Terms You Should Know
- Referring Skills - Test items that focus on referring skills require the student to derive meaning from text by identifying and interpreting specific information that is explicitly stated, such as,
a. Recognize main ideas and supporting details of paragraphs and passages
b. Identify important factual information
c. Identify relationships among different components of textual information
2. Reasoning Skills - Test items that focus on reasoning skills require students to determine implicit meanings and to go beyond the information that is explicitly presented, such as,
a. Ability to determine meaning from context
b. Infer main ideas and relationships
c. Generalize from given information and draw conclusions or make predictions
d. Draw appropriate conclusions
e. Make appropriate comparisons
Main Idea
Understanding the main idea of a reading passage helps you determine what the passage is about. You should be able to answer the question, "what is the point of this information?" In order to find the main idea of a passage you have to do the following:
- Read the entire passage and answer the questions (where information is available):
- What is the passage about?
- Who is the passage about?
- Where does the information in the passage take place?
- What time period does the passage refer to?
- Why was the passage written?
- How does the passage describe specific details?
- Next, write a short summary of the information you've outlined above using 20-words or less.
- Finally, look for your summarized information in the question possibilities.
Supporting Details
In order to fully understand a passage you must understand the details that support the main idea. The supporting details will provide additional information about the main idea. This information may be presented as facts, statistics, examples, or a definition, etc. all of which can support the main idea.
For example, if someone were to ask you why you purchased your new car (main idea) you would communicate your 'examples' for the purchase by using some of the following details:
- good price
- other car stopped working
- needed something bigger/smaller
- loved the color
- etc.......
Factual Details
Many times the ideas expressed in the text may be the opinions of the writer, not actual facts based on evidence. Active readers must determine the difference between the factual content and the author's opinion. Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines fact as "something that has actually happened; existed; or statements based in truth or reality." On the other hand, Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines opinion as something that "indicates a view, belief which is stronger than an impression, sentiment, or conception."
When an author is expressing an opinion they may use specific words or phrases which indicate which statements are opinion, such as,
- Many people claim that ........
- Most experts suspect that .........
- The instructor's view wasn't .........
On the other hand, the author may use specific words or phrases which indicate which statements are facts, such as,
- The research confirms .........
- According to the results.........
- The instructor's comments were as follows.........
FACT and OPINION:
It has been said the President Obama is very technically savvy because he is the first President to carry a smartphone with Internet and E-mail access but many feel that all this technology isn't necessary.
Relationships
Understanding the relationships of information within the passage will help you understand the information presented in the passage. Identifying the relationships that exist between within sentences and between sentences can help you identify the author's purpose and the main idea and supporting details of the passage. Relationship patterns can usually be determined by specific words within the passage that are used to make logical connections between the information that's presented. For example, comparison and contrast tells readers when something is similar or different and contains transitions words such as those listed below. You can look for clue or transition words to help you determine the relationships in a passage. Such cause-effect clue words are:
• A few examples of words that indicate a comparison include:
o both
o likewise
o similar
o just as
o alike
• A few examples of words that indicate contrast include:
o although
o despite
o by contrast
o unlike
o yet
But sometimes you must infer the relationship that is present in the passage. For example, a passage about global warming (cause) may list a variety of reasons or effects such as too much driving, people don't recycle, water pollution, etc. In this instance you will combine the details in order to determine the relationship and where the author is going with the information presented.
Additional relationship patterns include:
• time order - tells readers when something has happened and contains transition words such as: first, second, third, before, after, during, etc.
• space order or description - tells readers where something is and contains transition words such as: below, above, behind, in front of, etc.
• definition - tells readers what specific words or phrases mean and contains transition words such as: means, defined as, consists of, is called, etc.
• example - provides readers with a concrete details of the idea the author is trying to communicate and contains transitions words such as: for instance, such as, for example, etc.
• cause-effect - relationships exist when an event or something occurs that causes something else to happen, a cause makes something happen; an effect is what happens as a result of that cause.
• classification - tells readers there are a variety or lists of things and contains transitions words such as: several kinds, different types, number of..., etc.
Determine Meaning From Context
During many reading activities you'll encounter words or terms that are unfamiliar but critical to your understanding of the passage. Identifying the context clues within the passage will help improve your comprehension of the material. Context clues are hints the author provides to determine the meaning of a word or term and are usually located in the same sentence or surrounding sentences. There are four types of context clues:
• synonyms
• antonyms
• examples
• general
Synonyms are words that have a similar or same meaning as the unknown word or phrase. For example, small is a synonym of little. Signal words that indicate the author is providing an idea what the unknown word may mean include,
• like
• also
• as well as
• in other words
• similar to
Antonyms are words that have the opposite meaning of the unknown word or phrase. For example, small is an antonym of tall. Signal words that indicate the author is providing a contrasting idea regarding the meaning of the unknown word may include,
• on the other hand
• in contrast
• although
• unlike
• however
Examples are words that may provide a description or explain the unknown word, phrase, or idea. For example, in reading a sentence about the weather you may see something like the following, My sister is a cautious person, for example, she never goes out after dark. In this example the phrase, "for example" serves as the context clue because it provides the example which describes the word "cautious". Signal words that indicate the author is providing examples regarding the meaning of the unknown word may include,
• for example
• for instance
• such as
• to illustrate
General context clues may be more difficult to locate. You will need to use your background knowledge and determine what you know about the topic already and what makes the most sense in terms of the additional words or phrases surrounding the unknown word. For example, "Mandatory driving tests should be required for everyone over the age of 70 without exceptions." If you didn't know what the word "mandatory" meant you can use your background knowledge and perhaps personal experience of seeing older drivers on the road and the difficulties they may experience while driving. The phrase, "without exceptions" also helps you understand the meaning of the word.
Inference/Inferring
Many times writers don't tell you exactly what something may mean or how things in a story relate. The writer will use specific details to help you make an inference to the meaning but you have to understand how to use the clues. Making inferences or inferring the meaning of a passage can be like being a detective; you have to look at all the details and understand how they fit together to produce meaning.
Active readers are able to apply their own knowledge about specific topics and apply that information to what they are reading. This is why reading often and reading a variety of material is important, inferring is only beneficial if you understand a wide variety of concepts. For example, if you don't read a lot and you think the world is flat you're going to have trouble understanding information that refers to the earth as a round sphere.
Generalization, Prediction & Drawing Conclusions
In order to generalize the information you've read you need to make sure you understand which idea in the passage is the main idea and which statements support that idea. Based on these details, you'll need to draw a conclusion or make a prediction regarding the overall purpose of the passage. Making predictions allows you to use your background knowledge and the information presented in the text and think about what may be the purpose for providing the information in the passage.
When you draw a conclusion you are essentially adding information you know to what's presented in the passage. What 'gaps' does the author leave in the passage that you will need to fill in based on what you may already know.
You can also draw conclusions when taking a test. You will need to look at the answer responses provided and determine which choices are the least likely. Re-read the passage to determine if the remaining response fits with the information given.
