Reading Comprehensions Decoded
Reading comprehension has become an inevitable part of almost all aptitude tests and competitive examinations. RC passages are dense and complicated, hence making it difficult to understand and grasp what the author is trying to convey. RC passage involves the test of coordination of your eyes, hand and brain.
For starters, jotting down key points as you go, is the key to answering the questions. In RC, usually, the first third of the passage includes its topic and scope, the author’s main idea or the purpose and the overall tone of the passage. This gives us a fair idea about the direction of the passage. The topic is a general subject matter whereas the scope is the specific aspect of the topic. Look for key words like since, therefore, finally, however, etc. This helps to know the direction and shape of the passage. In order to look for the purpose of the text, you need to ask: Why did the author write it?
Every RC passage consists of a main idea. Your job while reading a prose is to find out that main idea. Everything else in the passage is supporting information for the main idea. It is easier to solve RC questions once you know the main idea, because the correct answer will be consistent with it and incorrect options will not be, thus helping you narrow down the options.
As you read through a passage, remember to identify the topic, narrow down to its scope, and finally make a prediction about why the author is writing and where he or she is going with the passage. With this information at your disposal, you are equipped with major points to tackle most questions.
Here’s how we used this technique in Accenture —Part Test #2 in Q.23
There are two types of reading: active reading and passive reading. Passive readers just read to get done with the passage and this reading is harmful while approaching an RC passage. Active reading is expected while attacking a passage. Thinking about what you are reading as you read it, helps you retain key points and ideas in your memory. Also, paraphrasing complex ideas helps in breaking down the verbose prose, often filled with jargon.
Another good way to actively read a prose is asking yourself questions about the passage as you are reading it. If a passage is about the viewpoints of an author, then it is a good idea to jot down the author’s arguments and counter-arguments.
Critically thinking on what is being presented, is important while tackling a RC passage. It isn’t enough to just acknowledge and accept what’s presented in the text as ‘received wisdom’. How you engage with and analyze the passage, will inevitably vary from passage to passage.
Reading Comprehension Example: Following passage is an excerpt from an article entitled ‘Idea-Vodafone Merger — A long term connection’ from The Hindu Businessline.
The speculation of merger between Idea Cellular and Vodafone India was put to rest when the boards announced the tie-up last week. The merger deal values Idea at ₹72,200 crore, slightly lower than what was pegged by the market. The merged entity would be the largest telecom player in the market with customer base of 395 million; Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have a subscriber base of 320 million and 100 million respectively as of December 2016. The new company formed will be able to meet the surging demand for data and voice services pan-India due to the availability of 1,850 MHz of spectrum at its disposal.
Prior to the merger, Idea Cellular provided 4G services in 20 circles and 3G coverage in 15 circles, while Vodafone’s services for 3G and 4G are in 16 and 17 circles respectively. Although the merged entity might have to sell some of its excess spectrum holdings as per regulatory norms, it will still be able to provide services across all the 22 circles in India. The new company will be able to bridge the gaps in the network, thanks to the strong presence of Vodafone in urban areas and Idea’s in semi-urban and rural areas.
Sample Question:
What is the topic, scope and purpose of the passage above?
What this small snippet gave us, was an idea of how simplistic, yet confusing reading comprehensions can be. Reading comprehensions are a goldmine of marks when talking about improving overall percentiles. Students who practice RCs correctly not only improve their score, but also increase their knowledge about day-to-day happenings, topic-specific knowledge, vocabulary building as well as their critical thinking abilities. RCs assure an overall broadening of mental horizons to a student by investing as low as 15 to 20 minutes of his/her time.
Learn to express the main idea in your own words while reading the passage. Summarizing the main idea of the passage will form the foundation of your comprehension of the passage. You should discern the topic and scope of the passage by the end of the first paragraph.
Your focus should be on retaining ideas, not facts. DON’T read names, facts and figures and prepositions such as a, an, the, etc. Mentally processing these, takes time. If you are asked a question about a specific term or detail within the text, then you can always refer back to the passage and answer the question.
Lastly, concentrate on using only what the passage gives you. The correct answer will based on the information given in the passage.
Focus on the strategies mentioned above, and we are confident you will approach RC questions with much more ease!
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