Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies

What is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the ability to read a passage and understand, interpret and remember its meaning.

Steps to Good Comprehension

• Read the passage carefully: read through at least twice before attempting questions.
• Identify the main idea: work out what the passage is mainly about.
• Note key details: pay attention to names, dates, places and important facts.
• Understand difficult words: use context clues to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Answer in your own words: avoid copying whole sentences directly unless asked to quote.

Useful Comprehension Strategies

• Skimming: reading quickly to get a general idea of the passage.
• Scanning: reading quickly to locate a specific piece of information, such as a date or name.
• Making inferences: working out information that is implied but not directly stated.
• Summarising: restating the main points of the passage briefly, in your own words.

Types of Comprehension Questions

• Questions on the meaning of specific words as used in the passage.
• Questions asking for the main idea or title of the passage.
• Questions asking for specific facts or details.
• Questions asking for inference or the writer's opinion/tone.

Importance of Comprehension Skills

Strong comprehension skills help students understand textbooks, exam questions, and everyday reading material more effectively, and are essential for success not just in English Language but in every other subject that requires reading and understanding written instructions.