While we learn the concept of reading and understanding comprehension we must also focus on the types of questions asked related to them. One such type of question is correcting errors. Let us study correcting errors related to comprehension.
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Reading Comprehension
Reading is one of the most basic cognitive skills that we acquire as we start going to school, maybe even before that. And as we progress in life, this skill probably becomes one of the most used and required skill. However, that’s not all. Reading is effective only with comprehension.
Without comprehension or understanding, reading is just calling out a string of words in a sentence. Comprehension is understanding the intent and logic of a paragraph or a poem as a whole. Now comprehension comes with practice. That is the reason why reading comprehension is one of the most important sections or topics covered in English lessons from grade 5 to grade 10.
In fact, it is a major section even in competitive exams and English proficiency tests. As you go ahead in your career, there will be instances when you would need to decode and understand information and make sense of it. That is when the cognitive skill of reading becomes important.
Now let us understand “reading comprehension” as a topic in itself. As per Wikipedia, reading comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to integrate it with what the reader already knows. The main aim of reading comprehension is to test understanding and reasoning. And to do so, typically, you would have to read a passage and answer related questions. The difficulty level of the passage and the questions would vary depending on the grade or level of the exam.
Types of Questions
As mentioned earlier, the main aim of reading comprehension is to test understanding and intent. Depending on the level or purpose, the “reading comprehension” section may have several kinds of questions such as factual questions, contextual vocabulary questions, topical questions, inference questions, and sequencing or fill-in-the-blanks questions. And you would require different strategies for different questions.
For instance, you would need to gather information and highlight key points in the passage to solve the fill-in-the-blanks or the sequencing section. Inference questions will require you to understand the intent and logic and then answer the question. Basically, you would be required to draw your inference based on the passage.
For instance, you may have to suggest an appropriate title or explain what you think the writer’s intent is. At times, you may also be required to write an alternate conclusion or suggest a different line of thought.
Correcting Errors
Sometimes, you may have to answer fact-based questions based on the passage. You may be required to select the correct answer from a set of options or correct errors. Now, there can be different kinds of errors. They may be factual errors or grammatical errors. Let’s understand this further.
Reading comprehension carries a lot of weight in an English test. And if you read carefully and understand the passage, your job is half done. You will easily be able to solve the associated questions. In this article, we will discuss questions that involve correcting errors. Now correcting errors just involves identifying the correct answer or the right statement. It may also involve correcting grammatical errors.
Correcting errors or answering factual questions is fairly easier than inference questions because the questions are directly based on the information in the passage. Hence, it is very important that you read the passage carefully and understand the flow and facts of the passage. Let us look at an example.
Solved Questions for You
Given below is an excerpt from the classic “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne.
Now, let us look at a simple question based on this passage.
Q: What incident had befallen Scotia?
- Scotia hit an iceberg
- The ship was attacked by a sharp object that damaged one of its compartments
- Scotia had waded into a storm in the course of its voyage
- The ship was attacked by a pirate ship
Ans: What do you think happened to Scotia? The correct answer is option B. There was a 2-meter wide hole on the steamer’s underside.
More Examples
Now, this question is directly based on the information in the passage. And anyone who reads the passage carefully can answer the question easily. Sometimes, you may also need to identify the correct meaning of a word based on the context in the passage. Let us look at an example.
Q: What does the word “Impunity” refer to in the context of the statement “Divided into seven compartments with water-tight bulkheads, the Scotia could brave any leak with impunity.”
- Barely a scratch, without any damage, without a worry
- Fearless
- Immunity
- Exemption from punishment
Ans: As you might know, the dictionary meaning for the word “Impunity” is “exemption from punishment”. However, in the context of the passage, the word “impunity” does not really refer to “being spared” of any consequence. In this context, the word “impunity” indicates that Scotia’s structure was so strong that it could confidently wade through any current or storm or strong objects without being worried about leaks.
Now, you may have noticed that the questions based on the sample passage were relatively simple. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes, the passage itself is more than a few paragraphs long. It may be an article in itself or a statistical report. In such cases, you should highlight the important points and keep track of the flow. By keeping a track of the key elements and the flow, you would be able to easily backtrack to the article and identify the correct answers.
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