Reading comprehension
Texts of every kind, from adverts to blogs to literary extracts: the gist, the details and what is implied, answered in English.
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Reading comprehension, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the reading paper works
Both boards set reading as Paper 3, in the same shape: 45 minutes at Foundation and an hour at Higher, for 50 marks. Section A (40 marks) is comprehension: texts of every kind, from notices and adverts to emails, websites and articles, with questions in English answered in English or by ticking, choosing or matching, and Edexcel includes questions worth more than a mark each. Section B (10 marks) is the translation into English. No dictionary is allowed.
Read the question first, then hunt in the text
The questions tell you what to look for, so read them before the text. Pick out the key word in each (when, why, which two) and scan the text for it. The answers usually come in the same order as the text.
Use cognates, but watch for false friends
Many words look like their English meaning: el hospital, la música, interesante. Some only look alike: largo means long, not large, la ropa is clothes and actual means current. When a lookalike does not fit the sense of the sentence, think again.
Work out an unfamiliar word from its context
The paper may include single words from outside the vocabulary list, and you are expected to infer what they mean from the sentence around them. Use the words either side, the kind of word it is, and any part of it you know: zapatería contains zapato, so a shop that sells shoes is a good guess. Keep reading, because the rest of the sentence often explains it.
Read every word that can change the meaning
Negatives (no, nunca, nadie), time words (antes, ahora, el año que viene) and verb endings all decide what a sentence says. Antes jugaba al fútbol, pero ahora prefiero nadar means they used to play football but now prefer swimming. Skimming past one of these words gives the opposite answer.
Weigh positive, negative and mixed opinions
Some questions ask whether a view is positive, negative or both. Weigh the whole sentence: El hotel era bonito, pero la comida era horrible is a mixed view. Pero, sin embargo, aunque and lo malo es que often mark the turn.
Spot what is implied as well as what is stated
Some questions ask what a writer means without saying it outright. Siempre llego tarde porque mi hermana pasa una hora en el baño never says the sister is annoying, but it suggests it. Find the words that support your answer, and add nothing the text does not give.
Answer in English, precisely and in full
Write enough to show you have understood, with every detail the question asks for. If a question has two parts, such as what and why, answer both. A phrase copied in Spanish does not show understanding, so put the detail into clear English.
Reading comprehension key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gist
- The general idea of a text. Skim the whole text first to get it before you look for details.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly for the gist, without stopping on every word.
- Scanning
- Running your eye over a text to find one particular detail, such as a time, a price or a name.
- Cognate
- A word that looks like its English meaning and means the same, such as la familia or importante.
- False friend
- A word that looks like an English word but means something else: largo means long and actual means current.
- Inference
- Working out something a text suggests but does not say, or the meaning of an unknown word from the words around it.
- Context
- The words and sentences around a word, which are your best clue to its meaning when you do not know it.
- Mixed opinion
- A view that is partly positive and partly negative, often joined by pero, aunque or sin embargo.
- Ya noHigher only
- No longer, not any more: ya no juego al baloncesto means I do not play basketball any more, so a habit has stopped.
Common mistakes in Reading comprehension
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering in Spanish, or copying a phrase from the text, where English is asked.
Questions in English need answers in English, and a copied Spanish phrase does not show you have understood it. Put the detail you found into clear English.
Trusting a word that looks like English, such as reading largo as large.
Check that a lookalike word fits the sense of the sentence. If it does not, it may be a false friend: largo means long, and actual means current.
Missing a negative or a time word and giving the opposite answer.
Underline no, nunca, ya no and time words such as antes and ahora as you read. They decide whether something happens, happened or has stopped.
Choosing the first option that shares a word with the text.
Distractors often reuse a word from the text in another sense. Read the whole sentence around the match and choose the option that fits its full meaning.
Leaving a question blank because one word in the text is unfamiliar.
Read around the word, look for a part you know, and make a sensible guess. The rest of the sentence often gives the answer without it.