Let's start this article off with one very important question.
What is English Comprehension?
Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. The English Language Comprehension part of the Leaving Cert Exam is designed to measure an individual's ability to understand topics including interpersonal communication, business jargon, instructions, and political communication.
"Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones."
- Stephen King
How Can I Improve My Comprehension Skills?
In the exam, Reading Comprehension means reading a given text and answering questions based on it.
The more you read, especially re-read a piece, the better you will understand it. So why not choose a nice small novella such as Animal Farm or a Place Called Here. Once you've decided on a book and read it a couple of times. Try the following.
Come up with questions about the text you are reading:
Asking questions about what you are reading can help improve your reading comprehension by allowing you to become invested in the text. It can also broaden your overall understanding of what you are reading by enabling you to explore themes, motifs and other components of text that you otherwise wouldn’t inquire about. The following are examples of questions you could pose as you read:
-
Why did the author begin the book at that location?
-
What kind of relationship do these two characters share?
-
What do we know about the main character up to this point in the book?
-
Are there any themes that have consistently come up throughout the book? If so, what do they mean?
The more specific your questions, the more likely you will gain further insight into the text and its meaning.
Summarise As You Go
Write a summary of what you read
A great way to increase your knowledge of what you have read is to write a summary.
Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your own words. Summarizing allows you to determine if you truly understand what you have read and better remember what you have read in the long term. Creating a summary is really just taking note of your understanding of what you just read.
This is basically the whole point behind this part of the exam. To prove that you understand
(A) What is being asked of you
and
(B) What you are being asked to read
"comprehension (noun) - the ability to understand something: some won't have the leastcomprehension of what I'm trying to do"
- Apple Dictionary
Fun Ways to Improve Reading Comprehension
So if reading novels isn't for you, fear not! There are a few other ways you can improve your Reading Comprehension skills without devouring a whole book.
Use Online Reading Comprehension Worksheets
There are several online resources out there. Agendaweb.org provide plenty of free sample comprehension worksheets for you to try. It's not the only site out there but some of the others do require a subscription or a sign-up fee.
Of course, you could always purchase an English Comprehension Workbook from Amazon or the Book Depository.
Play Audio Books
Sometimes it's easier to listen than look.
For example, if you're working a summer job, perhaps you can listen to the audiobook on your commute to work whereas reading a book or kindle on a bus might be a bit awkward. The same goes if you share a bedroom with a sibling, maybe you don't want to keep them awake with the lights on reading. Audiobooks are a great alternative.
Create Searchable Notes
Release your inner Monica Geller!
""Now, I need you to be careful and efficient. And remember: If I am harsh with you, it's only because you're doing it wrong."
- Monica Geller
Colour coordinate and label! Or, you could just make post-it notes or quickly typed notes on your phone. It's whatever works for you once you find a system and practice it for the exam.
Do you use highlighters? It would help if you took notes when reading. But using a highlighter effectively is more than just “highlighting.”
You need to create a key to indicate a key concept or point in a text.
This can be:
- A list of important information
- Unfamiliar words / unrecognized information
- Important words and phrases.
Tag each of these critical points with a specific highlighting colour.
This helps you process what you are reading. It also makes you think about the text’s main ideas, which improves your comprehension.
Remove Distractions
I can't emphasise the importance of this one enough but you really need some quiet time.
It’s tough to understand what you’re reading when you’re surrounded by distractions. When you’re reading and want to focus on comprehension, move to a location where you can focus fully on what you’re reading.
Put your phone away or shut off the notifications while you read. If you check out every ding, you’ll forget what you’ve read and have trouble comprehending the text overall.
Move away from lots of activity, such as people watching TV or talking. A bedroom, office, or other quiet room in your home may be ideal. Libraries also tend to work well for finding quiet spots away from distractions.
English Tutors
Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we need a little help to fully grasp something an English tutor can help students who have traditionally struggled with the subject begin to build confidence in their skills. A good English tutor ensures that students have the knowledge and skills to help them not only succeed in the classroom but also support students to be empowered by the knowledge and skills they have gained in school so that they can become productive citizens of society.
So why not Superprof.ie for one of our wonderful English Tutors today.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
