Vocabulary enrichment

Make sure you can explain what the following words and word-combinations mean.

argument

cause-and-effect relationship

evaluation guidelines

factual information

fictional passage

holistic rating

idea

incontrovertible

indisputable

inference

opinion

reading comprehension

respond

scanning

skimming

skipping

test booklet

to eliminate

topic

unarguable

unquestionable

vague

writing tutor

READING ACTIVITIES

I. Reading Review

Read about skills and strategies involved in reading comprehension. Why do test-takers agree that reading comprehension is the single most important skill for passing the multiple-choice tests?

Most of the LAST are multiple-choice items are reading comprehension items. This not to say that skilled reading comprehension alone will earn a passing score. However, test-takers agree that reading comprehension is the single most important skill for passing the multiple-choice tests. There are about 8 items on the LAST that specifically measure reading comprehension.

Most of the LAST consists of passages followed by multiple-choice questions. You do not have to know what an entire reading passage is about. You just ha enough to get the answer correct. Less than half, often less than 25 percent, of in any passage is needed to answer all the questions.

You do not have to read the passage in detail. In fact, careful slow reading will almost certainly get you into trouble. Strange as it seems, follow this advice-avoid careful, detailed reading at all costs.

Buried among all the false gold in the passage are a few valuable nuggets. Follow these steps to hit pay dirt and avoid the fool’s gold. Reading seems to be a natural process. Reading about reading and about steps to taking reading tests can seem contrived and confusing. However, these steps work. Once you apply the steps to the practice exercises, your reading ability and scores will improve.

Steps to Take a Reading Test

During a reading test follow these steps:

1) Skim to find the topic of each paragraph;

2) Read the questions and answers;

3) Eliminate incorrect answers;

4) Scan the details to find the answer;

5) Choose the answer that is absolutely correct.

1. Your first job is to find the topic of each paragraph. The topic is what a paragraph or passage is about. The topic of a paragraph is usually found in the first and last sentences. Read the first and last sentences just enough to find the topic. You can write the topic in the margin next to the passage. Remember, the test booklet is yours. You can mark it up as much as you like.

Every sentence has a subject that tells what the sentence is about. The sentence also has a verb that tells what the subject is doing or links the subject to the complement. The sentence may also contain a complement that receives the action or describes what is being said about the subject. The words underlined in the following examples are the ones you would focus on as you preview:

1) the famous educator John Dewey founded an educational movement called progressive education;

2) sad to say, we have learned American school children of all ages are poorly nourished.

You may occasionally encounter a paragraph or passage in which the topic can’t be sum­marized from the first and last sentences. This type of paragraph usually contains factual information. If this happens, you will have to read the entire paragraph.

If it is a factual passage, the author will present the fact and support it with details and examples. If the passage presents an opinion, the author will give the opinion and support it with arguments, examples, and other details. Many passages combine fact and opinion. If it is a fictional passage, the author will tell a story with details, descriptions, and examples about people, places, or things.

Once you find the topic, you will probably need more information to answer the questions. But don’t worry about this other information and details now. You can go back and find it after you have read the questions.

2. Now read the questions—one at a time. Read the answers for the question you are working on. Be sure that you understand what each question and its answer mean. Before you answer a question, be sure you know whether it is asking for a fact or an inference. If the question asks for a fact, the correct answer will identify a main idea or supporting detail. We’ll discuss more about main ideas and details later. The correct answer may also identify a cause-and-effect relationship among ideas or be a paraphrase or summary of parts of the passage. Look for these.

If the question asks for an inference, the correct answer will identify the author’s purpose, assumptions, or attitude and the difference between fact and the author’s opinion. Look for these elements.

3. Read the answers and eliminate the ones that you absolutely know are incorrect. Read the answers literally. Look for words such as always, never, must, all. If you can find a single exception to this type of sweeping statement, then the answer can’t be correct. Eliminate it.

4. Once you have eliminated answers, compare the other answers to the passage. When you find the answer that is confirmed by the passage—stop. That is your answer choice. Follow these other suggestions for finding the correct answer.

You win often need to read details to find the main idea of a paragraph. The main idea of a paragraph is what the writer has to say about the topic. Most questions are about the main idea of a paragraph. Scan the details about the main idea until you find the answer. Scanning means skipping over information that does not answer the question. Look at this paragraph: There are many types of boats. Some are very fast while others could sleep a whole platoon of soldiers. I prefer the old putt-putt fishing r boat with a ten-horsepower motor. That was a boat with a purpose. You didn’t scare many people, but the fish were sure worried. The topic of this paragraph is boats. The main idea is that the writer prefers small fishing boats to other boats.

Sometimes the topic and main idea are not stated. Consider this passage: The Chinese were the first to use sails thousands of years ago, hundreds of years before sails were used in Europe. The Chinese also used the wheel and the kite long before they were used on the European continent. Experts believe that many other Chinese inventions were used from three hundred to one thousand three hundred years before they were used in Europe. The topic of this paragraph is inventions. The main idea of the paragraph is that the Chinese invented and used many things hundreds and thousands of years before they appeared in Europe. Some answers are not related to the main idea of a paragraph. These questions may be the most difficult to answer. You just have to keep scanning the details until you find the correct answer.

People who write tests go to great lengths to choose a correct answer that cannot be questioned. That is what they get paid for. They are not paid to write answers that have a higher meaning or include great truths. Test writers want to be asked to write questions and answers again. They want to avoid valid complaints from test takers like you who raise legitimate concerns about their answers. They usually accomplish this difficult task in one of two ways. They may write answers that are very specific and based directly on the reading. They may also write correct answers that seem very vague.

How can a person write a vague answer that is correct? Think of it this way. If I wrote that a person is 6 feet 5 inches tall, you could get out a tape measure to check my facts. Since I was very specific, you are more likely to be able to prove me wrong. On the other hand, if I write that the same person is over 6 feet tall you would be hard pressed to find fault with my statement. So my vague statement was hard to argue with. If the person in question is near 6 feet 5 inches tall, then my vague answer is most likely to be the correct one. Don’t choose an answer just because it seems more detailed or specific. A vague answer may be just as likely to be correct.

5. Be sure that your choice answers the question. Be sure that your choice is based on the information contained in the paragraph. Don’t choose an answer to another question. Don’t choose an answer just because it sounds right. Don’t choose an answer just because you agree with it. There is no room on tests like these for answers that are partially wrong. It is not enough for an answer to be 99. 9 percent correct. It must be absolutely, incontrovertibly, unquestionably, indisputably, and unarguably correct.