For some of you, the English Language section might be a cakewalk. But, the majority of Bank & SSC aspirants find it a tough nut to crack. As it is said, nothing is impossible. So is the case with the Reading Comprehension questions in the English Language section. Correct approach and regular practice can turn the tables for you.
Any bank & SSC exam is dominated by questions on Reading Comprehension. Usually, there are 10 questions on Reading Comprehension, which constitutes more than 33% of the paper. Also, the sectional cut-off is approximately 33% of the maximum marks allotted to the section. Therefore, if you focus only on ‘Reading Comprehension’, you can easily clear the English Language sectional cut-off.
Points to ponder about Reading Comprehension questions
Moving further, let’s understand the nature of passage and questions based on it.
- Reading Comprehension tests your reading, ability to understand and draw inferences from it. To understand the core ideology of the Reading Comprehension, it is essential to sense the language and words used in the passage.
- In IBPS PO, SBI PO, RBI Assistant, RBI Grade B and other banking exams, Reading Comprehension passages are based on the Indian economy, world economy, inflation, monetary policies, trade and environmental issues. Often the passage has 600-700 words.
- But the Reading Comprehension passages featured in SSC exams are shorter in length and sometimes based on random topics or short stories.
- Apart from Vocabulary based questions, there are direct and inference based questions. Direct questions are picked up from the text of the passage and are easier to solve, while the inference based ones need a thorough understanding of the topic.
Strategy to tackle questions based on Reading Comprehension doesn’t change irrespective of the theme and length of the passage. The best part about RC questions is that they don’t require any prior knowledge. As it is said a decision made in a hurry can be fatal. Such is the case while attempting Reading Comprehension questions.
Useful ways to solve Reading Comprehension questions
Let’s explore smart ways to tame Reading Comprehensions questions.
- Glance through the passage: Glance through the paragraph to get an idea about the theme of the paragraph. This will help you to find answers to the questions.
- Time saving strategy: Generally, there are 10 questions based on Reading Comprehension. Direct questions and vocabulary questions are easier to solve and constitute 60% of the RC questions.
- While attempting direct questions, match the phrases and sentences of the questions in the passage, this will help you to identify the correct answer.
- In case of synonyms and antonyms , look for the word in the passage and read a few lines above and below the word to understand the context of the word. Then check the options and find the suitable synonym or antonym, as asked.
- Do not try to attempt a question which is time consuming and is not easily traceable in the passage.
- Follow elimination rule: The best way to arrive at an answer is to eliminate the options based on your opinion. Eventually, you will arrive at a situation where you will have only two options, out of which only one will be correct.
- Identify tone and theme: Thoroughly reading the opening and closing paragraphs of the passage will help you to conclude what the author intends to say. This is the best practice to answer inference based questions.
- Selection of passage: If you are running short of time and there are two or more passages, choose the one which is shorter. Furthermore, pick up the passage based on your field of interest. For instance, if you are an engineer, passage based on technology will interest you more. For a commerce graduate, topics highlighting finance, economy are more relevant and easy to comprehend.
Key mistake areas while answering Reading Comprehension questions
- Skipping all the options
- Confusing between synonyms and antonyms
- Not finding the correct match of the question in the passage
- Spending more time on one question
Try implementing these strategies in your preparation. Gauge your preparation with CL’s free sectional tests or you can enroll for our English Language Speed Tests.
