Reading Comp

Martin01

When reading passages, are there any signs/ signals that one should look out for that may be an area of interest that questions focus on?

tjphilbrick

I like to do a few things while reading, but these certainly aren't universal. They work for me, but no guarantee they work for other people.

1) I use my pencil as a guide, but I don't follow each sentence. I keep it beside the paragraph and slowly move it down as I read. Following the sentence line can make me "read out loud" in my head and this slows me down.
2) I circle quantifiers and any other conditional/transition-type words. Examples of quantifiers: more, most, some, few, any, etc. Examples of transition/conditional words: thus, therefore, hence, if, only, except, all, etc.
3) I pause for about 3-5 seconds after each paragraph and say to myself what I take the main point of that paragraph to be. That way, when I get to the end of the passage, I at least have a general, 1-sentence summary fresh in my mind that gives me the overall structure of the passage.

Hope this helps!

The 180 Bro_OVO

I think Tip gave a great rundown.

In addition to those items, I have found it very useful to pay close attention to words or sentences that indicate the tone of the author. While it won't be as obvious as "I like this idea."
There's generally clues to indicate the author is showing his opinion on a piece.

Further, It's important to keep track of the structure of the passage. By that I mean, how the different ideas fit together. For example, JY mentions in the RC portion of the curriculum the "Story of Science". Knowing even the basic format of Phenomenon, Hypothesis, Conclusion can go a long way in being able to keep track of a passage.

Also, keep track of the various viewpoints within a passage.

That might seem like a lot, but it's good to practice these things.