(Here’s an Audiovisual Lecture on Types Of Comprehension And How To Answer Them Correctly: https://youtu.be/SroNoR_8QEo).
If you are going to sit any English exam, such as WASSCE, NECO/SSCE, NABTEB, you must learn the techniques for answering comprehension questions correctly. This will improve your overall performance in the exam, since the comprehension section usually carries up to 30 marks in most of these exams.
It is pertinent to note that the comprehension skill is useful to people even after school. Having completed your academic course at the secondary or tertiary institution, you may be wondering what comprehension has got to do with you. Well, the need for comprehension goes far beyond the classroom or the exam hall. Did you know that a number of organizations now use reading comprehension questions as part of the English proficiency test they give to their applicants before employing them? Did you also know that people who take internationally recognized proficiency tests, such as IELTS, or TOEFL, etc are usually required to answer comprehension questions as well? In case you don’t know, many countries, organizations and institutions accept IELTS and TOEFL as proof of English language proficiency for study, work, and immigration purposes.
Besides, everyone needs comprehension in order to achieve success in whatever they are doing in life. Comprehension is your ability to understand what you read or hear which will, in turn, enable you to explain, analyze, summarize, report, or respond to related questions. Comprehension questions, also vary from one examination body to another. In this article, you’ll learn different types of comprehension questions in WASSCE and NECO/SSCE and how to answer them correctly.
TYPES OF COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS IN WASSCE, NECO/SSCE
1. FACTUAL QUESTIONS: This type of comprehension question tests your understanding of the facts or ideas discussed in the passage. Factual questions are also called direct questions because they require picking information directly from the passage.
Consider this comprehension question (WASSCE, June 2020): Q.6 (a). Why did the writer’s mother never inform her children of her intention to visit them? (b). How did Mama while away the hours on the journey? These are factual or direct questions. In the passage, these facts are clearly stated: 6. (a). She knew she would always welcome in her children’s house. (b). She chatted with a fellow passenger on the bus.
Question: Mention two consequences of the usual desperation of Africans to leave their countries (Q. 7b: WASSCE JUNE 2004).
Answer: The two consequences of the usual desperation of Africans to leave their countries are:
(i) They fall victim to passport and visa fraud.
(ii) Young girls end up in forced prostitution.
In the above example, the answers are presented in short and simple sentences introduced by a preamble.
In some cases, however, you may have to give your answers in phrases. Illustration: Question 6 (a), WASSCE June 2004.
Question: State two experiences that Eze looked forward to.
Answer: The two experiences that Eze looked forward to are:
(i) The good life of the city.
(ii) A ride in a luxury bus.
2. INFERENTIAL QUESTIONS: Inferential questions demand that you figure out the answers based on the things implied in the passage. They are also called interpretative questions because you need to interpret the information available in the passage to be able to arrive at the answer. Consider Questions 6 (d) – (f) in WASSCE, June 2019: (d). What does the reference to Adamu’s academic performance tell us about him? (e). What is the writer’s attitude towards Adamu? (f). What tells us that Adamu was determined to be educated? These are all inferential questions because you need to figure the answers out based on facts implied but not directly stated in the passage.
Let’s look at the inferential questions again: (d). What does the reference to Adamu’s academic performance tell us about him? (e). What is the writer’s attitude towards Adamu? (f). What tells us that Adamu was determined to be educated? These are all inferential questions because you need to figure out the answers based on facts implied but not directly stated in the passage. The answers are:
6. (a). The reference shows that Adamu was hard working and intelligent.
(e). The writer’s attitude towards Adamu was that of admiration and respect.
(f). He got himself enrolled in school and took care of the expenses all by himself.
3. GRAMMATICAL QUESTIONS: Some comprehension questions require you to state the grammatical name and the function of a particular expression taken from the passage. Consider Question 6 (f) in WASSCE June 2020: “… who was also going to see her son in Lagos.” i. What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ii. What is its function? It’s important to know the English grammatical structures and their functions in order to answer these types of questions correctly.
Let’s look at the questions again: 6. (f) “… who was also going to see her son in Lagos.” i. What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ii. What is its function? To answer these questions you need to look at the entire sentence from which this expression was taken, and then use the border principle, the question method, etc. to arrive at the grammatical name and function of the given expression. The answers are:
6. (g) i. Adjectival Clause
ii. Modifies the noun “passenger.”
4. FIGURES OF SPEECH QUESTIONS:
Questions on figures of speech are meant to test your knowledge of figures of speech and their usage in the passage. Certain expressions used in the passage are extracted and you are asked what figure of speech it is. To answer this type of question, you must have knowledge of various figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, personification, irony, euphemism, rhetorical question, and so forth. Consider this question: (f) “I had stirred up a hornets’ nest and should be prepared for a sting.” i. What figure of speech is this expression? Ii. What does it mean? (WASSCE June 2017). Answers to these questions don’t require to be presented in sentences; simply state them as follows:
(f) i. Metaphor
ii. The writer had caused trouble and should be ready to face the consequences.
Let’s consider another question: (g) “…like a person pursued by a demon…” What figure of speech is used in this expression? (WASSCE June, 2019). Simply state the answer as follows:
(f) i. Simile
5. VOCABULARY QUESTIONS: These questions are meant to test your understanding of key vocabulary words used in the passage. What is required is more than just knowing what each word means; you must find out its meaning as used in the passage. The question requires you to “find another word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage.” So you’re expected to find the contextual synonyms, not just synonyms.
Take the word man, for example. The meaning of ‘man’ can change from one context to another as shown in the following sentence: (i) Musa is a man (an adult male human being) (ii) Musa was asked to man the engine room (control or take charge of). So, you must examine how a word is used in the passage in order to find another word that means the same and can replace it correctly. It is called a contextual synonym, not just any synonym. If you are to find a replacement for ‘man’ in sentence ii above, the answer will be: (ii) man = control.
Let’s look at Question 6 (i) in WASSCE June 2020: For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: i. unimaginable ii. heartily iii. outrageous iv. numerous v. frantically vi. fraudulent
Ansers:
i. unimaginable = unbelievable
ii.heartily = happily
iii. outrageous = extremely high
iv. umerous = many
v. frantically = very hard
vi. fraudulent = dubious
ACCURATE PRESENTATION OF COMPREHENSION ANSWERS
Answers to comprehension questions should be presented with precision. Present your answers in simple sentences where necessary. Where sentences are not necessary, simply state your answers in words or phrases as exemplified above in the case of grammatical questions, figures of speech, and vocabulary questions. Give only one correct answer; avoid guesswork and giving multiple answers where only one is required. Above all, make sure that your answers are free from grammatical or spelling errors.
For a more detailed audio-visual explanation of types of comprehension questions and how to answer them correctly, watch the following video lecture: https://youtu.be/SroNoR_8QEo
Check out these ebooks for further details:
- Good Success in English: A Study Package or Good Success in English: A Study Package for Effective English Learning
- Good Success English Handbook
About the Author
Benjamin Abugu is a university graduate with a flair for content writing. He is an English teacher with over twelve years of experience, a published author of many books (both paperback and eBook editions), a blogger, and a Youtuber.
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