Levels of Comprehension PDF

# Module 1: Gathering and Processing Information ## Levels of Comprehension When we read a text, we understand things at different levels. These levels of comprehension consist of a hierarchy of reading skills which include literal knowledge, interpretation, application, analysis, evaluation and s...

# Module 1: Gathering and Processing Information ## Levels of Comprehension When we read a text, we understand things at different levels. These levels of comprehension consist of a hierarchy of reading skills which include literal knowledge, interpretation, application, analysis, evaluation and synthesis. The sense that we make of any text material when we read will depend on our ability to apply these levels of comprehension. Knowing and understanding these levels will help you to effectively comprehend and respond to material for which questions have been given such as in homework assignments, tests and examinations. It will be equally helpful in responding to material for which there are no "set questions" such as your textbook reading and note making. That you are not given a set of questions to answer every time you take up your textbook to study does not mean there are no questions guiding your reading. Every time you set yourself the task of reading you should have a purpose, and the best way to set yourself a purpose is to set questions for which your reading will provide answers. So, to ensure that you respond to reading material at the appropriate comprehension level, it is recommended that you read the comprehension questions before reading the passage on which the questions are based. Part of the critical reading process is to ask critical and analytical questions of the material you have just read. This type of questioning helps to move your thinking beyond simply regurgitating what a writer has said. You would have noticed that in lower school you were able to cope well enough by simply remembering and summarizing the author's main points that you have read. Then you mainly read narrative and expository material for factual answers. Reading at this literal level of comprehension might have been adequate but limiting. By now it should have dawned on you that at the post-secondary level you are expected to do more than just summarize what you have read. You are expected to offer your thoughts and judgment on what you have read. In short, you are using reading as a tool to make connections within what you read and to gain understanding. If you have not actively read and comprehended the material at different levels, you won't be able to engage the material at a level above a summary of the main ideas. Comprehension is the skill of giving meaning to information - meaning as close as possible to what the author intended. It is an active process. Memorizing and recalling information is not the same thing as comprehending or understanding it. Comprehension is influenced by a number of factors including the readability of the text, and the previous knowledge and experience which the reader takes to the task of reading. The higher the level of comprehension, the higher the level of knowledge the reader gains from the act of reading. Being aware of the different levels of comprehension and being able to engage your reading material at these levels will develop your critical thinking skills which are vital for academic success at the post-secondary level. Another clear benefit of questioning text material is that in doing so you begin to think about the material in the way your examiners do when they compose your examinations. In this case, you are not likely to be surprised by examination questions if you adopt the attitude that all content represent a question waiting to be asked. Let us now consider how the different levels of comprehension can be applied to a simple story by Aesop that you should be familiar with - "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". Long ago in Greece, a boy was given the job of tending the sheep that belonged to his village. "If you should see a wolf coming to harm the sheep, raise an alarm and we will come to help you," the villagers told him before he set to his task. After many hours away from the village with nothing to do but watching sheep, the boy got an idea to get all the villagers to come out to the hillside where he was. "Wolf! Wolf!" he cried. In no time came the noise of the entire village rushing out to his assistance, some with pitch forks and spears. But there was no wolf in sight, only the boy laughing at the perplexed villagers. "Don't do this again," they told him. "Raise the alarm only if you see the wolf." The next day the boy could not resist playing the same trick on the villagers. "Wolf! Wolf!" he cried and the villagers came running to help him. Again there was no wolf, only the laughing boy. "Don't do this again," they told him. "Raise the alarm only if you see the wolf". The next day the boy tried all day to resist the urge to play another trick on the village. At evening he could not help himself. "Wolf! Wolf!" he cried. Again, the villagers rushed out to help him. To their annoyance there was only the smirking boy but no wolf. "If you run this silly joke again we will not waste our time to come out here. No more jokes!" they told him. They went back to the village angry. Not long after, a hungry wolf appeared on the hillside. Without warning, he attacked the sheep. The boy cried, "Wolf!""Wolf!" but no one came. "Please come and help me. The wolf is killing the sheep." The villagers heard but did not bother to go, thinking it was another trick. Late that evening the village noticed that the boy did not return with the sheep. When they went to look, all the sheep had been killed by the wolf. "Why didn't you come to help me when I raised the alarm?" the weeping boy asked. "No one believes liars even when they are telling the truth" an old man consoled him. ## Levels of Comprehension - **Literal Knowledge Level:** This is the lowest level in the hierarchy of comprehension skills. It requires the reader to recall or bring to mind the facts, main ideas and details of what is explicitly stated. Some educators call this level "reading the lines" because only a surface understanding of what the lines actually say is required. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be objective, factual, multiple choice, and fill in the blanks type. Common questions associated with this level are: - Who was given the job to take care of the sheep? - What did the villagers tell the boy to do if he saw a wolf? - When did the boy cry wolf on the third occasion? - Where did the boy look after the sheep? - **Other task words** which you can expect to find in questions at this literal knowledge level include: tell, point out, name, pick, recall, recite, say, label, find, identify, state, tick, circle, and underline. - **Interpretive or Referential Level:** This level has been called "reading between the lines" because it requires the reader to determine what is meant by considering what is stated. Its focus is on what is implied rather than on what is actually stated. It requires readers to draw conclusions, make inferences, logical leaps, educated guesses and predictions, discern relationships among ideas, and use prior knowledge/experience to arrive at conclusions. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be subjective and open-ended. Common types of questions associated with this level include: - Why did the boy cry "wolf"? - How did the boy feel after the wolf killed all the sheep? - What do you think would have been the result when the wolf came if the boy had not cried wolf three times before? - What is the point/theme/moral of the story? - What does it mean to "cry wolf"? - It is useful here to emphasize that although the words 'what, where, when, and who' are normally associated with the literal level, not all questions that start with these words are literal level questions even as the question "How many times did the boy cry wolf?" is not an inferential level question but a literal level one. To distinguish between a literal and inferential level question, consider whether the required information is explicitly stated or whether it has to be inferred. - **Other task words** which you can expect to find in questions at this interpretive knowledge level include: compare, contrast, explain, exemplify, illustrate, predict, project, relate, reword, and show. - **Application Level** - Some educators refer to this level of comprehension as reading "beyond the lines". This is because the reader is required to take ideas and concepts from what is said (the literal) and what is meant (the inferential) and relate them to other situations outside of the material. It involves applying rules, laws, concepts, principles and theories learnt in one situation to completely new ones. Like the inferential level, it requires the reader to draw conclusions, make logical leaps and use prior knowledge and experience to make problem-solving decisions. This skill is closely linked to other higher level comprehension skills like analysis and synthesis. In order to apply ideas and concepts to a situation, you will first have to analyze that situation to determine what in your knowledge or experience is relevant to the issue at hand. Next, you will need to synthesize all knowledge and experience that are relevant to the solution that you will apply. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be subjective and open-ended. Common types of questions associated with this level include: - Why did the boy dislike tending the sheep? - Based on your own experience, how do you think the villagers felt the third time the boy cried wolf? - Dramatize how you believe the boy must have cried wolf the first time. - Tell how the boy's experience is similar to any you have had. - **Other task words** which you can expect to find in questions at this application level include: apply, adopt, collect, use, demonstrate, illustrate, give examples, solve, make, construct, replicate, create, and operate. - **Analysis Level:** This concerns the ability to break down complex information into simpler parts and understanding the relationship among the respective parts. This is in effect what a commentator does at a cricket or football match when he or she explains the different features of the game and how they contribute to the team's performance on the field of play. Such a commentator is called a sports analyst. Analysis involves identifying distinguishing factors and special characteristics in the information and telling the significance of these parts to the entire material. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be subjective and open-ended. Common types of questions associated with this level include: - What does the old man's statement to the boy at the end of the story contribute to your understanding of the story? - How does the writer manage to make us feel sympathy for the boy in the end? - Which word in paragraph 3 best describes the villagers' incredulity at what the boy had done? - **Other task words** which you can expect to find in questions at this analytical level include: break down, clarify, categorize, deduce, sort, inspect, outline, and distinguish. - **Evaluation or Criticism Level:** This concerns the ability to judge ideas, procedures and methods by comparing them to a known, appropriate and designated standard. In judging the value or worth of the idea, procedure or method, you may find strengths as well as weaknesses. Evaluation involves arriving at a conclusion as to the merit or lack of merit based on personal reflection and understanding. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be subjective and open-ended but based on reference to a designated standard. Common types of questions associated with this level include: - What is the value of this story to all who tell lies? - Is the story an effective way to warn against lying? - Explain the extent to which this story by Aesop demonstrates the characteristic features of a fable. - What section is the climax of the story? Explain the impact that it has on the readers. - **Other task words** which you can expect to find in questions at this evaluation level include: appraise, select, rank, defend, rate, award, justify, critique, decide, assess, grade, and prioritize. - **Synthesis Level:** This level of comprehension is demonstrated in the act of creating something new but similar by integrating disparate elements of information learnt at lower levels of comprehension. To achieve synthesis, the skills of analysis and evaluation have to be involved. - **Implications for Testing:** Questions at this level tend to be subjective and open-ended. Common types of questions associated with this level include: ## Exercise A. Read the following questions below and identify the different levels of comprehension implied in each. Pay close attention to the task words. 1. Describe the process of copying text from one computer program to another. 2. Identify the rhetorical strategies employed in this poem and comment on their effectiveness. 3. Critique the speech on page 114 of your text using the criteria discussed in the previous chapter. 4. How did Mark Barrenger escape the advancing soldiers? 5. Produce a spreadsheet document that meets the specification of the one on page 17. 6. Write a letter to the editor protesting a social issue of your choice. 7. Explain the causes of the Boxer Rebellion in China? 8. Read the following advertisement and comment on its intended appeal to an audience. 9. Read the problem below then determine and justify the best strategy you would use to solve it. 10. Paraphrase each of the following formulas in your own words. 11. Account for the popularity of action movies. 12. Discuss the theme of loyalty in Shakespeare's Hamlet. 13. How far would you agree with the statement that marriage is outdated? B. Identify the different levels of comprehension in the following statements based on the fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf": 1. The boy got bored and lonely tending the sheep all by himself. 2. The village selected the boy to tend the sheep. 3. Like the boy, all of us are capable of making mistakes. 4. The writer uses pathos to enhance the moral of the story. 5. The story would have had a greater impact on the audience if the boy had suffered in some physical way. 6. The story demonstrates that adults should be more sympathetic with the foibles of youth. 7. The boy did not particularly like his job of tending the sheep. 8. The village was prepared to support the boy so he could succeed at his task. 9. The story uses dialogue to convey the village's patience with the boy's behaviour. 10. The passage is ideal for teaching many lessons since it covers a wide range of attitudes and dispositions of both adults and children.