This document provides tips for improving reading comprehension test scores. It recommends first doing a quick read of the text to get the overall idea, then re-reading more carefully while paying attention to specific details. When answering questions, responses should be full sentences using information directly from the text. The document reviews different question types like WH- questions, true/false statements, and multiple choice, emphasizing the need to justify answers with evidence from the text. It concludes by advising students to read widely in order to improve their reading skills and test performance.

1. READING
COMPREHENSION TESTS
José A. Alcalde López
Reading is one of the basic skills when learning and teaching a language (either first or
foreign). Reading comprehension exercises are always present in tests and students have to master
some techniques to do their best. Here we present a “Survival Kit for Students” with some tips to
improve their score in this kind of tests.
First we should consider extra linguistic information such as layout,
pictures, etc. Most texts will be descriptive, narrative, argumentative, etc.
Before actual reading, we can gather some useful hints. However, this
information, quite frequent in everyday life, is almost non-existent in tests
where everything is reduced basically to plain text. This is such a pity!!
Next we should look at the title of the text as it is a summary of it and will
give us the first useful information to set our mind into the task.
How many times should we read the text? That will depend on many factors (memory, linguistic
competence, reading habits, etc.) It is advisable to do a first quick reading for gist. This way we will get
a general idea of the content of the text. After that, we can do a second reading in more detail, paying
attention to more specific information. Thus, when we are looking for something in particular we do not
need to read the whole text again for every question in the text. Sometimes we need more readings
depending on the complexity of the text. At first it may seem that we are wasting precious time instead
of quickly answering the questions but in the end, it is the opposite: we are actually saving it for later.
Wh-? Questions: Obviously, it does not make much sense to ask Yes/No Questions in a test as
the chances of getting it right or wrong are 50%. First we have to understand the question. Then
we have to find the answer in the text. Usually the answer is found in one particular place. When
answering we can copy from the text or slightly “alter” the content using our own words (the
later may imply higher score). Answers should be full sentences with the typical English structure
(Subject + Verb + Complements).
True/False Statements : This exercise seems easy but attention to distractors. They are
included in the statements to trick you. If part of the statement is false, then the whole statement
is also False. The important thing is to justify your answer (either True or False) with an excerpt
from the text. We justify with information from one single place in the text (some words, one
sentence, etc.) not by negating what is said in the statement.
Multiple choice: Another way to check our understanding of the text is by choosing from a
multiple choice exercise. The options can be 3 or 4 and typically this is the routine: only one is
correct, one or two more can be “similar” in one way or another to the correct one, sometimes
even an absurd one can be added.
Find in the text / Give ...: This exercise is meant for vocabulary competence as we have to
find/give synonyms or antonyms. First we have to pay attention to the word class (adjective,
noun, verb, adverb...) and then scan the text for it.
Some tips:
The more you read, the better you will do next time. If you only read texts
from exams, do not expect to do a great reading comprehension.
Use meta linguistic knowledge if possible (many times topics are current)
Always answer all questions
Learn to deal with difficult words by paying attention to the context,
guessing word formation or word class, etc.