IBPS Clerk Prelims- Reading Comprehension Tips

Reading comprehension is an indispensable part of any banking exam and IBPS Clerk is no exception. Aspirants are generally scared of Reading Comprehension questions and why not? They need to read & understand an unseen passage on any given topic in the world and then have to answer a variety of questions based on that passage. Questions can be simple, direct in nature or they can be inference-based. All in all, when compared with other questions like error detection, parajumbles etc. reading comprehension seems to be the lengthiest set of questions. In this article, we have come up with tips that will help you with answering reading comprehension questions.

Reading comprehension sets are perceived to be time-consuming, have lots of information and required a concentrated mind. Because of these factors, aspirants find it quite a task to read the passage with complete concentration and answer RC questions. But on the other hand, if you are able to understand the content, tone etc. of the RC passage, you can answer most of the questions in one go. So it’s prudent that you prepare well for the reading comprehension questions and score as many marks as possible in the English language section.

But it is easier said than done. However, to help you with answering RC questions quickly and with accuracy, we have come up with the important tips you should keep in mind while answering reading comprehension questions. But remember: merely reading these tips will not help; you need to understand these tips properly and while practising answering reading comprehension questions, you need to implement these tips. Reading comprehension is boring to many aspirants but if you really want those precious marks in the English language section you need to concentrate while reading even a boring passage.

Tips & Tricks for Reading Comprehension

Emphasize the main points, not the examples

When going through a reading comprehension passage, ensure that your complete focus & attention is on the main point the author is trying to draw attention to. There will be examples, fact & figures etc. but you don’t need to get lost in them. Try to understand the author’s tone and how the examples are getting connected to it. This will help you to finish reading the passage fast after which you can quickly answer the questions.

Don’t try to memorize the passage

You can always refer back to the passage if you want extra information. So, you don’t need to memorize the complete passage. But yes, while reading the passage, you need to make note of the main point the author is trying to put across. This will definitely help you with answering the questions quickly and will save you the time to go back and forth to the passage.

Read the passage first vs Read the questions first

Should you read the passage first or the questions? Well! It really depends on your particular skillsets and the way you are comfortable with. Our suggestion is while solving mock tests, sometimes you should try the former approach and sometimes you should try the latter approach. Check which approach suits you best and follow that approach in the actual exam. Both approaches have their own pros and cons. When you read the passage first, you get its overall idea and when reading the questions you get an idea of where the answer of the question might lie in the passage.

On the other hand, if you read the questions first and then read the passage, you can stop for a while to look for the answer when you reach that specific part of the passage. So it’s all up to you which approach to follow.

Vocabulary is important as well

Consider this: You are reading a sentence and you come across 2-3 difficult words in that sentence the meaning of which you are not sure about. Obviously, you will not be able to make much sense of that sentence which could also affect in understanding the tone of that passage. Having a good vocabulary is important to answer RC questions.

Keep going ahead

While having a good vocabulary will make answering reading comprehension questions easier, it’s not a foolproof way. What we’re trying to say here is that even if you come across a difficult word and couldn’t understand the meaning of the sentence, keep going ahead. Take hints of the preceding and succeeding sentences to understand what this sentence is trying to say. The more you practice RC questions, the better.

Look out for easy sets of Reading Comprehension first

You must be aware that any banking exam contains more than 1 set of reading comprehension. Very often is the case that not all sets are difficult. The prudent step here would be to pick and answer the easy questions first. Easy questions can be direct questions (not inference-based or tone-based) or questions related to synonym/antonym etc.

Be within the passage

While answering reading comprehension questions, don’t assume any information on your own. Use only that piece of information that is given in the passage. Discard any other information which you already know.

Stay alert on trigger words

Trigger words like but, although, unless, rather, yet, previously, while, however, unfortunately, in contrast, despite, thus, and, therefore etc. generally change the focus of the main idea put forward by the author. You need to be wary of trigger words especially if you are reading the passage quickly.

Note the transition from one idea to another

Trigger words generally initiate a contrasting view of the ideas made previously. Note these transitions as these can be really helpful in answering the questions.

Make notes

This is a demanding step. A number of aspirants might not think that this idea would be useful but this skill can be leveraged through practice. While reading the passage, keep noting the keywords so that you get a brief of the steps of what the passage is trying to convey. This will be helpful when answering the questions as you would be knowing which part of the passage you need to refer to, to answer a particular question.

Note: You need to practice this skill on a lot of RCs so that you get an idea of how to use it in the actual exam.

Stay attentive & keep questioning yourself

It’s normal to get bored while reading a passage that is not of your interest. What you can do is while reading, try to be as attentive as possible. To stay attentive, keep questioning yourself on what is happening in the passage. This will most likely keep you occupied in the passage.

Use your pencil or pointer to read

While reading, use a pencil or a mouse’s pointer and follow it as you read the passage. Increase the speed of the pencil/pointer gradually as you read the passage. But increase the speed to only that extent until which you can comprehend the passage. Try doing this while solving mock tests. This will definitely improve your reading speed.

Always read all the options

While answering a reading comprehension question, don’t just mark an option which is true. You need to ensure that the correct answer answers the question. So, before marking an option, be very particular on whether it answers the question or not. Also, read all the options before marking the answer.

So use the above tips and see if your score in the English section (particularly the reading comprehension question) improves. And don’t forget to take a free mock test of IBPS Clerk 2021 Prelims.