Comprehension

Cleary, S .2013. Communication: A hands-on

Approach. London: Juta. Chapter 3.Pp 54-70
Learning outcomes

• Read and understand a passage

and select important information
• Select important information
Chapter content

• Understanding what you read

• Hints on answering questions
Understanding what you
read
• In order to answer the
questions in any
comprehension passage, you
need to understand what you
have read. We now explore the
skills required in actually
answering a comprehension in
an effective manner.
What is a comprehension?
• Comprehension is the ability to understand the meaning
or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired
as a result).
• Why is comprehension important?
• Comprehension is a vital tool in learning, especially in
reading. Reading without understanding is not reading,
because the main goal of reading is to understand what
you read...without understanding, a reader is merely
barking at a series of symbols.
• Readers bring in their world knowledge when they read
and one of the probable causes of inability to
comprehend is the lack of prior knowledge.
 Understanding comprehension

For most people, it is easy to learn to read

faster. Your reading rate is often just a matter
of habit. To begin, you may need to try to
change some habits and try these tips:
• 1. Pay attention
• 2. Stop talking to yourself when you read
• 3. Read in thought groups
• 4. Do not keep re-reading the same
phrases
• 5. Vary your reading rate
 Things to consider when
reading a comprehension
• Take 30 to 60 seconds
• Look over the title of the chapter
• Look at all the headings, subheadings and
marked, italic or dark print
• Look at any pictures or illustrations, charts or
graphs
• Quickly skim over the passage, reading the first
and last paragraph and glancing at the first
sentence of every other paragraph
 Close the book and ask
yourself:

• What is the main idea?

• What kind of writing is it?
• What is the author's purpose?
 Close reading

• This is the first step in the

comprehension process. You read the
passage carefully from beginning to end.
• Now underline words you do not
understand as well as complicated
concepts.
 Clarification

• Here you must utilise your dictionary

and thesaurus to clarify meanings of
words.
• When you now read the passage for a
second time the meaning should
become clear to you immediately.
 Q and A
• Now you may read the questions.
• After this now read the passage with the questions
in mind.
• You should pick out answers immediately.
 Text and context
• Whilst for the purposes of question and answer comprehension
exercises, this method of reading and answer will suffice, in other
more involved comprehension tasks more is required.
• You will not have to stop at a mere text and answer pieces of
knowledge. It is here that the context becomes imperative.
• The context refers to the surroundings or general environment
that the text arose from. Everything from the political climate to
social trends and fashion can be considered.
• This is important as text and context enjoy a symbiotic
relationship. Through clear examination of one, the reader can
make important discoveries about the other.
• In the future, when examining or merely reading a text, explore
the context for a deeper and more expressive experience.
 Hints on answering questions

• Always read the questions twice

• Look for key concepts
• Read the passage more than once
• Follow cues given in the question e.g. give one word.
• When asked for your opinion answers clearly and
supports your answer with reasoned discussion