English: Practical Techniques for Solving Reading Comprehension Passages in Competitive Exams

Practical Techniques to Improve Your Reading Speed:

First let us try to answer one question. Why does the reading speed differ for person to person ? Let us take a statement.

" If you ask me to pin point one important quality that led me to success I will choose Patience."

A person whose reading habits are not honed, reads the above sentence, one word at a time, i.e., his span of vision allows him to read only one word for each eye movement he makes. This span of vision can be improved with conscious effort and can cover/ read three to five or more words at once i.e., in one eye movement. So, the span of vision is one main reason for the difference in reading speeds. Naturally, you should be interested in increasing you span of vision. Let's take the same statement considered above.

Try to focus your sight on the set of words and make an attempt to read one complete set of words at one time with out having to move your eye from left to right. Initially you might find it difficult to work on this technique. Regular practice will make you comfortable. Hold a pen or pencil in your hand when you are reading so that it helps you concentrate better on the passage. This habit also helps you to underline important points in the passage while you are reading.

Another simple technique which will develop your ability to absorb written words is reading a page by inverting it. You will not be able to understand anything that is written but this exercise helps you mind to pick up words faster than it is used to, as it develops acquaintance with words from different angle. You will experience it when you start reading the page in the ordinary reading position after such an exercise.

When you are learning some good reading habits you should unlearn certain bad reading habits also. Over a long period of time you might have acquired the habit of reading and re-reading the same set of words in the passage thinking that it helps you understand the passage better. This approach eats up yours precious time in the exams. Unless you make a conscious attempt to unlearn it you will not be able to perform at your best. You should also keep in mind the fact that the examiner is not going to ask you each and every details in the passage which implies that you need not have to read it " THOROUGHLY" to answer the questions in this section. So, even if you do not understand a part of the passage, you should continue reading the passage but not stop there or go back to read the sentence again.

While you should certainly adopt ways that improve your speed and reduce the "blocks" for improving your speed, regularly reading practice still remains to be the most important factor in improving your performance in reading comprehension.

More Tips for Solving Reading Comprehension Passage

Sample Comprehension Passages for Practice 

• Practice Comprehension Passage 3
• Practice Comprehension Passage 2
• Practice Comprehension Passage 1

English: Tips for Solving Reading Comprehension Passages in Competitive Exams

Tips for Solving Reading Comprehension Passages

Practical Techniques to Improve your Reading Comprehension

After reading the passage once, write down the time you have taken to complete the passage at the top of the page. (keep a separate page for each passage you read). Now count the number of words in the passage. Number of words divided by the number of minutes taken to read the passage given you your speed of reading in "Words per Minute". After this calculation, enter the same in a table. A formate of this table is given below. Maintaining a record of your reading speeds will give you a clear picture of how you are progressing in your reading practice over a period of time.

Table to Enter Reading speeds (in words per minute)
 

Topic (Enter your speed in WPM under the type of topic you have read)
SL.No	Date	Economic	Political	Social Science	Pure Science	Others
1	1-12-2014	5	3	8	6	8
2	2-12-2014	3	2	8	2	2
3	3-12-2014	2	1	3	1	1

     Make a conscious attempt to read a wide range of topics to develop your reading speed. You will note that your speeds will be higher in areas/topics with which you are familiar. Keep a copy of this table at the back of your exercise note book and observe the gradual improvement.

Make an entry of at least two passages in this table daily. A sample entry of speeds of three passages read on two days is shown in the table. After you read each passage and enter your speed in the table above, you should write down a few points about the passage just read. We already mentioned that you should use a separate page for each passage you read. You have already written down the number of words the passage has on this page. Your speed in WPM that you entered in the table should also be entered on this page because it pertains to this passage.

Now, write the following details on that page:

• Title of the passage
• Main idea of the passage in one sentence
• Important points from the passage (as a summary of the passage)
• Words given in the passage whose meanings you do not know.

These Important points can range from 10 to 20 depending on the length of the passage. After the important points are written down, check back with the passage and see whether all important points have been covered.

Check below Links for: 

Reading Comprehension Passages for Practice

• Reading Comprehension Practice Paper Set 1
• Reading Comprehension Practice Paper Set 2
• Reading Comprehension Practice Paper Set 3