Reading Comprehension: Organization, Tone and Figurative Language
How a text is put together and how it sounds: sequence, structure, genre, tone as a dial, and figurative language as two images laid over each other.
13 topics · 44 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
Sequence and Chronology
- How it worksHow do you rebuild a timeline from a text that jumps backwards and forwards?
- Worked exampleWalk me through ordering: She won the prize. Years earlier she had failed the same exam twice.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the first event mentioned always the first event that occurred?
Your turneasy1 of 3
She won the prize in 2006. Years earlier she had failed the same examination twice. In what order did the events happen?Structure and Pattern of a Whole Text
- How it worksHow do you name a shape as problem-solution, cause-effect, compare-contrast or claim-evidence?
- Worked exampleFind the shape of a text that opens with a puzzle, lists two failed explanations, then offers a third.
- Going furtherWhat changes when a writer uses one shape inside a paragraph and a different one across the whole?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the number of paragraphs a reliable guide to how a text is organized?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A text opens with a puzzle about why one lake warms early, dismisses 3 explanations, and then offers one more. What shape is that?How Two Paragraphs Relate
- How it worksHow do you label the link between two paragraphs with a single word like example or objection?
- Worked exampleWalk me through the link when a paragraph of praise is followed by one listing three failures.
- Going furtherWhat happens when a paragraph answers the one three positions back rather than the one before?
Your turneasy1 of 3
One paragraph praises a new school timetable. The next lists 5 ways it failed in its first term. What is the link between them?Summarising a Text
- How it worksHow do you compress a text by keeping one sentence from each structural part and dropping the rest?
- Worked exampleFind the best summary of: Ice cores hold air bubbles. Bubbles hold old air. Old air dates the climate.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the longest choice the fullest summary?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Ice cores hold air bubbles. The bubbles hold old air. Old air dates the climate as far back as 587492 years. What is the best summary?Naming the Genre: Narrative, Informational, Instructional
- How it worksHow do verb forms, person and sentence length separate narrative, informational and instructional text?
- Worked exampleWalk me through naming the genre of: First warm the pan. Next add the butter. Do not let it brown.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a text informational just because it contains facts?
- Going furtherWhat changes when a writer delivers instructions inside a story?
Your turneasy1 of 3
First warm the pan. Next add the butter. Do not let it brown for more than 69 seconds. What genre is this?Tone and Mood
- How it worksHow does each loaded word rotate a tone dial a few degrees toward admiring or scornful?
- Worked exampleFind the tone of: The mayor's grand plan was unveiled, once more, to a room of six patient reporters.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a tone word like angry right just because the subject matter is upsetting?
- Going furtherWhat happens to tone when a writer states an opinion and then quietly undercuts it?
Your turneasy1 of 3
The mayor's grand plan was unveiled, once more, to a room of 7 patient reporters. What is the tone?Point of View
- How it worksHow do first person, limited third and omniscient third restrict what a reader gets to know?
- Worked exampleWalk me through what a narrator who says I never learned why she left cannot report to you.
- Going furtherWhat changes when a narrator turns out to be unreliable about their own story?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A narrator says: I never learned why she left, though I asked 8 people who knew her. What can this narrator not report?Style and Word Choice
- How it worksHow do sentence length, word length and concrete detail combine into what we call style?
- Worked exampleFind the style gap between The dog ran and The mongrel hurtled down the alley, ribs heaving.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't long and complicated writing automatically more skilful writing?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Compare: The dog ran. And: The mongrel hurtled down the alley, ribs heaving after 6 blocks. What is the style gap?Imagery
- How it worksHow does a writer build a picture by picking details for sight, sound, smell, taste and touch?
- Worked exampleWalk me through which senses are working in: Rain hissed on hot tin, sharp with rust and smoke.
- Going furtherWhat changes when a writer repeats one kind of image right through a whole text?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Rain hissed on hot tin for 22 minutes, sharp with rust and smoke. Which senses are working in that sentence?Simile and Metaphor
- How it worksHow do two images laid over each other reveal the shared shape a metaphor points at?
- Worked exampleFind what is being claimed in: Her argument was a locked door with the key thrown down a drain.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a simile just a metaphor with the word like stuck in front of it?
- Going furtherWhat happens when a writer keeps one metaphor running across several paragraphs?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Her argument was a locked door with the key thrown down a drain, and for 8 minutes nobody in the room spoke. What is being claimed?Personification
- How it worksHow does handing a human verb to a non-human thing smuggle a whole attitude into one word?
- Worked exampleFind the personification in: The old bridge shrugged off another winter and waited for the trucks.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't every vivid description of an object personification?
Your turneasy1 of 3
The old bridge shrugged off another winter and waited 7 months for the trucks to return. Where is the personification?Irony
- How it worksHow does irony open a gap between what is said and what is shown, drawn as two diverging tracks?
- Worked exampleWalk me through the irony in: The fire station burned down while its crew attended a safety lecture.
- Going furtherWhat changes when a reader knows something the character on the page does not?
Your turneasy1 of 3
The fire station burned down while its crew attended a safety lecture 22 miles away. Where is the irony?Hyperbole
- How it worksHow do you tell deliberate exaggeration from a claim a writer wants taken literally?
- Worked exampleFind the hyperbole in: I have read that page a million times and still cannot tell you what it says.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't hyperbole the same as lying or making a mistake about a fact?
- Ties togetherHow does spotting an exaggeration feed straight into judging a writer's tone?
Your turneasy1 of 3
I have read that page a million times in 7 weeks and still cannot tell you what it says. Where is the hyperbole?AP®, SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board (PSAT/NMSQT® jointly with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation). ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. GRE® is a registered trademark of ETS. LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council. MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. ISEE® and SSAT® are registered trademarks of their owners. None of these organizations is affiliated with, or endorses, Jentoo.