Reading Comprehension Strategies for the Civil Service Exam

Reading comprehension is the last item in the official Verbal Ability scope of the Civil Service Exam, and because Verbal Ability is given in English and Filipino, you may meet passages in either language. Reading questions take more time than most other items, so a good method saves both marks and minutes. This guide explains how to approach each type of reading question.

Step 1: Read the questions first

Before reading the passage, glance at the questions. This tells you what to look for, so your first reading has a purpose. If a question asks “Why did the programme succeed?”, you will notice the sentence that explains it as soon as you reach it.

Step 2: Read the passage once, actively

Read the whole passage at a steady pace. As you read, ask:

• What is this mainly about? (the main idea)
• What is the writer’s point or attitude?
• Where are the key facts? (names, numbers, causes and results)

Do not try to memorise details. You can always go back to find them.

Step 3: Identify the question type

Most reading questions belong to one of five types. Each has its own strategy.

Main idea questions

“What is the main idea of the passage?” or “Which title best fits the passage?”

The main idea covers the whole passage, not just one sentence. Wrong options are usually:

• too narrow: true, but about only one detail;
• too broad: about a much bigger topic than the passage;
• contradicting the passage.

A useful test: could this option be the title of the entire passage? If it describes only one sentence, it is too narrow.

Detail questions

“According to the passage, how do mangroves protect villages?”

The answer is stated in the passage. Go back and find the exact sentence. The correct option usually repeats it in slightly different words. Be careful with options that use words from the passage but change their meaning.

Vocabulary in context

“As used in the passage, the word ‘nurseries’ means…”

The phrase “as used in the passage” is a warning: the everyday meaning may not be the right one. Replace the word in the sentence with each option and choose the one that keeps the meaning. In a passage about mangroves being “nurseries for fish and crabs”, the right meaning is “places where young creatures grow”, not “schools for small children”.

Inference questions

“It can be inferred from the passage that…”

An inference is not stated directly but must be true based on what is stated. Choose the option that follows most closely from the passage. Reject options that:

• go far beyond the text;
• use extreme words such as always, never or all without support;
• rely on your own opinion rather than the passage.

Purpose and structure questions

“The word ‘therefore’ in the last sentence shows that the sentence is…”

Transition words reveal the structure: therefore and as a result introduce conclusions or effects; however and but signal contrast; for example introduces an illustration.

Step 4: Eliminate before you choose

Even when you are unsure, you can usually rule out two options quickly because they are clearly unsupported or contradict the passage. Choosing between the remaining two is much easier.

Filipino passages

The same method works for passages in Filipino. Pay special attention to:

• pangunahing ideya (main idea), often in the first or last sentence;
• kahulugan ng salita (word meaning), where figurative expressions such as makaahon sa kahirapan (to rise out of poverty) should not be read literally;
• hinuha (inference), which must still be supported by the text.

How to improve between now and the exam

1. Read a little every day, in both English and Filipino: news reports, government advisories and opinion articles are good practice because exam passages use similar language.
2. Summarise in one sentence. After reading an article, write its main idea in one sentence. This trains the most important skill.
3. Keep a word list. Note unfamiliar words, guess their meaning from context, then check a dictionary.
4. Practise with timed passages. Our reading comprehension set and Pag-unawa sa Binasa use original short passages similar in length to exam items, with explanations that show where each answer is found.

A final tip on time

Reading items take longer than other questions. If a passage is long and you are short of time, answer the detail questions first, since they can be found quickly, and leave main idea questions until you have read the whole passage once.