How to solve Reading Comprehension Questions

5 Pro Tips for Reading Comprehension !!

English Language Section has established its reputation as the most unexpected one in banking examinations. With SBI PO Mains exam approaching there might be many questions popping up in your mind, keep you worried that what if something even more unexpected is yet to come in SBI PO’s English section!! Well, no one can do anything about the unexpected part but yes there is still a big deal in your hands the conventional ones which will be there in SBI PO Mains 2017 examination. And the most expected and most conventional topic of any English language section in any competitive exam is the Reading Comprehension!!

In 2016 Reading Comprehension questions were of 1.5 marks each which meant from 10 questions you can get 15 marks and yes, this differential marking system is also in the upcoming SBI PO Mains 2017. Although it is in the hand of the organization, that in which way they put up the marking system but with differential marking system and the correct approach you can actually score more by attempting fewer questions, you just have to be vigilant and practice correctly.

In Mains exam, RC based questions are no piece of cake but yet they can be tackled with the correct approach. You can use the following Pro Tips to tackle and answer questions of almost any reading comprehension, this can be your universal mantra to quickly go through and answer questions from a reading comprehension.

1. Skimming can save you.

Yes, a quick glance at the RC should be your first approach towards this topic. Human mind reads the words as a whole not letter by letter, and the more you read the more you’ll be able to develop skills to comprehend information from a passage in less time. However, you must not spend much time in skimming. So skim the passage at first or quickly go through the passage so you know what it is about and how the paragraphs are related and what information they cater to.

And to develop speed you must take up a test every day as a time bound approach is very important because you’ll have limited time in SBI PO Mains exam. 

2. You can see at a glance the questions before diving into the passage.

After you are done with skimming now go read the questions and if it is feasible for you to note down important things that you have to look for in the passage in form of short keywords for your convenience. Then you may go through the passage again and try to keep this activity under 1 or 2 minutes. Then tackle individual questions, read the questions and answer according to the passage. 

You must keep in mind that you’ll have 35 questions in English section for 40 marks which you have to answer within the time limit of 35 minutes. So while answering questions from reading comprehension keeping the track of the time is a must. Try to get done with 10 questions of RC in a time limit of 10 minutes.

3. Being Choosy here is actually very helpful.

A reading comprehension may have roughly 5 types of questions: (i.)Deduction based; (ii.) Direct; (iii.) Theme based; (iv.) Vocab based and (v.) Identifying the correct/incorrect statements. Out of all these questions, you need to pick what you should leave and under this category usually are the deduction based and theme based questions because they demand a lot your attention and time. Try to choose the questions you directly get an answer from the passage, usually, these are direct and vocab based questions. 

The fifth type i.e. identifying the correct/incorrect statements has a catch; as it is Mains examination the difficulty level is expected to be very high so don’t be surprised if you get 3 or 4 statements in one question. In such scenario feel free to skip the question if it is taking too much of your time and attempt it if you are confident about the answer. Be wary of negative marking as in case the question bears 1.5 marks each; then remember there is negative marking of ¼ of the assigned marks as well.

4. Vocab questions can bag you easy score.

To tackle vocab based questions you can get a proper idea of the word’s meaning by reading the sentence it is in or a sentence preceding/succeeding it. This trick can be helpful in case you feel a word may have more than one meaning but you need to find out the exact context it is used in the passage to find its appropriate synonym/antonym. You can start with vocab based questions and finish them off at first these can actually bag you easy score.

5. Work on your skills while you can.

This is entirely in your hand, yes, SBI exam is approaching and it is up to you how you choose to invest your time. You need not get stressed and too worked up, just develop a strategy for the examination and test it already before the final face off through test series. Test yourself daily and see what approach works best for you, this way you’ll be refining your plan for the exam bringing it closer to perfection. If you feel troubled with questions of reading comprehension then the only way to overcome that is by practicing in real time exam environment.