How to Conquer English Comprehension Passage: 5 Tips and Techniques

How to Conquer English Comprehension Paragraphs: 5 Tips and Techniques

by Deepa Singh



Let's crack it now.

During school days, I often struggled with English comprehension passage due to several challenges.

The most daunting challenge was that English was a second language. On top of that, there were the lengthy passages, the unfamiliar and complex vocabulary, and the complex underlying ideas of the paragraphs.

It felt like an undefeatable mountain!

Even now, I still feel a sense of unease when tackling comprehension passage, largely due to a lack of proper orientation in English comprehension.

It’s crucial for teachers and parents to guide students with effective strategies for mastering paragraph comprehension.

From my teaching experience, I can confidently say that 95% of students encounter similar challenges and generally dislike attempting English comprehension passages.

Frequent Obstacles in Understanding English Comprehension Passage

·       Poor Reading Habit

·       Unfamiliar Vocabulary

·       Difference Between Spoken and Written English

·       Complexity of Word Knowledge

·       Limited Exposure to Literate English

·       Complex Sentence Structures

·       Understanding Figurative Language

·       Lack of Attention and Focus disrupt the flow of reading & understanding

However, it becomes significantly easy with one-month consistent regular practice.

Though, the habit of reading short stories and comprehension passage must be developed at an early age.

But, If you have missed out on this wonderful experience during childhood, don't worry!

Believe me, you can still enjoy it now, especially since you've come to appreciate the value of English reading comprehension at this stage in your life.



5 Tips to Navigating Comprehension Paragraphs with Confidence

1.       Practice regularly for 30 days

·       Meeting a comprehension passage every day for 30 days makes you friend.

·       It is easy to identify the type of writing, factual or literature.

2.       Skim and scan the content

·       Skimming Gives an overall idea & establish connection with previous knowledge.

·       Highlight Title, headings, subheadings, Strong words, Graphs, Illustrations.

·       Scan the text to spot specific information.

Click to Know skimming & scanning

3.       Loud Reading 30 min./day

·        It defeats your laziness.

·      Build confidence, fluency, pronunciation, and intonation

·       Try to Spot the group of words

4.       Organize the content

·       Use mind maps to organize information visually.

·       Create tables, charts, or diagrams to break down complex information.

5.       SQ3R

·       Use SQ3R technique while attempting the paragraph.

·       In the beginning, it may take more time, with practice, the time required decreases.

o   S= Survey (To get an overview: type, style, idea of the text)

o   Q= Ask Questions by turning important text into who, what, where, when, why.

o   3R = Read, Recite, Review

§  Read: Actively to answer the questions you formulated.

§  Recite: Summarize the main points and answers

§  Review: Go over the material again to reinforce your understanding.

Here, I've listed activities that you can do on your own to enhance comprehension. Role play and discussion are also excellent for understanding an English paragraph or chapter, but they require group participation.

Which strategy and practice do you use to make it an easy nut to crack?

Share your views in comment section.


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