1. The first key to comprehending a written passage is to understand it from a literal point of view.
Literal comprehension is the understanding of the written meaning of a passage: the definition of
words, the context of the writing, the main idea of the passage, and the sequence of thought
chosen by the author. Literal comprehension reserves studying author interpretation until after a
student understands the basic message of a written passage. Research Facts
A dictionary is an important tool for literal comprehension, but alone, it may not be enough. Researching
the definition of words, to form a literal comprehension, begins with studying the definitions of words, but
also requires a little experience with the way the author used the word during the time of the writing.
Beyond the dictionary definition, review the cultural and political ideals present in the world where the
author wrote the passage. As an example, William Blake’s poem “London” describes a dark image of
London. If you continued studying Blake’s world, you would find that Blake wrote the poem during the
early British industrialization and urbanization, giving you the clues to understand that Blake is discussing
the dangers of industrialization.
Understanding in Context
While each word in a passage has a specific definition, each word is also defined by the words
surrounding it in a sentence. A contextual analysis of a word involves looking at these surrounding words
for clues about the meaning, or alternate meaning, of unfamiliar words. To form a contextual
understanding a word, identify the definition of surrounding words and review how the surrounding words
affect the definition of the original word. For instance, the sentence from Robert Frost’s poem “Out, Out –
“, “The doctor put him in the dark of ether” may require a definition for the word “ether.” The context is
medical, from the word "doctor," and the poem suggests a surgery. From these clues, you could deduce
that the word means sedation.
Read for Main Idea
The main idea of a passage is the primary idea presented by the work. Passages can be a part of a larger
work, or written in the context of another work, such as a small passage from a story. Studying a passage
from this perspective requires that the passage be read from the point of view of the main idea. As an
example, William Blake wrote two major poetry collections, “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of
Experience.” If you were reading a section from the first, you would expect to interpret each poem from a
youthful, optimistic perspective, giving you a clue about his meaning for each work.
Sequential Study
A sequential study is reading a passage in a specific order. The order of the passage becomes an
important element for understanding how you should interpret it. For instance, if you are reading an action
sequence, each statement builds the scene, adding more information to the image as the passage
describes the action. Reading the last line first would leave you confused, with no information about the
meaning or perspective of the passage. A sequential study demonstrates how you can find interpretation
clues about a passage from the previous information in it.

2. Literal comprehension involves what the author is actually saying. The reader needs to
understand ideas and information explicitly stated in the reading material. Some of this information is
in the form of recognizing and recalling facts, identifying the main idea, supporting details,
categorizing, outlining, and summarizing. The reader is also locating information, using context clues
to supply meaning, following specific directions, following a sequence, identifying stated conclusion,
and identifying explicitly stated relationships and organizational patterns. These organizational
patterns can include cause and effect as well as comparison and contrast. For example, some
questions and activities may include:
What words state the main idea of the story?
How does the author summarize what she/he is saying?
Outlining the first paragraph of the story.
What happened first, second and last?
How are these things alike? How are they different?
What things belong together?
Inferential comprehension deals with what the author means by what is said. The reader must
simply read between the lines and make inferences about things not directly stated. Again these
inferences are made in the main idea, supporting details, sequence, and cause and effect
relationships. Inferential comprehension could also involve interpreting figurative language, drawing
conclusions, predicting outcomes, determining the mood, and judging the author’s point of view. The
following questions are usually asked:
What does the author value?
What is the theme?
What effect does this character/event have on the story?
How do you think this story will end?
Critical comprehension concerns itself with why the author says what he or she says. This high
level of comprehension requires the reader to use some external criteria from his/her own
experience in order to evaluate the quality, values of the writing, the author’s reasoning,
simplifications, and generalizations. The reader will react emotionally and intellectually with the
material. Because everyone's life experiences are varied, answers to some of the following
questions will vary:
Could this possibly happen?
Is this argument logical?
What alternatives are there?
Is this a fact or an opinion?
Do you agree or disagree with the author?
What is the best solution to this problem?
To conclude, literal, inferential and critical comprehensive reading is what makes a skilled, strong
reader. This skill must be learned and developed. It does not just happen. With that thought in mind,
it has also been shown that strong readers make good writers. Sustained exposure to the English

3. language does allow for an expanded vocabulary and knowledge of correct grammar usage. When
this is combined with literal, inferential and critical reading experiences, it enables writers to better
express themselves.