Colossians 3: 23

“Whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart, as working
for the Lord, not for men”

READING
COMPREHENSION
READING COMPREHENSION MADE EASY:
1. Take the reading comprehension part last.
2. Look at the length of all the passages provided.
3. Focus on the passage.
4. Read the passage first, and then read the
questions. In an attempt to save time, some
students do the other way around. It may be
helpful when answering questions regarding
details. However, it prevents you from
understanding the whole passage and you might
encounter problems when dealing with questions
on inferring details and predicting results/
conclusions.
5. Read passages with more questions.
6. Read the short passages first, save the long ones
last. One of the most annoying things about this
type of the test is that some entrance tests would
provide a very long passage, about a page in
length, then asking just 2 – 3 questions.
7. Familiarize yourself with transition words.
8. Understand the questions.
MAIN TOPIC
In main idea questions, you will be asked to
TRANSITION WORDS determine the unifying theme or main topic of the
passage. The questions often begin with:
Type Example
• “The article is about the…”
Continuing Idea Words Similarly; Moreover; • “The main topic of the passage is…”
Additionally; In the same
• “The main theme of the passage is…”
way; Likewise • “Which of the following statements would best
Conclusion Words Thus; Therefore; Hence; describe the central idea of the paragraph?”
So; In summary; In • Which of the following most accurately states
the main idea of the passage?”
conclusion
Contradiction or Contrast Nevertheless; Nonetheless;
 Look in the
Words However; But; Yet;
first and last
Although; Even though;
paragraphs
Notwithstanding; Despite;
(when
In spite of; On the other
applicable).
hand; While; Unlikely Some authors
use the inverted pyramid
style of writing where they
COMMON QUESTIONS – present ideas from broad to
Know what the question is asking specific.
for and then learn best how to  Look for words that would
attack them. Major reading state the author’s
question types would include the conclusion. The main idea is
following: sometimes presented
during the concluding part
of the passage.
 You may encounter questions  Look for nearby context clues
that would ask you to identify the and understand how the
author’s intention or purpose. word is being used in the
Usually, the questions are in passage.
these forms:
• “The primary purpose of the
passage is to…”
• “The main concern of the MAKING CONCLUSIONS
paragraph is to…” These questions will ask you to
• “In the passage above, the identify an assumption on what
author is primarily the author is trying to present in
concerned with…” the passage. The question might
look like this:  “The
author implies that…”
• “It can be inferred in the
passage that…”
• “According to the article, it is
likely that…”  “With which
section of the passage would
OBJECTIVE DETAILS
the author most likely agree
These questions are primarily concerned with who,
with?”

what, when, why, where and how or simply the  nitty-

Any answer that opposes
the main idea of the
gritty details presented by the writer in the passage.
passage is wrong.

The questions are in these forms:

“According to the passage/ author…” 
TONE/ ATTITUDE/ MOOD
“The author states the following, except…” These questions ask you to identify the author or
character’s emotional state. These questions often
take the following forms:
 Go to the specific paragraph
in the passage that is being • “Which of the following best describes the
referred to. Don’t forget to tone of the author?”
read a few lines before and • “What emotion is expressed in the article?” 
after it. “The author’s attitude towards the issue in the
passage could be described as…”
VOCABULARY
These questions test your ability  Look for words that
to work out the meaning of suggest
unfamiliar words from the context positive or
negative
of the passage. These questions conditions,
might look like this:  neutrality and
“The underlined word/ emotions.
phrase in the passage
means…”
 TONE/ ATTITUDE/ MOOD
These questions ask you to specific sequence/ arrangement of the components to
identify the author or character’s make a well versed
emotional state. These questions paragraph.
often take the following forms:
• “Which of the following
best describes the tone of the  Identify the topic sentence
author?”  Pinpoint the repeated key
• “What emotion is words and phrases. Writers
expressed in the article?”  “The repeat words and phrases
author’s attitude towards the to connect sentences and
issue in establish that one subject is
the passage could be described being discussed.
as…”  Connect pronouns with their
antecedents.
 Use the same guidelines in Writers use conjunctions
answering main idea (and, but, for, so, nor, yet,
questions. after, since, until, when, if,
 Eliminate choices that are because, etc.) to provide
too broad or too specific. smooth transition from one
sentence to another or to
establish specific logical
PREDICTING RESULTS
relationships among
Simply, this type of question
sentences. Transitions
would ask you what could within a paragraph take a
probably come next based on the reader back to what he has
context/ situation being given in just read or forward to
what is still to come. So a
the paragraph. These questions sentence with a conjunction
may look like the following: used as a transition is
• “Based on the situation, related to a sentence
before or after it.
what do you think would happen
next?”
• “Based on the situation, HOW ARE PARAGRAPHS
what would you expect the ORGANIZED:
character to do next?” 1. TIME SEQUENCE
 This sequence is observed in telling stories or
 Use the same guidelines in writing narratives. The situation is describe first,
answering inference then the intervening incidents are recounted one
questions. after the other, as they happened. Finally,
 Choose the answer that comes the clincher or surprise ending.
logically develops from the
information in the a. Situation or backgrounder (Ex: Once
paragraph. upon a time, there lived a princess…)
b. Incidents:
 Incident 1 (what happened?)
 Incident 2 (what happened
LOGICAL ORGANIZATION next?)
 Incident 3 (what else
Some exams scrabbles the organization of a certain happened?)
c. Clincher (How did the story end?)
paragraph and would ask you to determine the
2. SPACE a. Introduction of the subject (What is
 This organization is used in being discussed?)
describing an object in a b. Principal features/
certain place. There is no characteristics
hard and fast order (What’s so special about it?)
observed in the c. Other relevant points and/
organization of the or comments.
sentences. It could be from d. Summary statement or
near to far, from below concluding comment.
upward, from center
outward, etc.

a. Presentation of the
object (What is it?)
b. How it looks from
afar (How can it be
recognized at that
distance?)
c. Close-up view:
main features
(What are its
principal
distinguishing
features?)
d. Other features
e. Concluding
impression (What READING
is the relevance of
it all?) TIPS:
3. CAUSE-AND-EFFECT/ INDUCTIVE REASONING
 This is the pattern in organizing sentences
Read that the paragraph;
1
discuss a problem, hypothesis or an issue.
then
comes the supposition (If…) part, followed by
First read the

one or more supporting facts, evidences or

questions. Do not try to read
proofs. Finally, all this is concluded with the the questions first
generalization (Then,… or Therefore…)
before you read the paragraph.
statement. This will distract you as you
4. DEDUCTIVE REASONING will read no to comprehend
 The reverse of the inductive but to locate the answer to
reasoning process is taken the questions. Spotting the
in organizing a discussion. answers to the questions
The principle is stated first. may increase your anxiety
This is followed by the preventing you from
relevant facts, evidences or understanding the passage
proofs, at the end of which fully.
is a restatement of the
principle in another way.
5. EXPOSITORY SELECTIONS
Relax when you read and try
 This makes use of description. The description
the following techniques:
may be objective just like the editorials in
newspapers and magazines.  Read as rapidly as you can
but do not take short cuts.
Read with understanding.
  While reading the opening
sentences, anticipate what
the passage is about. Who
or what is the author
talking about?
 As you read, try to remember
the author’s major point
and where they are located
in the passage. This way,
you can always go back to
them when verifying your
answers.
 Always verify your answer by going back to the
passage. Your first reading will give you an idea
about the theme of the passage but it may not
enable you to answer all the questions correctly.
 Underline if you must, but only sparingly.
Underlining may be confusing and
timeconsuming.

Familiarize yourself

2 with the major question

Know what
question is asking for.
the

types: Main Idea, Specific

Details, Drawing
Inferences, Tone or
Attitude, Vocabulary.

answering a
3 vocabulary
question. When Look
for nearby context clues
when
answering a vocabulary
question, do not just rely on
your familiarity with the
word. This is because the
word could have more than
one meaning, depending on
its usage. To identify the
appropriate meaning of a
word used in the paragraph,
study the context in which it
is used by the author.