Mode 3 - Interactive Mode

This is considered to be the most effective test-taking mode for a reading comprehension exam. In this interactive mode, you will not read the entire passage from beginning to end without interrupting yourself in order to answer questions. You will also not preview the questions before you begin reading the passage.

In the interactive mode, you will read the first paragraph of a passage and then look quickly at the questions to see if there are any you might answer at this point. Quite frequently, in certain tests, the first paragraph will give you enough information to answer the first question or two because this is where the author's main point, or thesis is made.

Now, return to the passage and read the second paragraph. Stop again, review any questions that you might be able to answer at this point. Review your previous answers (quickly) to see if there is anything that has changed with the additional information in the second paragraph.

Continue on in this manner, moving from reading the passage to answering questions as you read.

Once you have completed this passage, stop for a moment. Can you summarize the author's main point or thesis without looking back at the material? You don't have to remember all the details, just the flow of the passage and the general idea.

This is what you will want to practice. If you are preparing for a particular exam, there are plenty of reference books on that type of exam. You will want to get one and practice the reading comprehension portion using these techniques.

You will discover several things:

Your concentration will improve.

You will get more answers correct. This way you don't have to remember every single detail. Because you're focusing on a single paragraph at a time, you don't have to remember every detail to answer the questions.

You will find that you are no longer racing the clock and guessing at the very end just to put an answer down. This method works especially well with tedious and difficult passages.

You will also begin to discover what makes an answer wrong!

Again, this only works if you practice, practice, practice.

Mode – 4 Question-Driven Mode

If you do find that you are racing the clock and you want to do more than just "guess" at an answer, you will use this method. You'll look for two basic question types:

Main point or thesis questions.

Questions that give you a specific line reference (i.e. in lines 12 – 16…)

Then, quickly preview the first and last sentences of each paragraph to see if you can get an idea of the topic and purpose of the passage. Then, answer the two types of questions above first, because you can usually quickly find the answers to those types of questions.

Note: Certain exams are taken on a computer, and all resulting passages and questions are selected based on how accurately you are performing. When you perform less accurately, you will be given easier passages and questions. This is not always a good thing. These are scored less heavily than the more difficult passages and questions.

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