Reading Comprehension Strategies

John Zia, an AP Language teacher, guides students through strategies for tackling the reading section of the AP multiple-choice test. He emphasizes summarizing main ideas, understanding paragraph relationships, and identifying rhetorical elements like tone and purpose. The session includes a practice passage analysis, highlighting scientific and anecdotal details to illustrate dynamic and powerful tornadoes.

What is the main focus of today's session?

• Writing multiple choice questions

• Grammar exercises

• Reading multiple choice questions

• Essay writing

How many passages are included in the reading section of the AP Language test?

• Four

• Three

• Two

• One

What should you do to better understand the main idea of each paragraph?

• Highlight every sentence

• Summarize the main idea in the margin

• Ignore the details

• Read the passage multiple times

What is a key strategy for narrowing down answer choices?

• Choose the longest answer

• Eliminate answers that are only partly correct

• Pick the first answer that seems right

• Guess randomly

What type of passage is used in the practice session?

• A news article

• A poem

• A non-fiction book excerpt

• A fictional story

What is the main idea of the first paragraph in the practice passage?

• Tornadoes are caused by human activity

• Tornadoes are small and harmless

• Tornadoes are big and powerful forces

• Tornadoes are a myth

What type of details does the author use in the first paragraph to describe tornadoes?

• Historical

• Humorous

• Scientific

• Anecdotal

How does the second paragraph differ from the first in terms of content?

• It uses more scientific details

• It is more anecdotal

• It focuses on a different natural phenomenon

• It is written in a different language

What is one of the anecdotal details mentioned in the second paragraph?

• A grandfather's humorous description

• A detailed weather report

• A historical account of a tornado

• A scientific study on tornadoes

What tone does the author use in the second paragraph?

• Angry

• Formal

• Light-hearted

• Serious