During our elementary and high school days, some of us may have stumbled into the challenging trials of reading comprehension exams. We thought that they won’t ever undergo these trials again in college. However, to our surprise, college exams, no matter the subject, still manage to test our understanding of what we read.

If you are still stumbling over these tests, here are some tips from GradeUp and WikiHow that might help you get through.

Studying for the exam

• Read, read, and read

The only way to improve your fluency, which is essential in reading comprehension exams, is by reading. To prepare for your exams, try looking for short essays with guide questions and read them. Then, answer those guide questions and compare your answers to the answer booklet. It is recommended to do this kind of study approach for at least 45 minutes a day.

If you still find this approach a bit challenging, try reading short pieces that are below your reading level. You can also try reading these pieces out loud. Reading out loud may slow your pace, but it will mean more time to process your reading. It will allow you to learn visually (recognizing how the words appear) and aurally (hearing the words out loud).

• Learning the definitions of unknown words 

When we see a word we don’t know, the usual approach is to ignore it completely and move on to the next. This is a bad habit that prevents us from developing our fluency further. The next time you spot a foreign word on your page, look for its meaning in a dictionary and list its definition beside it.  Not only will it improve your vocabulary, but help you graduate with a new and higher reading level.

Taking the exam

• Adopt the PQ or QP approach 

Your fluency and mastery over words is not the only factor to consider in performing well on reading comprehension exams. Your approach to the exam can also determine how you fare against it.  You can employ at least two test-taking approaches in these exams: the PQ (passage first, question later) approach and the QP (the question first, passage latter) approach.

 In the PQ approach, you read the given passage first before answering the questions. The advantage of this approach is that you allow yourself time to recognize the reading material. If you need to get back to your passage to answer the question, you know where to find it.

In the QP approach, you read the given questions first before reading the passage. What is good about this approach is that you already know what to look for in the passage. So, when you get to read the passage, you can already answer the questions even before you finish reading it.

• Read critically 

 It is important to read the first and last sentence of the passage. These are the locations where the thesis statement and the conclusion can commonly be found. Once you read the thesis statement and conclusion, it is easy to know what the reading is all about.

 After this step, identify the transition words in the passage. Usually, the sub-topics of the passage can be found near these words.

Contributed by: Allison Julianne Macasaet
She is a freelance writer on the side, a student of international relations on the other. Interests include fantasy books, international relations, and lifestyle.