Easy SPM Reading Comprehension Steps (SPM 2008)

Aloha!

It feels great to write another entry on how to easily answer SPM Reading
Comprehension questions! As we know, comprehension questions in Section C - Paper
2 of SPM gives a total of 10 marks. Many students may find the text intimidating or
worry they lack enough time to really understand the text.

Well, for students with limited language skills, here's how you should tackle the
comprehension questions. If you do it correctly, you may find it easy to locate the
answers. Why? Simply because the answers are all in the text! (Maybe only 1 or 2
questions which may ask for your opinion, in this kind of question, you have to give your
own answer)

Easy SPM Reading Comprehension Steps

Read the question first! And identify the key words in the question.

Match the question with the paragraph. 

Locate similar key words in the paragraph, the answer is normally in the same
sentence, next to or before it.

Let's give it a try on the same text which we did our summary earlier (<--- click to read
awesome SPM summary tips!) taken from SPM Examination Paper 2008 - Paper 2 -
Section C (Reading Comprehension) and observe how we find the answer from similar
key words.

FIRST: Read the question first! And identify the key words in the question.

My advice for students who find it difficult to read quickly and understand the whole text
is tonot attempt to read the entire text before reading the questions. Instead, you can try
reading the question first and identify the key words in the text. For example (We will
use some questions from real SPM Examination Paper 2008):

26. From paragraph 1, where does the writer hunt? [1 mark]

In the question above, I have highlighted the key words I found which are 'where' and
'hunt'. The part highlighted in green is very important as it shows which area of the text
you need to focus on to get the answer.

SECOND: Match the question with the paragraph.

The question says 'From paragraph 1', so to find answer to this question, look at
paragraph 1. Pretty straight forward, right?

THIRD: Locate similar key words in the paragraph, the answer is normally in the same
sentence, next to or before it.

We have identified the key words 'where' and 'hunt'. Now look at 'paragraph 1' and
locate similar key words. Here's the text in paragraph 1:

I have spent 20 years hunting wild animals in the Sarawak jungles. The leopard is one

of the most unpredictable animals I have ever come across. A cunning animal, it will
change its direction for no obvious reason. Although I had faced numerous encounters
with ferocious creatures, none scared me the way the leopard did, the day it attacked
me. (Paragraph 1)

It is quite a lengthy paragraph for weak students. Yet, fret not! Since we have identified
the key words in the question which is 'where' and 'hunt'. Look for similar key words in
the paragraph as highlighted above. From the text you can find the word 'hunt' in the
first sentence and the answer to 'where' is also in the same sentence which is Sarawak.

Let's try to answer all the other questions in this Reading Comprehension paper too,
aite?

27. From paragraph 2,

(a) what had happened to the farmers' livestock? [1 mark]
(b) "... that was the worst mistake of my life." (Line 9)
(i) What was the mistake? [1 mark]
(ii) Why was it a mistake? [1 mark]

Paragraph 2
On January 24, a goat was killed at a nearby farm. Two weeks earlier, farmers had
reported missing livestock. A leopard had been seen around the area at dusk. On that
very day, fifteen experienced men volunteered to track it. Before the hunting party
arrived, I went out to look for the tracks. Without a thought, I left my rifle in the
car and that was the worst mistake of my life. Unarmed, I was exposed to danger.
(Paragraph 2)
In paragraph 2, you can obviously find the word 'livestock', the answer to it is 'missing
livestock'. Then the answer to 'what' and 'why' was it a mistake can be found in the
same sentence and in the next sentence as highlighted above according to the colours.

28. From paragraph 4,

(a) what threw the writer off the balance? [1 mark]
(b) which word means fell? [1 mark]

Then it happened. The leopard leapt onto my back. I heard nothing when it hit me as it
happened very fast. The impact was enough to set me off balance. For a moment I felt
dizzy, as it the surroundings were spinning. I could not make sense of the things around
me. They seemed to be blurring. Before I realised it, I slumped onto the ground with the
leopard clawing at my back. I could faintly hear the grunting from the leopard. Although I
could feel sharp pain all over my back, I still managed to gather enough strength to roll
over. My sudden action took the creature by surprise - I had caused it to let go of me
and I was free for a short time. (Paragraph 4)

The key word off balance help us to find the answer which is the impact. Students can
also copy the entire sentence as answer (provided the sentence is not too long)
Meanwhile, 28(b), you will need vocabulary knowledge or try to guess which is the most
suitable word. The answer here is 'slumped', with the phrase 'onto the ground' indicates
something falling on the ground.

29. From paragraph 7,

(a) what made the young man rush to the scene? [ 1 mark]
(b) why did the young man hesitate to shoot? [1 mark]

A young man, who was a member of the hunting group, was scouting the area.
Suddenly, he heard a loud growl. Sensing someone in danger, he rushedtowards the
scene. He stood hesitatingly about three metres away from the leopard, not knowing
whether he could shoot accurately. Frantically, I yelled at him to move nearer. Bang!
The first shot went off target. Then the second shot hit the leopard in the spine. This
time he did it. There was a loud growl before it went limp. Seeing the lifeless animal
next tome me, I was overcome with relief. (Paragraph 7) 

The key words 'rush to the scene' help students find the answer 'sensing someone in
danger' which is in the same sentence. The key word 'hesitate' is changed to
'hesitatingly' but it still help students find the answer 'not knowing whether he could
shoot accurately' for the question.

30. In your own words, give two reasons why do you think the writer felt sorry for the
leopard. [ 2 marks]
For questions like number 30, it asks for your own opinion, basically, any relevant and
suitable answer will be accepted here. So, do not leave this empty instead try to write
suitable answers such as 'the leopard is also a living thing', 'the leopard is hungry', 'the
writer is kind-hearted' and so on based on the key words from the question.

In conclusion, this reading comprehension leads us to few important notes!

The key words in the question is usually mentioned in the paragraph either using the
same word, or with different grammatical structure or synonymous word. (livestock -
livestock/ hunt - hunting/ off the balance - off balance/ hesitate - hesitatingly)

Do not leave any question unanswered. The answer is kind of explicit once you know
how to identify suitable key words.

The answer is normally in the same sentence with the key word found in the paragraph.

If you are not sure which part of the sentence to choose as the answer, copy the whole
sentence as answer (Provided the sentence is not too long - Do not copy more than 1
sentence!)

Let's count using this question as example, even if the students simply identify key
words and copy the sentence with key words as answer, they will get these questions
correct:

26

27 (a)

27 (b) (i) 

28 (a) 

29 (a)

29 (b)

Add all together, this section will give the student (who only find key words and copy the
sentence with the key words as answer) a total of 6 out of 10. A better student will have
no problem to score at least 8.

One more thing, if you notice in this article, we only look at 4 paragraphs (para 1, para
2, para 4 and para 7) but we can still find answers to all the questions. There are
actually 8 paragraphs altogether. Therefore, it is also a good way to save time by using
these Easy SPM Reading Comprehension Steps, read questions first - identify key
words in questions - match key words in paragraph - find the answer. 

Until then, Man Jadda Wajada, practice, practice and practice!

Footnote:

This text is taken from SPM Examination Paper 2008

This is not the real answer scheme.

This is just answering technique. Those who want to master reading in English still need
to read a lot of English materials to be proficient.

Reading Comprehension:
1. Read the summary question first (Question 31) before they read the passage
in Section C. The summary question normally allows students to get some ideas
of what the passage is all about. It is an advantage for weak students to know the
general idea of the passage before they read it. Do not write the summary first
but after reading the summary question,  read the passage and answer all the
comprehension questions.
2. Read the passage paragraph by paragraph. After reading each paragraph,
they should read and try to answer the question that is based on that paragraph.
By doing so, the you will be more focused in finding the correct
answer. Differentiate a word and a phrase. So, if there is a question asking for a
word, they must only write a word for their answer. On the other hand, if you are
supposed to write a phrase, they must only write down a group of words which is
not a complete sentence such as „uncomplicated delivery‟ or „indispensable part
of our lives‟. Similarly, if the question requires you to write words as the answer.
3. Make sure not to lift the whole sentence. In short,you must aware of the
differences of these terms: word, words, phrase and sentence.