Comprehension skill: The function of examples

Comprehension questions that test this skill often look like this:

What is the writer trying to show by using the examples of ‘humanitarianmissions to Haiti and Sudan’?

Why does the author use the example of the ‘killer flu’?

 

What these questions want to see in your answer is an understanding of the purpose of an example. And examples are used for one main purpose – to illustrate an author’s main argument. Thus, to answer such questions, you must first identify the author’s main argument in that paragraph, and draw the link between the example and the argument. Often, this link is explicitly mentioned in the text – so just paraphrase this link, and you have your answer.

Comprehension skill: Inferring the nature of ______________.

Often, this question goes something like this:

What does the phrase “____________” tell you about the nature of _______________?

OR    What does paragraph 5 suggest about *humans/children/pessimists/wizards/orcs/other? (*delete accordingly)

 

These questions might explicitly state that they’re looking for an adjective to describe the nature of humans (or any other subject matter), or the fact that this is a “what is the nature of” type of question might need to be implied. 

To answer such questions, you’ll need to infer* the answer. Often, the answer will be a single word or a short phrase to describe the nature of the subject referred to in the question. For example, “It shows that humans are selfish/stubborn/irrational/desire structure and order in their lives/etc.”

*If you’re lucky, you may not have to infer this – it might actually be stated in the passage! If that is the case, all you need to do is paraphrase the word/phrase in the passage. 

Comprehension skills: The two most common ones

The two most common comprehension skills you will encounter are these:

SKILL 1. Identify + paraphrase

What you need to do:
For these questions, the answer comes straight from the passage. What you need to do is identify ALL relevant lines in the text that answer the question, and paraphrase them.

Common reasons why you may not get full marks for such questions:

- You missed points; you did not identify ALL the relevant points from the passage. Remember, it’s far safer to over-deliver in your answer. Writing additional information costs you time, but it could well gain you marks.

- You identified all the points, but missed out DETAILS in your paraphrase. Remember, details matter. Pay attention to the adjectives, the value words, the conjunctions “and” and “or”, and commas which separate different ideas.

- You tried, but lost marks due to inaccurate paraphrasing. To improve, work on your vocabulary, and practice, practice, practice!

Sample questions:
2009
- In paragraph 2, what resemblances does the author see between the behavior of children at play and that of the pups of hunting animals? (This one’s slightly tricky – it also requires comparison)

- Using your own words as far as possible, explain the author’s argument in paragraph 4

2. Definition in context

Typically, the question will include a short phrase or word in inverted commas. However, do note that this is not always the case. Similarly, just because there’s a word or phrase in inverted commas, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the skill required.

To answer these questions, your answer must show that you understand the definition of the word(s) in inverted commas, and you must incorporate the CONTEXT of this definition – so you’ll need to refer to the passage, identify the context, and paraphrase that context in your answer.

AQ: Sometimes, we really don’t care whether you agree or not.

Rule #1: Answer the question.

If the question asks, “How applicable?”, tell me, “largely/very/only slightly/not at all* applicable.”

If the question asks, “How relevant?”, tell me, “largely/very/only slightly/not at all* relevant.”

If the question asks, “How true?”, tell me, “largely/very/only slightly/not at all* true.”

 

IF, and only if the question asks, “Do you agree?”, will you say “I agree/disagree*” in your AQ.

 

(*delete as appropriate)

“I need help with paraphrasing!” (Tips & Tricks)

Ideally, you’d be able to use a precise, accurate synonym for the word you need to paraphrase. However, if you’re stuck for a word, here are some tips and tricks:

1. Use synonyms from other parts of the passage

2. Use opposites
Rephrase the sentence so that you use opposites instead – e.g. less educated / learned; teaching / learning

3. Definitions rather than synonyms
Because wasting words and getting it right still beats lifting and getting it wrong! e.g. trade / exchange of goods and services (of course, being able to use a single word, such as “commerce”, would be preferable)

Characteristics of Singapore

Most Application Questions (AQs) ask for a Singapore-specific response. As such, it’s useful to know Singapore-specific information. But anyone can say that “Singapore is a multi-racial society” or that “Singapore seeks to become a healthcare hub” – so when mentioning characteristics of Singapore, do back them up with solid examples. These could take a variety of forms, from facts, case studies and statistics to news reports, forum page comments, parliamentary speeches and government policies.

[Note: This page is under construction. Do help contribute to this resource by leaving a comment below and providing, with examples, characteristics of Singapore.]

Task

Hit the “leave a comment” button below. State a characteristic of Singapore, and exemplify your point. Do provide references where possible.

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[Update: 9/2/2011]
One useful site to harvest examples from is The Economist’s Country Briefing page on Singapore:

http://www.economist.com/countries/singapore/

[Update: 13/3/2011]

Check out the Singapore Issue of Broader Perspectives here.

For future links, examples, statistics and facts pertaining to “Characteristics of Singapore”, click on the “Characteristics of Singapore” category in the sidebar.

Note: Although this is presented as a handy resource for the AQ, do note that all the information here would be equally useful for a Singapore-based essay question.

Protected: “I need help with paraphrasing!”

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Isn’t it ironic?

Task:

1. Listen to Alanis Morissette’s song, “Ironic”:

Lyrics are available here.

2. Explain the irony (or ironies).

Tips on how to answer an ‘irony’ question can be found here.

3. Now take a look at this site, and see whether you picked up on this when attempting Step 2.

 

 

 

 

If you got the answer correct, you probably have a good sense of what irony is, and you’d have noticed that there’s really only one big irony!

Vocabulary help: Contextual clues

The vocabulary section of the Comprehension paper is worth five marks – almost 15% of the content marks available. As such, students who do well for this section tend to do better overall.

When compared to the AQ and the summary, the vocabulary section is a significantly quicker way of earning marks, for these questions often take the least time to complete.

But how do you get them right if you have no idea what the word means?

Two words: contextual clues.

Here are some helpful links which deal with using contextual clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words:

Building Vocabulary: Using Context Clues to Learn Word Meaning

The Longman Vocabulary Website: Using Context Clues

Once you’re familiar with the various contextual clues that writers use, test yourself, with these online tests:

Guessing Vocabulary in Context 1
Guessing Vocabulary in Context 2

The Longman Vocabulary Website
Exercises are separated into beginner, intermediate and advanced. However, note that even the advanced ones are relatively easy by GCE ‘A’ Level standards)

Paradox practice (Comprehension)

Here’s a blog devoted to paradox.

Task:
For each post in the blog, question: is it really an example of paradox?
For those that are paradoxes,  explain the paradox.

[Note: Refer to this post for techniques on answering paradox questions]