Verbal Ability

Reading Comprehension
Contents
• What is Measured?
• Easy vs Difficult Passage
• Common Topics for RC
• General Strategies for RC
• Structural Words
• Different type of Questions
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
• All questions answered on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passage and no specific prior knowledge is required
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
• All questions answered on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passage and no specific prior knowledge is required

1. Understand words and statements

Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
• All questions answered on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passage and no specific prior knowledge is required

1. Understand words and statements

2. Understand logical relationships between points and concepts
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
• All questions answered on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passage and no specific prior knowledge is required

1. Understand words and statements

2. Understand logical relationships between points and concepts
3. Draw inferences from facts and statements
Reading Comprehension - What is measured?
• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and
concepts presented in written form
• All questions answered on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passage and no specific prior knowledge is required

1. Understand words and statements

2. Understand logical relationships between points and concepts
3. Draw inferences from facts and statements
4. Understand and follow the developments of quantitative
concepts as they are presented in the passage
Easy vs Difficult Passage

Easy Difficult
Passage Passage
• Short Sentences • Long Sentences

• Simple Vocabulary • Complex Vocabulary

• Familiar Topics • Unfamiliar Topics

Common Topics for RC
• Economics
• Management
• History
• Polity
• Sociology
• Humanities
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Art, Music and Culture
• Science and Technology
3 Categories of Readers
• Poor Reader

• Average Reader

• Good Reader
3 Categories of Readers
• Poor Reader – Familiarity with 1-2 topics with
little vocabulary and grammar

• Average Reader

• Good Reader
3 Categories of Readers
• Poor Reader – Familiarity with 1-2 topics with
little vocabulary and grammar

• Average Reader - Familiarity with 4-5 topics

with average vocabulary and grammar

• Good Reader
3 Categories of Readers
• Poor Reader – Familiarity with 1-2 topics with
little vocabulary and grammar

• Average Reader - Familiarity with 4-5 topics

with average vocabulary and grammar

• Good Reader - Familiarity with 8-10 topics with

good vocabulary and grammar
General Strategies for RC
General Strategies for RC
1. Try to read the whole passage once, if possible
General Strategies for RC
1. Try to read the whole passage once, if possible
2. Make brief notes on the passage
General Strategies for RC
1. Try to read the whole passage once, if possible
2. Make brief notes on the passage
3. Keep following in mind while reading:
➢ Note how each fact relates to an idea or an argument
➢ Note where the passage moves from one idea to the next
➢ Separate main ideas from supporting ideas
➢ Determine what conclusions are reached and why
General Strategies for RC
1. Try to read the whole passage once, if possible
2. Make brief notes on the passage
3. Keep following in mind while reading:
➢ Note how each fact relates to an idea or an argument
➢ Note where the passage moves from one idea to the next
➢ Separate main ideas from supporting ideas
➢ Determine what conclusions are reached and why

4. Look out for structural words that tell you important ideas or
transitions in the passage
General Strategies for RC
1. Try to read the whole passage once, if possible
2. Make brief notes on the passage
3. Keep following in mind while reading:
➢ Note how each fact relates to an idea or an argument
➢ Note where the passage moves from one idea to the next
➢ Separate main ideas from supporting ideas
➢ Determine what conclusions are reached and why

4. Look out for structural words that tell you important ideas or
transitions in the passage
5. Go back to the passage for answers, if required.
Structural Words
Words that
continue an idea
• Similarly
• Moreover
• Additionally
• In the same way
• Likewise
Structural Words
Words that Conclusion Words
continue an idea • Thus
• Similarly • Therefore
• Moreover • Hence
• Additionally • So
• In the same way • In summary
• Likewise • In conclusion
Structural Words
Words that Conclusion Words Contrast Words
continue an idea • Thus • Nevertheless
• Similarly • Therefore • Nonetheless
• Moreover • Hence • However
• Additionally • So • But
• In the same way • In summary • Although/though
• Likewise • In conclusion • Even though
• Notwithstanding
• Yet
• Despite/In spite of
• While/Unlike
• On one hand…on
the other hand
Main Idea/Primary Purpose Question
Main Idea
The question might look something like this:

"Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following is the principal topic of the passage?"
"The main topic of the passage is...."
Main Idea/Primary Purpose Question
Main Idea
The question might look something like this:

"Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following is the principal topic of the passage?"
"The main topic of the passage is...."

Primary Purpose
The question might look like this:

"The primary purpose of this passage is to..."

"The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to..."
"The primary focus of this passage is on which of the following?"
"The main concern of the passage is to..."
"In the passage, the author is primarily interested in...."
"The passage is chiefly concerned with..."
Strategy – Main Idea Question
• Look in first and last paragraphs for main idea
• Conclusion words (like therefore, thus, so, hence etc. ) introduce
main idea of the passage
• Correct answer will say the same thing in different words
• Main idea not always explicitly stated

1. Read first line of every passage and last line of first and last
passage which gives structure of the argument
2. Eliminate answer choices too broad or too specific
3. Make brief notes regarding main idea while reading
Strategy – Primary Purpose Question
• What is author’s intention for writing the passage?
• If he is evaluation a theory, then answer could be “Discuss an
interpretation”
• If he is criticizing a new study, then answer could be “Critique of
new studies

1. Read first line of every passage and last line of first and last
passage which gives structure of the argument
2. Eliminate answer choices that go beyond the scope of passage or
limit itself to discussing only one part of the passage
Title based Questions
• Similar to main idea question though less common

• Question might look like this:

– Which of the following titles best summarizes the passage as a whole
Specific Detail Question

• Most common type of question

• Easiest to answer
• Question might look like:
– “According to the passage…”
– “The passage states that…”
Specific Detail Question - Strategy

• Refer to the passage/line where specific detail is mentioned

• Read few lines above and below it
• Find the answer choice that says the same thing as in the passage
but in different words
Inference based Question

• Most difficult type of RC problem

• The question might look like:
– “It can be inferred that the author makes which of the following
assumptions?”
– “Which is an assumption underlying the last sentence of the passage?”
– “Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the hypothesis
mentioned in the lines 17-19?”
– “With which of the following statements regarding chaos theory would the
author be most likely to agree?”
Inference based Questions - Strategy

• Treat this type of question as a specific detail question. Look for a

target in the question, find it in the passage and look above and
below it
• If the answer is not explicitly stated, choose the answer choice
that can be inferred or assumed from the information given
• Make sure that the answer choice that you select does not violate
or contradict the main idea of the passage – if it does, the answer
choice is probably wrong
Tone or Attitude Question

• The question might look like:

– “The author’s attitude towards Morgan’s theory could be best be described
as one of…”
Tone or Attitude Question - Strategy

• Look for descriptive words, adjectives or adverbs that could tell

you author’s attitude
• For ex. Words like Unfortunately or Flaw suggest a negative
connotation while Strength or Valuable emphasize the positive
• Make brief notes – a couple of words on the tone of passage
while you read
Structure/Organization Question

• The question might look like:

– “Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?”
– “Which of the following best describes the organization of the first
paragraph of the passage?”
– “One function of the third paragraph is to…”
Structure/Organization - Strategy

• Re-read the first line of every passage, and the last line of first
and last paragraphs to get a general structure or outline of the
argument
• Make brief notes about the structure of the passage
• For organization of one paragraph, read the first and second
sentence of the paragraph
Read the passage…
Read the Passage…
Questions 1-2
Questions 3-4
Questions 5-6
 Thank You !
Ankit Tripathi
[email protected]