Different types of questions
 Analytical questions
 Vocabulary questions
 Inferential questions
 Summary question

Analytical questions
These questions are aimed at answers which are straight from the text. There may be some implication involved. Look at the example below.

Example
The branches swayed in the stormy wind as Lindsey huddled under her blanket. She only looked up once to see that the branches did not seem to be like branches at all but like people climbing up onto the window sill trying to break into her cosy bedroom. She peered feverishly at the
windows trying to convince herself that they were really branches till she heard one of the branches creak ominously. She had ducked her head under the blanket and broken out in a cold sweat. She chanted all the prayers which she had learnt from the Sisters at the convent which she
had attended as a child.

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Question
1. Why were the branches swaying?
Answer
They were swaying as there was a stormy wind.
(This answer is correct and straight from the text)

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2. Why was Lindsey afraid to look out from under her blanket?
(The intention of this question is to find out if the reader knows how to infer from the text and support it at the same time.)
Answer
She imagined that the branches were people who were trying to break into her bedroom.
(The point about imagining it is not mentioned in the text but it can be inferred.)

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Vocabulary questions to be answered using your own words.
How to use your own words.
Vocabulary questions are no longer the standard set which ask for direct meanings of words at the end of the list of comprehension questions. There are many more vocabulary questions which are usually ‘hidden’ in the comprehension set of questions.
There are several phrases which need to be explained. And there is always the type of questions which says “answer using your own words.” These take up about 70% of the questions in this paper. The best way is to remember that adjectives, adverbs and verbs are the
easiest to be paraphrased.

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Example 1
He had trodden down the same path at least a dozen times. He wondered how he could have got it wrong. The same Casuarina tree was there with the boles at the base. Yet the house simply was not there anymore. His mind raced ahead to determine possible scenarios where an entire house could have simply disappeared. He felt the most curious feeling at the pit of his stomach which instinctively warned him to choose his next step with care.

Question
1. What is implied by “how he could have got it wrong?”
Answer
It means that he thought he had made a mistake but knew at the back of his mind that he was on the same path.
The meaning of “how he could have got it wrong” is explained in detail.

2. Why did his “mind race ahead?” Answer using your own words.
Answer
His mind raced ahead as the house seemed to have disappeared and he was trying to explore different solutions to the confused state he was in while still being confronted with the perplexing state of finding that he was at the right place without the usual house.

Example 2
She jumped swiftly the minute she heard the measured footfalls which she had been dreading so much. Gertrude could almost hear the rustle of Mr Gordon’s tailored Italian trousers as he strode into the room, his face betraying none of the anxiety that the results of the State exams always
caused. Mr Gordon was always composed and unruffled with that slight smile he wore which was halfway between a cynical sneer and a slightly plastic attempt at being cheerful. Gertrude could never make up her mind about Mr Gordon.

Question
1. What is meant by “measured footfalls”?
Answer
It means Mr Gordon’s footsteps were regular and paced evenly.
The answer of footsteps would be insufficient as the emphasis is on Mr Gordon’s stability in the way he walked.

Question
2. How do the sound of the trousers and the look on his face relate to the
anxiety felt by Gertrude?
Mr Gordon’s trousers rustled and his face did not betray anxiety so it is obvious that his apparent lack of fear only prompts Gertrude into feeling even more anxious.

3. How is it obvious that Gertrude is more concerned here about Mr Gordon’s smile than the exams itself?
Gertrude is more concerned about Mr Gordon’s smile as his smile wavers between being cynical and being cheerful. She is unable to make up her mind which occupies her attention more than the thought of the exams for the time being.

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Vocabulary questions with one word questions.
Example
Find the meanings of the words from the passage.
measured
Answer: exact timing

footfalls
Answer: sound of steps
rustle
Answer: sound of cloth moving in contact
composed
Answer: in total control
unruffled
Answer: not easily upset
cynical
Answer: slight indication of mockery
sneer
Answer: scorn

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The answers in this type of vocabulary question have to be kept short and as close as possible to the meaning in the context. Therefore understanding of the text is of great importance as word usage in terms of meaning can vary widely.

Answer Vocabulary questions according to the meaning in the context.

Example
Zack thought of the endless combinations as he stood there being confronted by the mass of red, blue and green wires. A tiny trickle of sweat started to form at the base of his temple. The vein behind it throbbed as if it wanted to warn him of the immense danger he stood in. His team stood silently, respectfully as he was the head of the bomb squad with the most experience and also the most likely to lose his life if anything were to go wrong. Zack tenderly touched the red wire as if he would touch a baby. His look betrayed nothing and yet his mind was clocking the possibility of the combination of the red and blue or the red, blue and green or the red and
green or the blue and green or just red or blue or green. It was mind boggling but to Zack it was all in just a day’s work. His tiny cutter appeared in his hand as if by magic and it stood poised above the red wire which he had selected. And yet the tiny voice sensed that this was a different job and that there was something wrong. His hand hovered over it and he knew that he was running out of time. He looked at the giant numerals on the timer which were quickly racing towards zero. There were barely seconds left. His hand hovered above the green wire now and
he cut it quickly. The timer stopped. It had been defused.

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Question
1. Why did the wires seem to be confronting Zack? Explain the meaning of “confronted” in this context.
Answer
It means to be perplexed by as Zack could not decide which was the wire which needed to be cut.

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Question
1. How could the vein warn him?
Answer
The vein was throbbing and it is the author’s perception that it seemed as if it was trying to warn him by throbbing.

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2. Explain the meaning of the “tiny voice” in relation to the passage.
Answer
The tiny voice was actually Zack’s mind trying to warn him that there was something amiss.

3. What does “defused” mean in this context?
Answer
It means to put out the bomb.

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Inferential questions
Inferential questions demand an educated guess. The student will not find
the entire information for the question from the text. Most of the information has to be detected. 

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Example
The workload had left him exhausted and yet it had not completely satisfied his boss. Wilfred felt bound by the terms of his contract at the university. He had a bond to repay in return for having had his fees paid for the expensive archaeology degree at Yalesmith University. Wilfred had slaved all term working for his boss who hardly prepared any research notes. The lecture notes, research notes and marking had been entrusted in Wilfred’s care and he had undertaken them without so much as a murmur. The term had wound laboriously to an end and Wilfred had
looked forward to the farm holiday with his only surviving relative, his aunt Beth. His plans had been dashed when Professor Dunce Longfellow had sent him a memo informing him of his trip to Botswana in search of archaeological diggings for his new paper. It would be weeks of sweltering in the valley amidst lush rainforests. The air would be thick with dry heat and the distant cries of predators would probably add to his blood pressure, thought Wilfred dismally.

Question
1. What can be learnt of Wilfred’s boss, Professor Dunce Longfellow
from this context?

Answer
Wilfred’s boss, Professor Dunce Longfellow seems to be a lazy,
selfish man who seems to have a lot of spare time for himself as he
has manipulated Wilfred into doing his share of the work.

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Summary question

The summary question deals with four major rules.

Firstly, reading the required lines and underlining the suitable points.
Secondly, editing or shortening the sentences which are suitable.
Thirdly, paraphrasing or using one’s own words instead of lifting from the text.

Fourthly, the word count.

 

Every paragraph has at least one major point and some supporting points. The student has to emphasize the major point in the summary and tag on the supporting point. Some supporting points are weak and therefore not relevant as in eg some statistics. Knowing what should be left out and what to include requires practice. One should not leave out too much and cutting down of points to get the required word count would only mean loss of marks. The only way to cut down on words is to edit in such a way that in paraphrasing, the words are shortened but have the same meaning. Paraphrasing is extremely important. Skillful paraphrasing means that one can both edit and do the paraphrasing together in one step.

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TIME MANAGEMENT

Time management is very important in every examination. Always allow yourself 5 minutes to scan through the passages once. The scanning will give you enough time to get a rough idea of what the passages are about.

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Then give yourself 10 minutes to read through the passages more thoroughly this time.

For the questions, give yourself 5 minutes to scan through to get an overall view. Do NOT attempt the questions straightaway. The reason being that you might be answering the next question which may be asking for certain details which you might not want to repeat. Then give yourself about 8 minutes to read all the questions thoroughly. Attempting of the questions alone should take you 30 minutes.

By this time, with the reading done earlier, you should find it easy to tackle the questions as you will know exactly what the passage wants you to answer.

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Remember to always give yourself some extra time to go back and attempt the questions you had skipped earlier on. 5 minutes to organize your summary points. Then 15 minutes to write it.
Finally give yourself at least 5 minutes to check all answers.

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UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE

The most important rule is to always remember to never attempt the questions straightaway after reading the passage once.

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Most students do this and it means that you would not have understood the passage thoroughly. Answers will be inadequate and lacking in content.

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Skim through the passage once. This is actually a very rough look at the passage which should be faster than scanning. Skimming is very important as you can gauge the contents roughly and
determine which parts you want to spend more time on understanding later.

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Example of skimming

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It was four o’clock in the afternoon and Nelly found herself feeling a little faint. She missed her tea in her porcelain mug with the lilac flowers.
That fragrant, slightly spiced tea at four always boosted her energy level and did wonders for her mood. Nelly felt deflated when she noticed the empty dining table and remembered just in time that she had had to brew it herself as no one else was around. She reached out for the tea leaves
and left it to brew for a few minutes in a porcelain tea pot. Then she strained it with a silver strainer which her god mother had given her. As the fragrant tea assailed her nostrils Nelly closed her eyes for a minute, savouring the moment just before the hot, spicy tea filled her with
buoyancy.

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After skimming, you should have taken in these words at a glance. Four o’clock, Nelly, missed, tea, mug, fragrant, spiced tea, energy, wonders, mood, deflated, empty, table, brew, herself, no one, tea, brew, tea pot, strained, strainer, god mother, given, tea, nostrils, closed, eyes, savouring, moment, hot, tea, filled, buoyancy.

That should be done in a few seconds.

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Next, scan through the passage. Scanning is a bit more thorough and you should be able to take in more words. Scanning is rather similar to skimming but a scan means you are looking for a particular item of information. You have to scan when looking for a comprehension answer. The question you are trying to answer must be fixed firmly in your mind before you run your eyes as quickly as possible down the page. This can save you a great deal of time and energy. Scanning should involve taking in more words than skimming. It is a more thorough reading of the passage.

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Example
The ride to the village, Puri was intolerable. The roads had not been laid yet and the ride in the horse and carriage was an experience which Milene was determined never to repeat again. Whatever had prompted her to accept the offer? Milene chastised herself and asked herself miserably if the offer to allow herself to accept the challenge to ride in the carriage while Rene rode in her limousine had been a trick. Rene had as usual asked in her seemingly innocent way if it would not be a completely fulfilling experience if she rode in a carriage in the beautiful landscape filled with mountains set against lush green woods. It had seemed a viable option at that time but as soon as they had ridden for half an hour, Milene had felt sick.

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Scanning means you will have these words in mind.

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Ride, village, Puri, intolerable, road, not, laid, ride, horse and carriage, experience, never, repeat, whatever, prompted, accept, chastised, herself, asked, challenge, ride, carriage, Rene, rode, limousine, trick, Rene, asked, seemingly, innocent, not, fulfilling, experience, rode, carriage,
landscape, filled, mountains, lush, woods, viable, option, ridden, half an hour, Milene, sick.

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So scanning gives you a more thorough view of the passage and more information would have been gathered.

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SUMMARY WRITING TIPS

Summary writing is a major segment of the paper. It involves reading, selection, editing and paraphrasing. Many students fail to get anywhere close to full marks as they never
paraphrase. Lifting is a common tendency and though it seems that the answer is there it is wrong to do as you will be penalized for not trying to answer using your own words.

 

The news seemed to have a grip on the people all week. The bleak news of the stocks plummeting seemed to have had a horrific hold on the traders who viewed it as one of the worst financial disasters to have hit them in over forty years. Analysts had forecast a gloomy future in the trading market and the people who had invested heavily viewed the falling prices with a heavy heart. Certainly the times had suddenly turned sour and there was no way of knowing when the grim mood would take a turn for the better again. The currency weakened despite the efforts made to bolster the financial sector and it began to have a ripple effect around the world.

 

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How to paraphrase
The news seemed to have a grip on the people …

The news had struck the people …

So editing has also been done which means the words have been shortened too while keeping the main ideas intact.

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How to edit
Editing goes hand in hand with paraphrasing. Though you can reduce the sentences first and then paraphrase, it is easier to do it in one step. This also saves time.

Do not attempt the following to edit.

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Original text
Certainly the times had suddenly turned sour and there was no way of knowing when the grim mood would take a turn for the better again.

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Do not attempt to edit like this.

The times had soured and there was no knowing if the grim mood would
turn.

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This is the wrong way of editing.

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The sentence has been cut down to almost half and the student might think that cutting down is editing.
Unfortunately if the original information is completely missing than it cannot be correct editing.

 

The Correct way of editing

The times had quickly dulled and it was unsure when the bleakness would change for the good.

All the original information is there and the meaning is still very clear.

Eleven words have been reduced from the original.

The main intent of the summary is to shorten the content but not to leave out information. And this should be done in one’s own words as far as possible.

If this standard is maintained and hardly any grammar mistakes are made, then a perfect score is possible.