Review of Reading Skills

Review of Reading Skills

Reading C

Finding the Main Idea

• Preview the passage and read the title and descriptions under pictures or graphs that go with the article.

• Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.

• Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.

Detail Questions

Detail questions ask the reader to recall specific information such as anecdotes, cited evidence, data, or descriptions used to support the main idea of the passage. The answers to these questions can be found in each passage.

-First, look for key words in the question that you can scan for in the passage. The key words could include names, numbers, dates, and descriptive words related to the passage.

-Second, once you find the words that are either the same or are synonyms of the key words in the question, read the complete sentence (and sometimes the sentences before and after that sentence).

Vocabulary in Context Questions

Use ideas in the sentence (or context clues) to help make a smart guess about the meaning of the word. Examining the context clues in a sentence or paragraph can help readers understand unfamiliar words. Context clues are the other words and ideas surrounding the word you are trying to define.

-First, find the word you are trying to define in the passage and read the word in its complete sentence.

-Second, look at the other words for clues about the meaning.

-Finally, try to insert another word that you think is the synonym in the sentence to see if it fits.

Making an Inference

For inference questions, you must "read in between the lines" and make your best guess. You will not find the answer directly in the passage. The readers have to take the clues and draw conclusions on the basis of the information given.

-First, identify a key word or idea in the inference question and then scan for that idea in the passage.

-Second, read the sentence that contains the key word or idea and look for clues, such as synonyms and other supporting ideas.. It may be helpful to read the sentences before and after the sentence with the key word.

-Finally, draw a conclusion or make your best guess to answer the question. It is helpful to restate the original question in your own words in order to make an inference.