Reading Comprehension

Important Reading Skills

Comprehension Lessons

Reading Predictively

Active reading means asking questions of the text as you read. By asking your own questions, you will focus on and understand the most important aspects of the passage, and you will be prepared to answer the test's questions. One of the most important questions to ask is "What will the rest of this paragraph or passage be about?"

The Main Idea

A writer has a message, or main idea, to get across. Sometimes the main idea is stated directly; often you have to figure it out yourself!

Supporting Details

A writer explains the main idea of the passage with supporting details. This includes facts, examples, descriptions, and specific pieces of information.

Inference

To understand a story, you can't just rely on what is directly stated. You also need to "read between the lines" or make Inferences. An inference is based on information you are given plus what you learned about the real world - the way things happen and and the way people act.

Context Clues

Context clues are hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader can use to understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words.

Conclusions & Generalizations

A detective draws a conclusion when they look at different pieces of evidence and figures out who committed a crime. A doctor draws a conclusion when they look at different symptoms and figures out what illness a patient has. You, as a reader, can draw conclusions when you take pieces of information and put them together to figure out something that the writer has not directly stated.

Interpreting Lessons

Purpose of Text/Author's Purpose

When you read HiSET Reading Test passages, it is important the you comprehend no only what the author is writing about but also purpose- the reason why he or she is writing this passage. Authors of nonfiction passages have one or more of the following purposes: To Narrate, Inform, Persuade, and Entertain.

Writer's Point of View

The point of view of a piece is "where the author is coming from" -that is, the writer's background and experience that may affect their opinions. For example, when you read an editorial in a newspaper, you can usually tell whether the writer has a liberal or a conservative point of view.

The Writer's Tone

A writer usually has a certain attitude towards the subjects he/she is writing about. This attitude is the TONE of the piece. The tone is not directly stated. You have to sense it by the writer's choice of words and manner of expression.

Word Choice

Writers make careful decisions to select words that will impact their audience. One choice that writers make is to select words that have a CONNOTATION associated with a particular image or feeling. Think of the different connotations of dog, mutt, and man's best friend. The word dog has a neutral connotation, it just describes the animal. To some, the word mutt would have a negative connotation, while the phrase man's best friend would have a positive connotation.

Cause and Effect

When one event or idea influences another, there is a cause-and-effect relationship. For example, if you forget to fill your car with gas, the car will stall. The lack of gas is the Cause. The stalled car is the Effect.

Compare & Contrast

You are probably familiar with comparign and contrasting whenever you go shopping. If you are looking at two cars or even two bottles of asprin, you want to know if the price of the two is the same or different.

Writers compare to point out what is similar and contrast to point out what is different about ideas or things.

Validity of Argument

Just because a writer makes an argument does not mean you have to accept it as valid, or convincing. You need to analyze the supporting evidence. Facts, data or statistics, examples or anecdotes, authority, and causality are some ways that you can question the legitimacy of an argument.