Reading comprehension Key tips!! Reading the text and the questions Read the text and the questions twice. As you read the text, make notes on the key people involved, what is happening, where it is happening, when and why, with a pencil at the side of the page. Try to predict the literal, inference and evaluative questions you could be asked. Pick out the key words in the question and skim and scan the text for the same words or words that have a similar meaning.

Reading comprehension Key tips!! Answering the questions Write your answers in full sentences – it will really help you to keep on track. Check that the key words from the question are in you answer. Look at the number of marks allocated for each question – should your answer combine facts from more than one place in the text?

Answering the questions Key tips!! Answering the questions Work out if the question is literal, inference or evaluation. - Should the answer be ‘right there’? - Will you have to think and search for clues? - Will you need to use your own personal experiences that the author would agree with? Use evidence from the text to explain how you know the answer is correct. Quotes provide direct, concise evidence and prevent waffle! Write neatly – the person marking your SATs comprehension paper may have 300 papers to look at. Use spelling from the paper.

Literal questions (‘Right there’ questions) Literal questions often start with Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? The key words tend to appear in the text, question and answer. The question can be reconfigured to form the answer, e.g. Q: Who glanced at the clock impatiently? A: Mrs. Jones glanced at the clock impatiently.

Inference questions (Text detective) Authors intentionally give their readers extra details by leaving them clues in the text. Inference questions require you to think and search for the clues and solve the answer. Complex inference questions require you to find and link clues from different parts of the text. You will need to reorganise the information from different places to form your answer.

Evaluation questions (Own experiences) To answer an evaluation question, you need to base your answer on your own experiences plus evidence to explain why characters are feeling, thinking or behaving in a particular way. Evaluation questions usually begin with phrases like ‘What do you think…’ and are often worth three marks, one mark for each separate point you make. There is no single right answer to an evaluation question – full marks can be gained from answers in full sentences, using personal experiences and evidence from the text to support reasoning.