Comprehension is a game you can practise, just like free throws. Learn these plays, run them every time, and the points come.
Every answer needs proof. Put your finger on the sentence that proves it. If you can't find the line, it's not the answer.
Watch out: an option that just repeats a word from the passage is not proof. Check it means the same thing.
A great player doesn't stop after one pass. Keep reading to the end of that bit of the story.
Watch out: characters' feelings change. Someone who's happy in line 3 might be scared by line 6.
Read the whole passage first, in about 3 to 4 minutes. You're not memorising. You just want the big picture: who is in it, where they are, what happens, and how it feels.
Why? If you jump straight to the questions you end up reading the passage again and again, which wastes time.
As you read, lightly underline a few things:
Only a few words per paragraph. It's a map to find answers fast, not colouring in.
Spot the type, then you know what to look for. The four main ones are below.
Go back to the passage and find the sentence that proves your answer. Write the line number next to the question if you can.
Answer from the passage, not from what you already know or what "sounds right".
Cross out the ones that are clearly wrong first. Usually you'll be left with two. Go back to the line to decide between them. Learn the traps below so you can block them.
You have about a minute per question after reading. Stuck for longer than that? Take your best shot, mark the question, and move on. Come back at the end if there's time.
Never leave a blank. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Uses a word straight from the passage, but means something different. It looks familiar, so it feels right. Check the meaning, not just the word.
Sounds true in real life, but the passage never says it. If you can't show the line, block it.
Goes too far. Words like always, never, everyone or completely often miss the target.
Right for the start of the story, but things changed later. Read on before you shoot.
Read the passage, then answer the questions. Tap an answer and check the replay to see the line that proves it.
Pros watch the replay after every game. After practice, look at each answer you got wrong and ask which of these it was:
Tick these off in your head before every comprehension.