Reading Comprehension Flashcards

Topics and Main Ideas

• Topic: subject of the text

• Main idea: the point the author is trying to make (often a full sentence)

Theme

• Theme: an idea, issue, or question that is raised by a text.

Narrative

• A narrative passage is a story, fiction or nonfiction.

• Must have a plot, series of events, and characters.

Expository Passage

• Aims to inform and enlighten the reader, nonfiction and centered around an easily defined topic. Goal is to teach.

• Common to have words like first, next, for example, and therefore.

Technical Passage

• Written to describe a complex object or process.

• Logical order with clear headings and subheadings.

False Dichotomy

• Author creates an artificial sense that there are only two possible alternatives in a situation.