The O level comprehension section of the O level English paper commands a formidable 35% of the total marks.
What I mean is that you have to take it seriously and if you are having problems with it, take your time to read through this blog.
I will be sharing some pointers with you on the following:
I) How to read an O level comprehension passage
II) How to read between the lines
III) How to look out for tricky questions
These 3 Points are the most crucial aspects of the O level comprehension paper.
Let’s face it. Comprehension passages are getting to be more and more tricky these days.
If the passage sounds rather easy, it means that the questions will be deceptively easy.
What this means is that the questions will be more tricky than usual.
Why are O level comprehension passages tricky?
Well, in recent years, more passages delve into literary analysis and perceptions.
Factors like undertones, intonation, tone and irony form a main part of all passages.
What does this mean?
This really means that you have to be more savvy when you approach this paper.
You will need to understand that more time has to be spent in understanding the question and you will need to ‘interpret’ it correctly.
The purpose of the O level comprehension paper is not to just find the answers and copy it but to search for the answer and relay it in your own words.
There are 2 or more steps required in answering and you will have to observe them carefully if you want your marks.
How?
How do you follow this process of answering?
Does it not sound rather convoluted?
Nothing seems straightforward. Yes, mostly.
There are 1 or 2 straightforward questions though.
The good news is that all the O level comprehension questions follow the same format so you can expect the same ones for every paper.
This means that you can memorise the questions or learn to answer it so that you will be completely at ease with it.
Now, let us go deeper into the Pointers which I mentioned earlier:
I) How to read an O level comprehension passage
This is not a simple matter of reading but you will need to ‘scan’ through the passage during your first ‘read.’
This is to get the gist of the passage.
Some students start doing the O level comprehension questions without reading the whole passage.
This is not really a good idea as you may not really understand the theme and message in the text.
I will recommend reading it a second time.
If you must, get the gist of the passage by scanning through and then answer.
Why do I recommend this?
Well, you will save time by doing this quick read.
And secondly, you will quickly understand the concern and impact of the entire O level comprehension passage within a few minutes.
When you answer the questions, you will feel more confident as you know all the details.
II) How to read between the lines
This is the next most important factor.
All passages or texts are more tricky these days.
The author’s point of views or intentions are popular questions.
It really involves clever guesswork about what the author has in mind.
How am I expected to know?
It may seem as if you do not know much but trust me, you will have a fairly good idea if you follow these steps.
Read the portion back and forth.
Then try to figure out the intention based on this.
There will be some clues in the question which may match the words in that portion of the text. Use these to guide you.
And above all, try to deduce logically.
This is the way to read between the lines.
III) How to look out for tricky questions
Most questions are tricky except for the odd 1 or 2.
Why?
It is meant to ascertain your inference and language skills.
After all, you are sitting for the O level English exams, are you not?
And you are expected to have a certain degree of proficiency.
Tricky questions are meant to trip you up and make you careless.
You have to read the questions carefully as some of them may require 2 answers in 1 question. That is a common trick.
Another common trick is to ask you what is inferred by a given phrase or word and the eventual outcome of it.
Note that there are 2 parts to this type of question.
Most students will give the meaning of that phrase or word and totally misunderstand it.
They do not understand the difference between what that phrase suggests and what the phrase means.
There is a subtle difference between the 2.
You will need to work on these subtle differences if you want to arrive at the correct answer.
If you can work your way around these tricky questions, you will be able to answer competently.
And the O level comprehension section is yours!
Tackling the comprehension section is dreaded by many students but it need not be so if you follow my simple Pointers.
It is really all about understanding these 3 Pointers and practising them when you next answer your comprehension paper.
Best of luck!