Comprehension Open-ended is the last section of Paper Two in the English Language examination, and carries 20 marks. In the PSLE English exams, this section works out to be about 10%. In this article, we share a former PSLE marker’s perspective on how to answer reference questions accurately.

What goes through our minds when we read a comprehension passage? Apart from answering comprehension questions, we also form opinions about characters and incidents that take place. As we do that, we start making connections between different parts of the text. Our prior knowledge and experiences help us relate to the text at a deeper level.

So, how do we know what the writer is referring to when pronouns or ambiguous terms, like ‘something’ and ‘the situation’ is used? As mentioned earlier, it is our ability to make connections that assists us in understanding what is being referred to. The following are some simple tips to help you answer reference questions better.

1)    Be clear

·         Avoid using pronouns that make your answers vague or ambiguous.

·         Determiners like ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘those’ and ‘these’ may also make your answers confusing.

Let us look at the following excerpt from a comprehension passage.

2)    Be specific

·         Pronouns may make it difficult for the marker to know who or what is being referred to if the person or object in the story is not mentioned earlier.

·         The use of articles ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ is important to ensure that the answers are specific.

o   ‘a’ and ‘an’ – they are used refer to an object or person for the first time, thus lacking specificity

o   ‘the’ – it is used to refer to a particular object or person that has already been mentioned

Let us look at the following excerpt from a comprehension passage.

Specific Answer	Vague Answer
It refers to the woman’s husband explaining to the woman about the mirror and telling her to take great care of it.   ·         This answer is specific because the use of ‘the’ makes it clear which persons and item are being referred to.	It refers to a husband explaining to a woman about a mirror and telling her to take great care of it.   ·         The sentence is not specific because the phrase ‘a husband’ can refer to any husband. By using ‘a woman’, it can refer to any woman. By using ‘a mirror’, it can refer to any mirror.

 

3)    Avoid changing the original meaning of the text when rewriting in your own words

·         It is a good habit to write your answers in your own words.

·         However, when choosing synonyms to do so, ensure that the meaning of the original text does not change.

Let us look at the following excerpt from a comprehension passage.

Same Meaning as the Text	Change in Meaning
It refers to the woman’s husband explaining to the woman about the mirror and telling her to take great care of it.   ·         The answer is clear and specific, and does not change the meaning of the original text.	It refers to the woman’s husband telling the woman about the mirror and telling her to take great care of it.   ·         The sentence is clear and specific. However, the word ‘telling’ has a different meaning from the word ‘explaining’. Thus, the meaning of the sentence has changed from the original text.