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1. Comprehension

2. Part 1 ~ Types of Comprehension
Questions
1) Direct Questions
 Give direct answers
 Answers will be stated plainly in
the passage
 Task: locate these answers
after reading carefully what
the question is looking for
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

3. Types of Comprehension Questions
1) Direct Questions
Examples:
- What was the main reason…
- Give two examples…
- Quote a sentence…
- Explain how…
- Write down one word/
an expression which
shows…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

4. Types of Comprehension Questions
2) Inferential Questions
 Read between the lines
 Answers cannot be found directly from the
passage
 Make your deduction
 Infer the meaning or answer
through given words or phrases
from the passage
 Even from your own general
knowledge
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

5. Types of Comprehension Questions
2) Inferential Questions
Examples:
- explain clearly / explain the
contrast…
- suggest how…
- what do you think…
- why does the author
suggest…
- what impression…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

6. Types of Comprehension Questions
3) Rephrasing Questions
 Rewrite in your own words but keep the
meaning
 read the phrase or sentence
in its context in the passage
so that your explanation is
appropriate to the situation
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

7. Types of Comprehension Questions
3) Rephrasing Questions
Examples:
- Explain the term /phrase
/sentence…
- Explain in your own
words…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

8. Types of Comprehension Questions
4) Vocabulary Questions
 Explain word or phrase meaning
 a certain word or phrase is chosen
from the passage
 You are required to give another
word or phrase bearing the
same meaning as the word
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

9. Types of Comprehension Questions
4) Vocabulary Questions
Examples:
- What does the word suggest about…
- What picture do these words
suggest?
- What does the word ‘even’
suggest about…
- What does ‘preserve the
market’ mean?
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide

10. End of Part 1

11. Part 2 ~ Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Making an Intelligent Guess
 sometimes, the answer to the question is not given directly in the
passage
 instead, clues are given from which you have to guess the answer
 you are required to ‘read between the lines’ and make inferences –
intelligent guesses
 E.g. At last, the angry passengers were called to
board the bus.
 Question: Suggest why the passengers were
angry.
 (What would be the most likely reason for
the passengers’ anger?)
 Answer: The passengers were angry because
the bus was delayed.
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer

12. Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Two Kinds of Inference
Logical Inference: based on definition
 E.g. She cried as she stood beside the grave.
 Question: Where was she when
she stood beside the grave?
 Answer: A cemetery (because
a cemetery is where you find
graves)
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer

13. Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Two Kinds of Inference
 Empirical Inference: based on observation
 E.g. She cried as she stood beside the grave.
 Question: Why was she crying?
 Answer: Because someone she cared
for had died. (If you see someone
crying near a grave, you would guess
that this was the case.)
 Also, remember that inference will
always require an “own words”
answer
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer

14. End of Part 2