I have 2 very straightforward and simple tips for you to follow and get that Perfect Score for your English comprehension writing.
Tip 1 – The art of speed reading in English comprehension
You can start scoring very quickly in your English comprehension paper just by learning to read in a systematic way.
It will not necessitate speed reading but if you could read at a quick pace while absorbing the important details, you will be able to understand the English comprehension questions that much better.
You should start reading in the same way as you usually do but try to skim over the auxiliary verbs, articles, connectors and grammar words.
Focus on the nouns, adjectives and verbs.
That will tell you the story quickly.
Connect the ideas in this way.
Form a thread of meaning on your own and stick to it.
Look for the connecting meaning in the second and third paragraphs and the next.
Keep going like this until you reach the end.
Then read the whole English comprehension passage back.
The meaning will be much clearer. compared to just reading it your usual way.
What is the purpose of reading it like this?
I) To gain the main points of the text immediately
II) To understand how to apply them in the summary question
III) As the main points appear in questions, it also means you will be able to answer easily.
And of course, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have control over the English comprehension passage.
Once you inculcate the habit of reading it like this, dialogue portions and intentions of the author will become clearer.
Example:
“Clara, that insistence of yours will not yield any results. You know that uncle is a hard man and he will only cut us from his life if you continue like this.”
If you speed read or read it by picking out the main words as mentioned above, you would have got, ‘insistence, will not, yield, results, uncle, hard man, cut us, life, if, continue.’
Those words are in effect, the gist of the story itself.
And of course, the speaker is trying to regulate the situation.
He has to be a sane and stable man/ woman.
Much of the happenings in the story are based not only on the text but conjecture.
You have to spin the story around in your head and let it run its course.
Tip 2 – How do you increase your English comprehension answer score?
Answering the English comprehension questions requires patience and care.
Most students consistently score badly in comprehension as they totally misread the question.
I am sure that you have heard this many times before.
And you must be wondering, “I already know this but I don’t know what I should do.”
Fair enough.
I am going to give you some proactive advice.
This is something which you can use and gain results quickly in English comprehension.
First of all, you need to be careful and not read it wrongly.
That sounds easy doesn’t it? It is not.
You need to look out for those questions which conceal another question.
This is sneaky, I know but this is what happens in exam questions.
You don’t get low marks because you answered wrongly but you get low marks because you forgot there was another question that had to be answered.
Eg. “What was the reason for them to ascend? Do you really think that they were happy at the end of the climb?”
9 out of 10 students would have answered the second question. “Do you really think that they were happy at the end of the climb?”
Why?
They think that the second question reiterates the first, so it is the same thing.
NO, it is Not.
You have to give 2 answers.
Give the reason for ascending. Eg. “They ascended because of the attraction at the top.”
And then answer the second part. “They were not happy because it was crowded and the music was blaring loudly which gave them a headache.”
If you cultivate the habit of reading each question back and forth a couple of times before you start penning your answer, you will definitely be able to answer both questions and get those 2 marks.
Remember, 2 mark questions can add up to a lot in total.
Don’t lose them through oversight.
Make sure that you stay on top of this game and start saying hurrah to your English comprehension marks.