reading Comprehension Strategies

• To prepare and score well in Reading Comprehension, the first thing one needs to do is to broaden their background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. It is important to develop an interest in world events and literature to broaden the background. 
• Here are some Reading comprehension strategies to follow while preparation so that you can attempt questions in the exam easily.

Reading Comprehension Strategies For Effective Preparation

• Know the structure of paragraphs
  Paragraphs are constructed with a beginning (introduction), body and conclusion. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic.
• Identify Keywords
  While answering specific questions, identify the KEYWORDS in the questions. Then, go back to the passage and find those keywords.
• Identify the type of reasoning
  Check whether the author uses cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking.
• Anticipate and predict
  Try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you’re right, this reinforces your understanding. If you’re wrong, you make adjustments quickly.
• Justify every word in the answer choice
  In the correct answer choice, every word must be completely true and within the scope of the passage. If you cannot justify every word in the answer choice, eliminate it.
• Always search for the main idea, instead of focusing on minor details
  It is always suggested to avoid getting stuck with trivial details and focus on the main theme. While answering the questions, follow the strategies given below.
• Avoid extreme words if possible
  Look out for words such as “all” and “never”. They tend to broaden the scope of an answer choice too much or make it too extreme. When you choose an “extreme answer choice”, the passage should back it completely.
• Look for the method of organization
  Check if the material is organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical.
• Create motivation and interest
  Preview materials, ask questions and discuss ideas with friends. The stronger your interest, the greater is your comprehension analyzing skill. Read briskly, but only at a speed that will result in proper comprehension.
• Build a good vocabulary
  The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings.

Reading Comprehension Tips – How To Improve Reading Comprehension

Tips to Improve in Reading Comprehension

Here are some points that will help the aspirants to be better at comprehension:

• Be an active reader
  This is probably the “oldest” and the “best” advice one can get. Read as much as you can. Developing a habit of reading is of critical importance as it provides the basic foundation stone required for comprehending passages in an effective manner.
• Understanding and Speed
  This is basically the ability to quickly distinguish sentences which are important, from sentences, which are too general. If a passage is talking about angiography and then there is an example provided on it then you don’t need to spend a lot of time with that sentence to understand the example. Hence while reading, keep an eye open for redundant sentences. Your reading motto should only be to grasp the idea, which is the theme of the passage. This can be done by skipping the unnecessary details and illustrations which are only there to reinforce the theme of the passage. The details, generally, tend to slow you down so it must be avoided.
• Engage with the Passage
  You simply cannot understand something which you dislike. So getting over the dread of the passage is a prerequisite to doing well in the questions. Actively involve yourself in the passage and try to simplify the sentences. As you read the passage, go faster after the first paragraph. Hold the framework of the passage in your memory as you work your way through the passage. Do not get lost in details later on in the passage and do not try to master every bit of the content.
• Read Quality Articles
  Reading articles that challenge your comprehension is of extreme importance. It is not of much use if you keep on reading articles and passages that are straightforward and would never improve your reading and comprehension skills. So, you must invest time in reading such articles that require greater skills of comprehension on your part.
• Write while Reading
  When the passage is tough, one should not just read it. You can build your comprehension more quickly and effectively by writing down key elements of the passage. This will force you to read actively. The “writing down” should be as simple as possible & should allow you to grasp the simple story of the passage. Wherever possible, use symbols and notations to save time and abbreviate as much as possible and focus on the real goal i.e. understanding the comprehension quickly.
• Attempting Questions
  There are a lot of schools of thought on how you should read a passage and answer questions. Some think you should read the questions first and then look for the answers; others feel you should read the passage thoroughly and then answer all the questions without looking back. It should be realized that a complete understanding of the entire passage is usually not required to answer most of the questions. Answering questions by just skimming through passages and learning to identify important sentences in the paragraphs are very crucial.