Diploma Exam Preparation-Reading Comprehension

Strategy 3:  Look for the pattern.

There is a pattern in the order questions are presented for each text on the exam:

• The first questions will give you an entry point into the text.
• Look for key quotations and ideas mentioned in these questions, as they will spotlight important ideas and moments in the text that could be helpful to you when answering later questions.
• For example, they may highlight the importance of the setting in establishing the stressful atmosphere of the text.
  
  
• The middle questions about a text will ask you to consider specific details and elements.    You can expect to see questions about
• vocabulary (the meaning of words, in the context of the text)
• tone of the text creator
• the effect of his or her stylistic choices (e.g. parallelism)
• figures of speech (e.g. irony)
  
  
• The last questions in a series ask you to step back and consider the text as a whole.
• These are “big picture” questions that may focus on the theme/main idea and the text creator’s purpose.