SHS 1 ENG Lesson Note 32
English for Senior High School
Form One Notes
Lesson 32
Reading Comprehension Topic: How to Handle Comprehension Questions Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to do the following:
- explain the nature of comprehension questions.
- identify the demands of comprehension questions.
- provide appropriate responses to comprehension questions.
Comprehension questions
Have you ever requested an explanation of a poem, a passage or a speech you heard delivered or even a statement made by an individual? What type of information were you seeking?
In comprehension, the normal practice is to read the questions assigned to the passage after you have read the passage in some depth. It is important to note that the questions are normally arranged according to the sequence of the ideas in the passage, so that the frame of the questions provide a kind of a shadow to the passage. The questions themselves need very close attention since they usually contain little catchy points that you must take note of, and reckon with. Any careless or hasty reading may not help you to know what is precisely required. It is necessary to understand to take note of overlapping questions. This is to be sure that you give precise answers to questions.
As you read through the questions, you also think your answers to them, making a careful note of instructions. There ought to be only one answer to a question, depending upon the requirement. Therefore, a question that asks for one direct fact, should be answered with one direct fact from the passage. The question that asks for a number of facts as answer should be accordingly responded to.
For example:
- Who killed the houseboy?
This is a question that asks for one direct fact.
- What reasons were given for her death?
But this question asks for a number of facts.
One thing you need to know is that, it is not your style of expression that is being tested. Rather, it is your understanding of the passage. For this reason, your answers must be short and precise. It will be wrong to write an answer and provide it with alternatives for the teacher or examiner to choose from. The impression it gives is that you are not sure of the right answer. The teacher or examiner is not obliged to select the best for you. In such situations the student scores zero for that question.
Activity
In five minutes make a list of five kinds of explanations you would want to find out from a given passage you have read; be it prose, drama or poetry based on religion, politics, history, culture or science.
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An exercise in comprehension is targeted at inculcating in you the variety of skills that are necessary to build up receptive responses to any texts that you read. For this reason various types of questions are framed to achieve this objective.
Let us now take some time to examine the various types of comprehension questions.
- Lexical questions – Lexical or lexis questions tests your knowledge of vocabulary. Particularly, these types of questions require you to understand the meaning of a word in the context in which it is used in the passage. This is what we call the contextual meaning of a word. Sometimes you may be required to explain what a word means. At other times, you may be asked to replace an underlined word with a word or phrase of your own which means the same as the word underlined in the passage and which at the same time fits the context. Alternatively, you may be given a meaning and asked what word in the passage has that meaning.
Example A:
The rapidity with which they took perfect cover impressed Ikechi who imitated them only after an awkward pause. But there was no danger.
Question: Give a single word or phrase of your own to replace the following words as used in the passage:
- rapidity ii. imitated
Answer: i. rapidity – speed ii. imitated – copied
Example B:
Peeling the yams presented no difficulty; although he had never peeled yams before, he found he could do so without further tuition. As he peeled the yams, he prayed that some of his colleagues, particularly Ada, would return; he had no idea what to do after peeling and washing the yams. Then an idea occurred to him: He could sneak out to consult Ada on how to cook the pottage.
Question: Give a single word or phrase of your own to replace the following words or phrases as used in the passage:
- Tuition
- particularly iii. sneak out
Answer: i. teaching, training, education ii. specifically, especially
iii. run out, secretly go out
Example C
The sun causes our weather – the good and the bad. Its heat evaporates water from the oceans and the same heat creates the winds that carry this marine over the land, where it may form clouds or rain, fog or snow. If we knew enough about the way the sun behaves and the way its radiation affects the Earth, and enough about the way the Earth and its atmosphere effect the radiation that reaches them, we could make secure predictions. We have not reached that point yet, but our knowledge is increasing, particularly since the start of the Space Age.
(Adapted from an article in the Sunday Times Magazine, 25 April, 1982)
Question: Give two words from the passage above that mean to produce something, make something happen or become something.
Answers: a. to produce something – creates b. make something happen –causes c. become something – form
- Grammatical questions – In any comprehension exercise, you may be asked to explain the grammatical function of a word or group of words in a given passage. Words in English may have two or more identifications, depending on how they are used in a sentence. First, each English word has a grammatical name . This is so because all words in English have been categorized into the nine parts of speech. These are the noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, determiner, interjection.
Each word in a sentence also has a grammatical function. The grammatical function of a word in a sentence is determined by what role the word plays in the sentence. Therefore a word can be a noun in one sentence and be a verb in another sentence. Let us look at the following examples in sentence A & B:
- When we arrived last night our hostsuddenly collapsed and died.
- Mr. Kwapong hostedthe musical programme last year.
In the two sentences above, you will realise that the word ‘host’ has been used in sentence A as a noun, while in sentence B it is used as a verb in the past tense form. This is because the word takes on different roles in the two sentences.
The different roles played by words in sentences based on how they are used, therefore forms the basis for question on the grammatical functions of words and sometimes groups of words such as phrases and clauses in sentences.
Consider the following example of a grammatical question:
Question:
- Explain the grammatical function of ‘in the middle of’ underlined in the sentence below.
- What is its grammatical name?:
‘I am aware that a squat dome made of sticks and manure in the middle of a cattle yard has obvious drawbacks, but inside it did look most cozy’.
Answer:
- The words form a prepositional phrase. They function as ‘adverbial phrase’ in the sentence. The phrase tells us where the squat dome is located.
- Its grammatical name is ‘prepositional phrase’.
Question:
- What is the grammatical name of the underlined groups of words in the extract below?
- what is the grammatical function of the underlined groups of words in the extract below?
We have discovered quite unsuspected turbulence and v iolence and storms on the sun. Most of these are invisible from Earth, but are revealed in marvelous clarity in the pictures from spacecraft such as the American Skylab. These disturbances certainly affect our atmosphere, and most probably our climate, though even if the sun burned with a constant flame, it wouldn’t guarantee unchanging weather.
Answer:
- ‘quite unsuspected turbulence and violence and storms’ – noun phrase
‘These disturbances’ – noun phrase
- ‘quite unsuspected turbulence and violence and st orms’ – object of the verb ‘discovered’
‘These disturbances’ – subject of the verb/sentence
- Appreciative questions – These are questions about the writer’s attitude, the use of technical or literary expressions in the text, idioms and statements of simple figures of speech occurring in the text. Therefore, in responding to this type of question, the student is particularly required to react to the structure and language of the text in a literary manner. In this regard, particular attention to details of language use such as the unusual unique effects evoked by the use of certain expressions and vocabulary will be of great benefit.
Example: Question:
- Explain what is meant by ‘His senses developed sharp discrimination’ as used in the passage below.
- What do you think Gikonyo’s attitude to carpentry was in the extract below?:
Holding a plane, smoothing a piece of wood, all this sent a thrill of fear and wonder through the young man. The smell of wood fascinated him. Soon his senses developed sharp discrimination, so that he could tell any type of wood by a mere sniff. Not that the young carpenter made it appear so easy. In fact Gikonyo used to act out a little ritual the performance of which varied depending on who was present. The drama went like this.
The woman has brought a piece of wood – she wants to know what type of wood it is. The carpenter takes it, gives it a casual glance, and then carelessly flings it onto a pile of other pieces. He continues with the job in progress.
Answer:
- He developed the ability to differentiate one quality of wood from another. / he could identify and appreciate the quality of an object.
- He was much captivated and enthused by it.
Question:
- What figure of speech is involved in the phrase ‘to conquer death’ in the extract below?
- What is the meaning of the expression ‘ in stone and marble’.
By contrast there has always been a strong desire on the part of European k ings to erect everlasting monuments to themselves in stone and marble. This is an attempt on their part to conquer death or to postpone it or to compensate for it. It is pointless for a man in West Africa to erect monuments in his memory that last thousands of years. His memory is kept alive by the active worship of his children. Only if his lineage died out would he be deprived of the possibility of returning to this life.
Answer:
- Metaphor
- Establishing a permanent memory of themselve s/ never to be erased/ forever
Question: What literary device is used in the expression, May not the same be true of us, as used in the question below:
Noise also interferes with the sexual activity of animals. May not the same be true of us?
Answer: A rhetorical question
Question: What does the underlined expression in the sentence mean?
He did not want to flog a dead horse.
Answer: To undertake an unproductive venture/ A worthless venture/ A fruitless exercise
- Recasting questions – These types of questions require that you rewrite part of the text in one of a number of ways. Some questions require that two sentences be written as one. While others request that sentences in direct speech be written in indirect reported speech and vice-versa. It is also possible that a question may require that one long sentence be written as two short ones.
- Comprehension questions – These are also called Content or Factual questions. The answers to questions in this category are easily found in the passages set. The examples of questions in this category include the following:
- What does ‘it’ refer to in ‘He took it with a pinch of salt’.
- The writer presents two contrasting views of marriage. Briefly express each in one sentence.
- Why are bananas expensive in Italy?
- What made the garden boy smile on seeing his master?
- Inferential/Referential questions – These are questions that require that you draw inference and implications from the set text. Often, such questions begin with the pronouns ‘why’ or ‘how’, ‘which’? These types of questions are also called Derivative Questions. As the name suggests, ideas and facts are derived or taken out of statements or sentences in the set passage. This may require a good understanding of the issues raised in order to make implied deductions.
Example:
- Why would Gikonyo peer at the wood with one eye half open and then with the other half open?
- What do you think Gokonyo’s attitude to carpentry was?
- Why have European Kings desired everlasting monuments?
Responding to Comprehension questions
The only way to answer questions based on a passage is to read and understand the passage very well. This is because a comprehension exercise is not a test of memory. No matter the type of questions asked, always remember that the facts necessary for the appropriate response lies in the bosom of the set text. This calls for a careful reading with concentration on the following areas:
- understand the subject matter of text ideas or facts presented
- understand key vocabulary and expressions as used in the context of the passage
- identify and understand the devices of language used in the text
- pay attention to grammatical structure of used expressions underlined for questioning
- take note of the mood and attitude of the writer
Besides the above, it is also important to ensure that you structure your responses to the questions correctly. This calls for critical reading of the questions. Remember the following:
- Do not repeat the question in your responses. For instance in response to the question,
‘Why did Mr. Alexander Baoduhey refuse to allow Abigail to sit at table with his family?’
You should not begin the response by saying, ‘Mr. Alexander refused to allow Abigail to sit at table with his family because…’. That amounts to repeating the question asked; and it is not necessary. Avoid that kind of response.
- If the answer required is a sentence, write out your answer concisely in a complete sentence. As far as possible, use your own words, unless you are asked to quote from the passage.
iii. If you are asked to quote from the passage, the words lifted from the passage, be it a phrase, clause or sentence should be written in quotation marks.
Summary
Together we have gone through lesson, ‘Handling Comprehension questions’. I have explained to you in detail the nature and types of comprehension questions and how to identify and understand the demands of these questions which are always based on the set text. The lesson also dealt with how to provide appropriate responses to such questions. It is hoped that now that you have grasped this knowledge you will be able to handle comprehension texts with less difficulty. Practice, it is said makes a person perfect. We encourage you to continuously practise these skills to enhance your success.
CONTENT CONSULTANTS
Author
William Foli Garr, (Rev.) M.Phil.
Peer Reviewers
Prosper Kwesi Agordjor, M.Phil.
John Tetteh Agor, Ph.D.
Modestus Fosu, Ph.D.