Dr. Prinsky's Engl. 1101 Pamphlet - Ch. 15: Explanation of the Regents' Exam Reading Comprehension Test

15. Explanation of the Regents' Examination reading comprehension test and reading-test skills

The Regents' Test Program reading examination is keyed to the four following areas (listed along with appropriate subcategories) in reading passages, or portion of passages (items with asterisks should be looked up in your composition handbook or collegiate dictionary, with the appropriate definition recorded on special vocabulary cards, along with any examples provided in the dictionary):

1. Vocabulary

2. Literal Comprehension

a. of details

b. of sequence of events

c. of comparison (likenesses and differences)

d. of cause and effect relationships

e. of demonstrative* and personal pronouns*

3. Inferential* Comprehension

a. of the main idea of the passage or paragraph

b. of the inductive* (1) drawing of a conclusion, (2) making a generalization, (3) summarizing ideas presented in the passage or paragraph, (4) identifying comparative, causal, spatial, or
temporal* relations in the reading material, (5) identifying the author's beliefs or assumptions about his or her subject

c. of deductive* application of one or more ideas in the passage to a new situation not already referred to in the passage or paragraph

d. of figurative* language or implicative* statements

4. (Literary) Analysis

a. of author's tone* or tonal shift

b. of author's point of view (his relative distance from or closeness to what he's discussing)

c. of writing style, literary devices (including distinguishing between fact and opinion), or organizational patterns

d. of the author's overall purpose of a passage or paragraph (the "mode" of writing--description, narration*, exposition*, argumentation* or persuasion*; the effect intended on the
reader)

Area 1, Vocabulary, is probably the most important and basic element that problem readers need to work on. Many students who fail the reading portion of the RTP exam attribute the problem to speed, thinking they don't read quickly enough; actually, the problem is usually accuracy, that is, getting the correct answer to questions they have finished. Both accuracy and speed are related to the basic comprehension of the words in the passages--which starts with vocabulary. Vocabulary occurs on the test in four areas, not just the underlined words and questions on them. First, there are usually several other words in the passage that demand an adequately-developed vocabulary, and which themselves could have been underlined and asked about. Failure to understand these words correctly inhibits understanding the passage. Second, there are the underlined words. Some of these can be answered almost instantaneously by a person with a well-developed vocabulary, which would (and does, for some RTP test-takers) save time on the exam and allow more time to read carefully other passages or consider more carefully certain questions or certain portions of passages. Third, some vocabulary words occur in the questions themselves; failure to accurately understand these may and sometimes does mean misunderstanding the question, which produces an answer just as wrong as if the passage is not understood. Fourth, and last, vocabulary words occur in the four answers supplied for the reader's choice. Again, if one word or more words are not understood, and hence one answer choice or more is not understood, the test-taker may get the answer just as wrong as if the passage or passage portion is not understood. You must build your vocabulary; you must constantly use a good thick paperback dictionary and collegiate dictionary to look up words in your reading and to record these on flashcards, which you must review a little bit every day. Building an adequate vocabulary can be done only by small, regular practice sessions (and constant reading) over a long period of time. Many students in Eng. 051 have fought this advice, not buying a good paperback dictionary (let alone the collegiate), not looking up all words in the reading, not writing out definitions, and not making flashcards. But this "victory" has meant for many of them once more not passing the reading portion of the RTP, as well as not building the vocabulary that they would need to be literate, college-educated graduates, who should be able to read through an issue of Time magazine with good comprehension. (See in Chapter 6 of this pamphlet the list I have compiled from just the issue of 29 March 1976 of Time magazine.)

Read in the composition handbook, your collegiate dictionary, a textbook about college reading skills, or a vocabulary-building book about vocabulary building, word roots, and particularly about ascertaining the meaning of words from context clues, which is how the words are selected on the Regents' examination. The kinds of words that need to be looked up are both such obviously collegiate-level words (whether long or short) as lithe and lassitude, as well as familiar words (whether long or short) that may be used for an unfamiliar meaning (see, for example, the word foil in the vocabulary list and appropriate paragraph in Boroson's "The Workaholic in You" in Presley and Prinsky's The World of Work: Readings for Writers (Prentice Hall, 1987). In addition, note the unusual use of the word sentence in John Calvin's "Every Vocation Is a Post Assigned By the Lord" (The World of Work). Sometimes, problem readers think they know a word, but have learned or supposed an incorrect meaning for it. As Milan says, constant recourse to the dictionary is recommended.

Areas 2 through 4 and their subdivisions (Literal Comprehension, Inferential Comprehension, Analysis) are covered in detail in both English 101 and 102, and in the respective textbooks for these courses (usually a composition handbook, an essay reader or anthology, and an introduction to literature textbook-anthology). Study or review of the first- and third-mentioned texts would be beneficial for most students.

Area 2a usually deals with how a specific detail or example actually supports or illustrates the author's point. The questions to ask are "How does this detail or example support or illustrate the author's point?" or "What ideas are conveyed by this detail or example?" The reading comprehension question based on area 2a will often take a form similar to the following: "The author uses [such-and-such a detail] to support his idea or point that: (a) . . . . (b) . . . . (c) . . . . (d) . . . . "

Areas 2b, 2c, and 2d ask the reader to pay special attention to cue words. For area 2b, the reader should look for words like first, next, then, fourth, following, previously, earlier, later, and subsequent, all of which refer to sequence or time or chronology. For area 2c, words or phrases to be watched for are ones such as like, similar(ly), likewise, on the other hand (which may indicate either likeness or difference, so the whole context must be considered carefully), or in contrast. For area 2d, key words and phrases include because, therefore, hence, accordingly, as a result, and consequently. A question on area 2b might look something like the following: "The author/passage states that what starts the process is: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . " A question on area 2c might look something like the following: "In the passage it is said that [X] more than [Y] is: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . " A question on area 2d might look something like the following: "The author/passage says that the main cause of [such-and-such] is: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . "

Demonstrative* and personal pronouns* (Area 2e) are grammatical terms that need to be looked up in your collegiate dictionary and your composition handbook. They are used to achieve transition and coherence between one sentence and another, one paragraph and another, or one portion of an essay and another portion. That is, they link or bind. The demonstrative pronouns include this, that, these, and those; the personal pronouns include I, me, my, mine, myself (first person) and the equivalents for second person (all the forms of you) and third person (all the forms of he, she, and it). All pronouns, including personal pronouns, have specific antecedents* (preceding nouns or pronouns they refer to), usually to be found in the immediately preceding clause or sentence. The form of the question on the Regents' exam is "The underlined word this refers to: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . ." The general heading of this subject in composition textbooks is pronoun reference.

The various components of Area 3, dealing with inferential comprehension, are dealt with in the numerous questions in Presley and Prinsky's The World of Work in the Ideas and Aims, or Words and Style sections, that ask about what the author may be implying or what the implications or implicit assumptions are in a sentence, paragraph, passage, or essay. This area deals with material in the passage that is not directly or explicitly stated but may be inferred or deduced from words or details in the author's writing. For example, in the sentence "Howard gazed longingly at the hamburger his date was munching, and his stomach grumbled" what could be inferred, though it is not explicitly stated, was that Howard was which of the following: (a) angry (b) nearsighted (c) hungry (d) sick? The correct answer would be "(c) hungry."

In 4a, the term tone*, which should be looked up in your composition handbook and a collegiate dictionary (and your Eng. 102 introduction to literature text-anthology), refers to the written equivalent of a person's tone of voice when speaking. Tone is derived from an author's attitude toward or emotional involvement with (a) himself, (b) his audience, or (c) his subject matter. An author's tone may be consistent in an essay or passage, or it may change from one paragraph to the next, or even from one sentence to the next. Terms used to describe tone include: "argumentative, humorous, impersonal, informal, formal, academic, analytical, factual, despairing, condemnatory, condescending, sentimental, nostalgic, enthusiastic, ironic, indifferent, objective, pessimistic, neutral, friendly, respectful, critical, bitter, dramatic, angry, hostile, satirical, gloomy, lighthearted, optimistic, happy, favorable, admiring, loving, and sympathetic." Since all of these have been used on the RTP reading exam, or are suggested as possible choices for use by Regents' Exam question-writers, you should look up any whose meaning you are in the slightest doubt about.

The tone of the selection by John Calvin, "Every Vocation is a Post Assigned by the Lord" in The World of Work: Readings for Writers (pp. 22-23) might be described by any of the following adjectives: "formal," "elevated," "moral," "earnest," "reverent," "pious," "devout," or "philosophical." The tone of Buchwald's "Confessions of a Roof Seller" (WOW 44-47) might be described by one of the following: "colloquial," "slangy," "humorous," "lighthearted," or "ironic." The form of the question on tone might be something like the following: "Calvin's attitude toward/tone regarding work in the passage is: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . "

For 4c1, an author's writing style, his diction (word choice) and sentence structure are to be considered. Terms to describe an author's style (which you should look up in your collegiate dictionary) include "ornate," "scientific," "casual," "plodding," "conversational," "intimate," "poetic," "technical," "figurative"*, "factual," and "allegorical"*.

4c2, literary devices, include the terms "allegory"*, "irony"*, "overstatement" (or "hyperbole")*, "understatement"*, "propaganda" (or fact versus opinion)*, "simile"*, "analogy"*, "mixed comparison" (or "mixed metaphor")*, "metaphor"*, "personification"*,"parallelism"*, "connotation"*, "denotation"*, "rhetorical question"*, "poetic diction"*, "allusion"*, "euphemism"*, and "tone"*. Sometimes reading questions on area 4c2 will seek to determine whether a reader understands whether the author or passage is being literal or figurative (using figures of speech* or figurative language*). For example a question might ask: "When the author says in the passage that 'the comedian had his audience rolling in the aisles' he means that the comedian had (a) used physical force on his audience (b) caused members of the audience to become ill (c) angered his audience (d) greatly amused his audience." The answer, which depends on the reader recognizing hyperbole/humorous exaggeration*, is (d). A reading question might also ask for the reader to identify what figure of speech is being used, to choose one of the four terms given. For example, "In 'the comedian had his audience rolling in the aisles' the author uses: (a) allegory (b) propaganda (c) hyperbole (d) personification." Or a reading question on this area might ask the reader to interpret or analyze the figure of speech. For example, when Boroson in "The Workaholic in You" (WOW 6-15) refers (p. 8) to "murderous tennis," he doesn't literally mean tennis used to murder or kill someone. What figure of speech is he using? (Answer: metaphor.) What idea does he mean to convey by using this figure of speech? A question might be: "By his phrase 'murderous tennis' Boroson implies that: (a) . . . (b) . . . (c) . . . (d) . . . "

Some of the terms for the literary devices in area 4c2 are covered in your composition handbook (Chs. 19, 25, 26); nearly all, in the study questions (especially in Words and Style) of Presley and Prinsky's The World of Work; all, in your collegiate dictionary; and most will be further discussed in Eng. 102 and in the Eng. 102 textbook. For example, Words and Style Question 6 for the Boroson essay in The World of Work (p. 14) deals with "bias" or "propaganda"--that is, an author's "slanting" of language or presentation rather than being purely factual or objective. One question often appearing on the RTP reading portion asks for the reader to distinguish between fact and opinion, applied to statements drawn from the passage. For this type of question, just look at the statements themselves; looking back at the passage is usually unnecessary. To distinguish between fact (or factual) and opinion, ask whether the statement can be verified through counting or measurement or some eyewitness observation. A statement like "Teenagers today are less respectful than teenagers used to be" could not be verified by interview or census because not enough interviewers or census takers could be hired to interview or observe all teenagers in the United States (let alone all teenagers in the world); therefore, this is an opinion rather than a fact. Compare the two statements "That diamond is 3.5 carats and its facets are skillfully cut to catch the light" (factual) and "That is a beautiful diamond" (opinion). The first statement is capable of verification: the diamond can be weighed on special jewelers' scales and held under the light to see if it sparkles. But people argue about what is beautiful and what isn't--some people don't find any diamond beautiful because they are not fond of this particular gem.

4c3, patterns of organization, is divided into two parts. First there are the functional relations between sentences that are subsumed under the heading "transition" and "transitional devices" in composition handbooks. Between two sentences in a paragraph, or at the beginning of the first sentence of a new paragraph and the last sentence of a preceding paragraph, connecting expressions like "in addition," "for example," or "however" are used by an author or could be used in the passage. Typically, the question asks for a choice among these transitional words and phrases to insert at the beginning of a specific sentence in the paragraph: "The word or phrase that best could be inserted at the beginning of the underlined sentence '________' is (a) in contrast, (b) on the other hand, (c) furthermore, (d) in other words,". First the relationship between the sentences, plus (+) or (-) must be understood. That is, does sentence 2 basically continue the idea or thought of the preceding one (+), or change direction (or even reverse direction) (-)? Transition words like "moreover" and "thus" indicate a plus relationship; "nevertheless" and "otherwise" indicate a minus relationship. But even within the plus group and the minus group there are differences. "Furthermore" is not the same as "for example"; the first indicates a general continuation of the idea or thought, but the second specifically indicates that a supporting example is going to be given. One needs to be alert, then, to (a) plus or minus, and (b) differences within the plus or minus categories. (Questions in The World of Work, usually in the Organization and Form section, that ask about "transition" are dealing with this subject or area.)

The second part of 4c3 includes the methods (or modes) of organizing or developing paragraphs, passages, and essays. Terms to describe these methods include the following: narration (tell a story), description (describe), exposition (explain), argumentation - persuasion--these are the four general modes of essay writing; time (chronological), space (spatial), (sensory) details, (specific) examples or illustrations, statistics, personal experience, analogy, induction (specific to general), deduction - deductive logic, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, analysis, classification, definition, lesser to greater (climactic order).

For the second part of 4c3, see the two tables of contents at the back of The World of Work and sections 2h, 3e, and 5e of LC. The following are examples of various modes and methods, from The World of Work: narration - Buchwald's "Confessions" and Fenton; description - Selzer, Fenton; exposition - Boroson; argument or persuasion - Hoffer; chronological - Baker (P11), Fenton (P6); spatial - Selzer (P4), Fenton (P6); (sensory) details - Selzer; analogy - Selzer (P1, P8); cause and effect - Boroson (P9), Smith's "Of the Origin and History of Money" (P4); comparison and contrast - Hesiod; analysis or classification - McCaffrey (PP 14-15, 21-25); definition - Fuller; climax, climactic, or lesser to greater order - Galbraith (P16); personal experience - Hoffer (P5), statistics - Carter (P4); inductive order or induction - Hoffer (P2); deductive order or deduction - Calvin.

4d, the author's overall purpose of the passage or paragraph, overlaps with 4c3; it includes the four general modes of essay writing (narration, description, exposition, argumentation or persuasion), which are purposes or aims of writing, as well as methods of organizing and developing paragraphs, passages, or essays. A question on area 4d might look something like the following: "The author's main purpose in this passage is to (a) tell the story of [such-and-such] (b) describe [such-and-such] (c) explain how/why [such-and-such] (d) argue or persuade the reader that [such-and-such]." Notice how answer a = narration; answer b = description; answer c = exposition; and answer d = persuasion or argumentation.

Concluding Test-Taking Tips

a. Be concerned less about speed than about accuracy in your answers. Reading too fast is just as bad as reading too slowly; either way, you affect not only the time expended on the test but also your comprehension of the material and your accuracy. Anxiety or concern about speed creates a mental distraction that may further impair your accuracy. Just try to relax and to pay attention.

b. Avoid the "us versus them" mentality. If you succumb to the idea that every question has some "trick" in it, you may avoid the obvious and best and correct answer. The test is written by reading teachers in the University System of Georgia, who are sympathetic to students and not trying to trick them, only to test basic competency. The large majority of students pass the reading portion of the RTP because it is not set up for some kind of quota. And you can be part of that majority if you will work and not be distracted by anxiety.

c. You need to know whether you answer questions best when you (1) read the selections or passages first, or (2) read over the questions first. Repeatedly try both these techniques on appropriate multiple-choice exercises from sample RTP-type tests on The World of Work. One technique works better for some students; the other technique, for other students. Only you can determine which of the two methods works best for you.

d. You might deal with indecision on specific questions in one of two ways. (1) First, especially on questions where none of the answers seems any good, there is the elimination technique. Work backwards, finding the weakest answer and eliminating it, the next weakest answer and eliminating it, and so on, until you are left with one answer or at most two answers. If you are left with two, at least your guess will have been narrowed down to a more reasonable chance of correctness. (2) Second, on some questions there will be more than one good answer; on these, you must choose the better, or the best, answer among good ones.

e. Don't leave any answers blank. At the end of the test, fill in an answer for every question.

f. Be sure that you have marked the answer that you intended to mark. I have frequently heard from students about something that could be called "the mismarking phenomenon." That is, students tell me that they knew what the correct answer was and intended to mark that response (say, letter c), but then in fact mistakenly marked another one (say, letter a). Be attentive and on your guard against making this kind of mistake, which throws away a correct answer.

g. Determine whether you generally do better on your first answer to a question about which you are uncertain, or whether you do better when you change your mind (and your answer). From the exercises in The World of Work, determine whether your first or second answer is more usually correct, and then stay with that choice.

h. Remember to read each question, and the answer responses, as carefully as the passage. Mistaken answers can occur here just as much as they can in the reading of the passage.