2. Part 1 ~ Types of Comprehension
Questions
1) Direct Questions
Give direct answers
Answers will be stated plainly in
the passage
Task: locate these answers
after reading carefully what
the question is looking for
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
3. Types of Comprehension Questions
1) Direct Questions
Examples:
- What was the main reason…
- Give two examples…
- Quote a sentence…
- Explain how…
- Write down one word/
an expression which
shows…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
4. Types of Comprehension Questions
2) Inferential Questions
Read between the lines
Answers cannot be found directly from the
passage
Make your deduction
Infer the meaning or answer
through given words or phrases
from the passage
Even from your own general
knowledge
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
5. Types of Comprehension Questions
2) Inferential Questions
Examples:
- explain clearly / explain the
contrast…
- suggest how…
- what do you think…
- why does the author
suggest…
- what impression…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
6. Types of Comprehension Questions
3) Rephrasing Questions
Rewrite in your own words but keep the
meaning
read the phrase or sentence
in its context in the passage
so that your explanation is
appropriate to the situation
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
7. Types of Comprehension Questions
3) Rephrasing Questions
Examples:
- Explain the term /phrase
/sentence…
- Explain in your own
words…
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
8. Types of Comprehension Questions
4) Vocabulary Questions
Explain word or phrase meaning
a certain word or phrase is chosen
from the passage
You are required to give another
word or phrase bearing the
same meaning as the word
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
9. Types of Comprehension Questions
4) Vocabulary Questions
Examples:
- What does the word suggest about…
- What picture do these words
suggest?
- What does the word ‘even’
suggest about…
- What does ‘preserve the
market’ mean?
Adapted from O level Comprehension and Summary Writing Guide
11. Part 2 ~ Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Making an Intelligent Guess
sometimes, the answer to the question is not given directly in the
passage
instead, clues are given from which you have to guess the answer
you are required to ‘read between the lines’ and make inferences –
intelligent guesses
E.g. At last, the angry passengers were called to
board the bus.
Question: Suggest why the passengers were
angry.
(What would be the most likely reason for
the passengers’ anger?)
Answer: The passengers were angry because
the bus was delayed.
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer
12. Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Two Kinds of Inference
Logical Inference: based on definition
E.g. She cried as she stood beside the grave.
Question: Where was she when
she stood beside the grave?
Answer: A cemetery (because
a cemetery is where you find
graves)
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer
13. Interpreting Text (Thinking Skills)
• Two Kinds of Inference
Empirical Inference: based on observation
E.g. She cried as she stood beside the grave.
Question: Why was she crying?
Answer: Because someone she cared
for had died. (If you see someone
crying near a grave, you would guess
that this was the case.)
Also, remember that inference will
always require an “own words”
answer
Adapted from Score in Comprehension O Level
by Graeme Spencer