Reading comprehension
1 Introduction to principles
Seven principles of active, efficient reading:
1. Engage with the passage
Has to do with you emotional attitude towards the passage. Just pretend that you
really like the article and try to identify the good and bad guys.
2. Look for the simple story
Every passage has a core meaning of the passage. Don’t forgot the twist in the story.
3. Link to what you already know
4. Unpack the beginning
The steps to unpacking a complex sentence are as follow:
1. Grab a concrete noun (zelfstandig naamwoord) first
2. Turn actions back into verbs
3. Put only ONE simple thought in a sentence: one subject, one verb
4. Link each subsequent sentence to the previous one, using this or these
5. Simplify or ‘quote off’ details.
5. Link to what you have just read
You must continue to ask yourself about the meaning and purpose of what you are
reading. The possible relationships of a sentence to the previous one:
Is the new sentence expected or surprising?
Does it support or oppose earlier material?
Does it answer or ask a question?
6. Pay attention to signals
To help link new material to previous text that you have read, you should be aware of
various language signals. First of all, paragraph breaks are important. The indicate
something new. Second, signal words indicate relationships to previous text.
7. Pick up the pace
As you read the passage, go faster after the first paragraph. Only pay close attention
to the following elements later on in the passage:
Beginnings of paragraphs
The first or second sentence often functions as a topic sentence, indicating
the content and/or purpose of the paragraph.
Big surprises
Or change in direction
Big results
Answers or payoffs.
Everything else is just detail.
2 Components of passages
Any reading comprehension passage has four possible components:
1. The point
2. Background
3. Support
4. Implications
1. The point
The point is the most important message of the passage. The point explains why the
passage is interesting at least in the author’s opinion. The point is the crux of the simple
story. It can be any kind of important message, but across sample passages, you can
observe a few common varieties that sometimes overlap:
Resolution: resolves an issue or a problem
Answer: answers a question
New idea: describes a surprising new idea, theory.
1 Introduction to principles
Seven principles of active, efficient reading:
1. Engage with the passage
Has to do with you emotional attitude towards the passage. Just pretend that you
really like the article and try to identify the good and bad guys.
2. Look for the simple story
Every passage has a core meaning of the passage. Don’t forgot the twist in the story.
3. Link to what you already know
4. Unpack the beginning
The steps to unpacking a complex sentence are as follow:
1. Grab a concrete noun (zelfstandig naamwoord) first
2. Turn actions back into verbs
3. Put only ONE simple thought in a sentence: one subject, one verb
4. Link each subsequent sentence to the previous one, using this or these
5. Simplify or ‘quote off’ details.
5. Link to what you have just read
You must continue to ask yourself about the meaning and purpose of what you are
reading. The possible relationships of a sentence to the previous one:
Is the new sentence expected or surprising?
Does it support or oppose earlier material?
Does it answer or ask a question?
6. Pay attention to signals
To help link new material to previous text that you have read, you should be aware of
various language signals. First of all, paragraph breaks are important. The indicate
something new. Second, signal words indicate relationships to previous text.
7. Pick up the pace
As you read the passage, go faster after the first paragraph. Only pay close attention
to the following elements later on in the passage:
Beginnings of paragraphs
The first or second sentence often functions as a topic sentence, indicating
the content and/or purpose of the paragraph.
Big surprises
Or change in direction
Big results
Answers or payoffs.
Everything else is just detail.
2 Components of passages
Any reading comprehension passage has four possible components:
1. The point
2. Background
3. Support
4. Implications
1. The point
The point is the most important message of the passage. The point explains why the
passage is interesting at least in the author’s opinion. The point is the crux of the simple
story. It can be any kind of important message, but across sample passages, you can
observe a few common varieties that sometimes overlap:
Resolution: resolves an issue or a problem
Answer: answers a question
New idea: describes a surprising new idea, theory.
