Comprehension and summary skills are very important to the success of a student not only for passing WAEC/NECO and other relevant examinations, but for sound academic competence. We shall be discussing the importance of related skills, how to acquire them, and how to go about them.
Answering comprehension and summary questions show understanding and the meaning of a given article or a short passage. Comprehension tests are meant for testing the level of understanding and ability of the students. Students are required to read carefully, have a complete understanding of the passage before attempting to answer the questions that follow.
There are a number of reading skills or strategies for reading and answering comprehension and summary such as drawing inferences, including improving one’s vocabulary, critical text analysis, actual events and practicing deep reading.
The essential skills are as follow:
1. Reading the Questions First is very important.
Reading the questions first before a given passage is key. By doing this you are well aware of what to look for in the passage and the answer keeps coming to you as you read the passage. This helps you to focus your attention on important words and phrases, allowing you to skim, rather than having to read every word.
2. Don’t go outside the given passage.
When given a test passage, read it carefully. Avoid going outside the test passage in selecting or formulating your answer. Always answer only from what is in the passage. Any answer that cannot be supported with information written or implied in the passage should be eliminated.
3. Try to Summarize the contents of each paragraph in your own words.
Try to identify the main points in the paragraph and write them down in your own words specially known to you.
4. Quickly run through the summary of each paragraph
Do a quick run through and bring out the points you have jotted down for each paragraph so that you have an overview of what the passage is all about. This is a way of doing speedy review of the passage which will stay fresh in your mind.
5. Answer the questions by deleting wrong options.
Read the options carefully and eliminate the ones which are out of scope or unnecessary options. Don’t answer the question.
6. Doing a quick Review of Answer Sheets is very important.
When you are through with the questions, review your paper with speed to ensure that is error free. This will help you to correct your answers or reframe your sentences, if necessary. Reviewing is indeed important in cases of multiple choice questions. This will make sure you don’t skip questions or record your answers in the wrong space. Where there is doubt about a particular answer, you can always go back to the sections.
7. Don’t try to memorize each and every part of the passage. Rather try and understand the essence of the point being conveyed by the author.
Consider this short passage for instance:
“Some British historians describe the Asian way of war as one of indirect attacks, avoiding frontal attacks meant to overpower an opponent. This traces back to Asian history and geography: the great distances and harsh terrain have often made it difficult to execute the sort of open field clashes allowed by the flat terrain and relatively compact size of Europe. A very different strategic tradition arose in Asia”.
The summary of the above short passage describe the Asian strategy of fighting war which was avoiding facing their opponents directly owing largely to geographical setting as revealed by the British historians.
Another option of summary of the above passage is that the British historians revealed that the Asians avoid frontal attacks due largely to historical and geographical terrain.
Consider this question also. Which of the following statements best describe the ‘Asian’ way of war?
- Indirect attacks without frontal attacks.
- The swords man charging forward to obliterate the enemy once and for all.
- Manipulation of an adversary without his knowledge.
- Subduing an enemy without fighting.
The option A: which is the indirect attacks without frontal attacks.
Again, if you are asked for antonyms or synonyms for a particular word that is in the passage, then consider the context first. Sometimes, an answer may look familiar because it is the correct response to a different question.
In conclusion, the fundamental skills needed in reading comprehension and summary are knowing meaning of words, ability to understand meaning of a word in a given passage, ability to follow organization of passage, answer questions, ability to recognize the literary devices or propositional structures used in a passage and determine its tone and drawing inferences and conclusion.