The Comprehension Skills

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Introduction: After identifying the
main idea and significant details,
you can begin to make inferences
in order to draw conclusions and
make generalizations. Conclusions
and generalizations are not
directly stated in the reading, so
you have to be a good detective.
Read the passage carefully. Identify the main
idea. Check out details.
Try to visualize in your mind what you are
reading about. Picture it in your mind. Use your
own common sense and ability to solve problems.
Drawing a conclusion is based on your own
reason and logical thinking about the facts you
read in the passage.
A Conclusion is a logical result of thinking about
the information in the reading.
A Generalization will take your conclusion one
step further. A generalization allows you to apply
that conclusion to other similar situations
outside of the reading.
Read actively. Make inferences.
When you read, you can predict what you think
will happen next. You make your prediction
based on making inferences:
Information + Your Own Knowledge of the
Subject =Inferences /Predictions

Inferences. An inference is a guess that you

make while you are reading. You guess based on
what you already know. Think about the
information and details given. Then, you use
your own knowledge to predict what you think
might happen. Your own knowledge is essential
to making inferences.
Examples:

If a friend invites you to a party, you don’t have

to ask every detail about the party. You already know
that at parties certain things happen, like music, food
gifts or games. You infer that the party will have some of
these things. Asking or writing every detail would be
boring. Parties are quite predictable.

When you go to the beach, you already know

some things about beaches. You can predict that there
will be sand and sunshine. If the beach is located in a
tropical climate, there would be certain kinds of trees,
plants and birds that would be different from a beach in
a colder climate. The time of year may also be important.
A beach sometimes is different in summer than winter.
Read actively. Draw conclusions.

A conclusion is a decision that you make after thinking

about all the information you have. Just like a detective,
you must pay attention to the facts. The facts are like
clues that you have to look for so you can understand
the reading. By putting together all of the clues, you are
solving a mystery. You are a good thinker, so the facts
will lead you to the conclusion (without anyone telling
you) if you follow them carefully. Ask yourself some
questions while you read:

What are the facts, details or clues?

What are the details leading up to?
What will happen next?
A conclusion is NOT stated directly in the
passage, but must be related to the information
in the reading. You make conclusions all the
time without thinking about it, or anyone
telling you specifically. Drawing conclusions is
a natural process that you go through when
you are reading. Most of the time you don’t
even think about it. You are always figuring
things out every day. Just like in your daily life,
you add up the clues or details, and put them
together with your knowledge. Be logical and
reasonable.
 INFORMATION in PASSAGE
+ YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE
----------------------------------
INFERENCES & PREDICTIONS CONCLUSIONS

•Example #1: The sky is dark with storm clouds.

What do you predict will happen? It will probably rain!
You look at the storm clouds (detail/information) plus your
knowledge (dark clouds are usually rain clouds), and you
draw the conclusion that it will rain.

•Example #2: The glass fell from the table.

What do you think happened? The glass broke!
You add up the information (the glass fell) plus your
knowledge (glasses are fragile and break when you drop
them), and you draw the conclusion that the glass broke.
Make Generalizations. Think about how to apply
your conclusion to other real life situations.
Remember that your conclusions are based only on
the information in the text and your own knowledge
about the subject in the passage.

A GENERALIZATION will take your conclusion one

step further. A generalization allows you to apply
that conclusion to other similar situations outside of
the reading.

To make a generalization, think about your

conclusions, and then ask:
How does this conclusion apply to the bigger picture of
life?
Is there a lesson that can be learned?
How could this conclusion be useful in similar
Using the above examples, you could make these
generalizations:

Example #1:The sky is dark with storm clouds.

Conclusion: It will rain.
Generalization: Dark storm clouds mean bad
weather.

Example #2:The glass fell from the table.

Conclusion: The glass broke.
Generalization: Be careful not to drop glass.
You’ll have to buy more.
A Closer Look on Making Inferences and Drawing
Conclusions

* Drawing conclusions refers to information that is

implied or inferred. This means that the information is
never clearly stated.
* Writers often tell you more than they say directly.
They give you hints or clues that help you "read
between the lines." Using these clues to give you a
deeper understanding of your reading is called
inferring.
* When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to
see other meanings that the details suggest or imply
(not stated). When the meanings of words are not
stated clearly in the context of the text, they may be
implied - that is, suggested or hinted at. When
meanings are implied, you may infer them.
* Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or
judgment.
* You make inferences every day. Most of the time you do so
without thinking about it. Suppose you are sitting in your car
stopped at a red signal light. You hear screeching tires, then a
loud crash and breaking glass. You see nothing, but you infer
that there has been a car accident. We all know the sounds of
screeching tires and a crash. We know that these sounds
almost always mean a car accident. But there could be some
other reason, and therefore another explanation, for the
sounds.
* Making inferences means choosing the most likely
explanation from the facts at hand.
* The meaning of a word may be implied by the general sense
of its context, as the meaning of the word incarcerated is
implied in the following sentence: Murderers are usually
incarcerated for longer periods of time than robbers.
* You may infer the meaning of incarcerated by
answering the question "What usually happens to
those found guilty of murder or robbery?”
* If you answered that they are locked up in jail,
prison, or a penitentiary, you correctly inferred the
meaning of incarcerated.
* When the meaning of the word is not implied by the
general sense of its context, it may be implied by
examples. For instance, those who enjoy belonging to
clubs, going to parties, and inviting friends often to
their homes for dinner are gregarious.
* You may infer the meaning of gregarious by
answering the question "What word or words describe
people who belong to clubs, go to parties a lot, and
often invite friends over to their homes for dinner?”
* If you guessed social or something like: "people who
enjoy the company of others", you correctly inferred
the meaning of gregarious.
GATHERING and ORGANIZING INFORMATION
* Reading skills learned must be put into practical use and when this
is done, it may be called “functional reading”. You do this when you
read your references in all areas. The reading skills you use when
reading references for the content areas are often termed as “study
skills”.
* The ability to gather information and the ability to organize gathered
information are the two main study skills.
* To be able to gather information, one must have a knowledge on the
effective use of the library which is supposed to be the main source of
printed references
* Information gathered must be organized and to do this requires
knowledge of summarizing outlining, and notetaking.

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1. Notetaking – it is the recording of important items of information
for future use. The best notes are as brief as possible without missing
any vital points.

Normal Organization Pattern – most materials are organized in the

following way: the main idea is stated first, followed by supporting
details.
Other pattern of organization – the main idea may not come first all
the time. The details are presented first. Then follows a concluding
statement, a general statement or a summary statement.
The following may serve as general guides for notetaking:

1. First, read carefully all headings to understand the purpose of the

writing and its organization.
2. If the material is not difficult, take the notes as you read. These
notes should consist mainly of Key Words, that is, important words
that will remind you of the ideas that you want to remember.
3. If the material is difficult, read a section through, then take notes as
you re-read it.
4. Distinguish between important and minor ideas. If you are reading a
selection for a specific purpose, distinguish between the idea that fits
your purpose and those that do not.
5. Make use of topic sentences to find and understand the main ideas
for your notes.
Paragraph Example:

In colder climates, use of energy increases during the winter. Days are
shorter so lights must be used for longer hours. Lower temperature mean that
buildings must be heated, and this uses more energy. And people use cars
more often in cold weather, so more petroleum is used or consumed.

Notice that the main idea comes first. Supporting points follow and explain the
main idea. In this case, there are three supporting points:

1. Days are shorter so lights must be used for longer hours.

2. Lower temperature mean that buildings must be heated, and this uses more
energy.
3. And people use cars more often in cold weather, so more petroleum is used
or consumed.
But notes are seldom in complete sentence form. So let’s look ahead
and see what this brief passage would look like in note-form.

Main Idea
Cold climate, more energy used in winter.

Supporting Points
shorter days, use lights longer
lower temperatures needed heated buildings
cars used more in cold, burns petroleum

This note take only 24 words while the passage is 48 words. This is the
key to note-taking: well-organized short reminders of what you need for
future use. You may organize your notes later if necessary.
2. Outlining – it is a diagram that shows topical organization. The form or
skeleton of an outline shows the relationships among all the topics.

Here is a skeleton of an outline that has two big topics, three subtopics for one
big topic, and two small topics for one subtopic. Terms like main point/main
idea, subpoint/major detail, and minor detail are often used also to categorize
the ideas.

I. _____________________________
A. ___________________________
B. ___________________________
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
C. ___________________________

I
II. _________________________________
A. _______________________________
B. _______________________________
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
C. _______________________________

* you can see that the big topics, marked I and II on the outline, would
represent the most important, or main ideas. Each of the subtopics
marked A, B, and C, would tell about topic I. The smaller topics,
marked by 1 and 2 on the outline, would give details about subtopic B.
An outline is of little value if it is carelessly made. A good outline, however, serves as a
clear guide in the preparation of a report or any other type of paper that you write. You
should use outlining in two ways:
1. in gathering information
2. in planning the organization of your paper

Guides for Outlining Reading Selection:

1. Before beginning to outline, read the selection through rapidly. Observe headings,
titles, and topic sentences.
2. Reread carefully: then follow these steps:
a. Outline the main idea in the article.
b. Select the subordinate thoughts that develop each main idea.
c. If necessary, list the parts that develop a subordinate thought.
3. Cross out ideas that are unnecessary or unimportant for your purpose.
4. Use a sentence outline for material that you may have difficulty in remembering.
5. Study your outline and see that each part serves a purpose.
Guides for Making an Outline:

1. Use a complete sentence for each item in a sentence outline, but in a topic outline, write only single
words or phrases.
2. Be consistent. Do not mix topics and sentence in the same outline. In a topic outline, use the same
grammatical form of each part.
3. Use Roman numerals to label main points.
4. Use capital letters to label chief subpoints.
5. Use Arabic numerals to label subdivisions of details.
6. Use small letters to label subdivisions of details.
7. Indent, capitalize, and punctuate exactly as shown in the models.

Example:
Topic Outline

I. Main Point
A. Subpoint of I
B. Subpoint of I
1. Detail about B
2. Detail about B
3. Detail about B
II. Main Point
A. Subpoint II
1. Detail about A
a. Detail about I
b. Detail about I
B. Subpoint of II

III. Mainpoint
3. Summarizing – a summary is a brief, accurate restatement of a
speaker’s or a writer’s words; it extracts the meat from all details and
ideas contained in the material. It requires clear thinking and high
reading ability. One must be able to understand the ideas that he read
and then be able to judge their relative importance.

Practice in summarizing will improve your thinking, speaking, and

writing. Skill in summarizing will help you to be more efficient in
studying, preparing reports, taking notes, and writing tests.
Guides for Making a Summary:

1. As you read or listen, select what you think are important ideas.
2. In your own words, restate accurately each main idea.
3. Omit ideas that are not important.
4. Be brief. Combine two or more related ideas into one sentence.
Often you can do so by reducing sentences to words, phrases or
clauses.
5. Study your summary to make sure that all necessary ideas have
been included and all unnecessary ones omitted.
6. The summary may approximately be one third of the original.
4. Using References

What reference books are.

The term “reference books” has come to mean a specific kind of

publication which has been planned and written to be consulted for
items of information, rather read throughout. It contains facts that
have been brought together from many sources and organized for quick
and easy use, either in an alphabetical or chronological arrangement or
by the use of detailed indexes and numerous cross references.

If you are going to use reference books effectively, you must

develop the skill in using them independently. You must know what
reference books are, the kinds that are available, the information each
one will give you.
Types of Reference Books
1. Those which contain the needed information, such as dictionaries,
encyclopedias, atlases, etc.
2. Those which tell the user where the information can be found such
as indexes and bibliographies.

Two types of reference books are of two classes: general and specialized

A. General Reference Books

- are those which are broad in scope, not limited to any single
subject, but useful for all, or at least for many subject areas. The kinds
of general reference books, according to their form and the material
which they include are dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, yearbooks,
handbooks, almanacs, biographical dictionaries, directories, atlases,
gazetteers and bibliographies.
1. A dictionary provides information about words – meaning, origin,
spelling, pronunciation, syllabication, usage and current status.
2. An encyclopedia is concerned with subjects. It gives an overview of a
topic, including definition, description, background, and
bibliographical references.
3. An index points out where information can be found. There are
indexes to articles which appear in periodicals and there are
indexes to articles, essays, poems, and other writings which appear
in collected works.
4. A yearbook often called an annual, presents the events of the past
year in brief, concise form.
5. A handbook, literally a small book which can be held conveniently
in the hand, provides miscellaneous items of information. It may
also be called a miscellany, a manual, a companion or a
compedium.
6. An almanac, originally a projection of the coming year by days, months,
holidays, and weather forecasts, is the name now given to a collection of
miscellaneous facts and statistical information.
7. A biographical dictionary is a collection of sketches of varying lengths about
the lives of individuals, arranged alphabetically by surname.
8. A directory lists the names and addresses of persons, organizations or
institutions. It may provide other pertinent information, such as the purposes,
the dues, and the officers of organizations.
9. An atlas is a volume of maps, plates, or charts, with or without explanatory
text.
10. A gazetteer is a volume which provides geographical information and data
about places. It does not define geographical terms.
11. A bibliography is a list of books and other materials which have some
relationship to each other. The materials listed are described as to author, title,
publisher, price and number of pages. In some bibliographies, the materials
are evaluated.
B. Subject Reference Books
- are those in which the material is devoted to a specific subject
area, such as literature, art, or history. In most subject fields, there are
the same kinds of reference books as there are in the general field.
 Thank you
VAISARAH JANE G. MARTINEZ
Instructor