Have you ever wished that you could ace your Secondary 2 English Comprehension paper with some sleight of hand magic?
I know that feeling 😊
Secondary 2 English Comprehension passages can sometimes be like wading through knee-deep mud.
I mean, the implications can be difficult to perceive, and trying to understand them can be quite a challenge.
And perhaps you have spent a lot of time preparing by doing those 10-year exam papers and you might have done all the necessary legwork by attending extra classes and tuition.
Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?
No pain, no gain. Yadda yadda.
Ok. What if I were to tell you that you can actually use your existing strengths to ace yourSecondary 2 English comprehension paper?
No kidding. Girl guide’s honour.
Acing your paper without all the conventional work means that you need to wise up to a few things.
I have some tips for you. They will work provided that you can do a teensy-weensy bit of preparation.
Yes, I mentioned existing strengths but you still need something to begin with, you know.
Here goes – the 3 basic keys to acing Secondary 2 English Comprehension with the talents you already have.
Tip #1 – Be wise about those inference questions
They seem to imply that the answer is NOT in theSecondary 2 English comprehension text but it usually is.
What?! I mean most of it.
The answer is hinted at in a dialogue or perhaps in gestures or narrative which may not be clear.
You will need to plow a bit and you will see that the ANSWER IS THERE.
Inference questions are not as difficult as they are made out to be.
They are merely meant to test you on your ability to understand what is going on.
Some of these questions may ask you to project a possible outcome.
To answer this type of question, you will need to make a careful deduction.
Try reading or watching detective thrillers. You will be second-guessing the outcomes as you go along.
Attempting these questions is like that.
Tip #2 – You will need to read the text like a story
This applies especially to the narrative.
Just read and understand the flow of the text.
Where is it coming from? Who is the main character? What does the protagonist want? What does he seem to want?
Look out for clues and enjoy what you are reading.
Some of theseSecondary 2 English comprehension extracts are really rather enjoyable to read.
I know. It may not be so during exam conditions but the content is really selected from one of the most engaging literature texts.
So, give it your due attention and just try to sink into it.
Forget for one minute that it is a comprehension text and just envisage the ‘big picture.’
You have to think like the character in the text.
When the character opens the door and rushes out, imagine what he must be feeling.
When he scowls and shouts, imagine his pain.
Get into the story and ‘FEEL’ it.
That is really the best way to understand the concerns of the text very quickly.
Tip #3 – Every story has a direction
When you read aSecondary 2 English comprehension text, you have to figure out what direction the story is headed for.
Remember this important principle.
Each text will start from a particular point, either in time or action.
I mean it could be a time that is important to the story or the action which is seen at the beginning of the text could be some sort of signal.
After you know what point it has started from, trace to the end and look out at the way it ended.
Did the action or actions change completely? Or did the time change completely?
I mean, were there so many actions in between that made the ending really different? Or was it not about the actions?
Maybe it was a reference to the time which had passed?
Was it a different point in time for the characters?
Was the story tracing the time which had passed?
Whatever it is, you need to track the story from the beginning to the end and figure out the direction or path it has taken.
Once you can do that, you have got the gist of the comprehension text.
Answering it should be within your control.
Alright. That is enough for today.
Just go out there and try reading yourSecondary 2 English comprehension text the way I mentioned.
Really observe every point I raised and see if your understanding has improved.
It should. I know.
And keep doing this for every comprehension text till it becomes second nature to you.
Acing it should be easy after that. Just keep at it. 😊