understanding comprehension texts

8/11/2019 Understanding Comprehension Texts

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The Hermeneutics of Comprehending texts

Hermeneutics? What a high-sounding wordto theunlearned!

In Greek mythology, there was a god by the name of

Hermes, whose key role was to carry messages to other gods.

Thanks to the richness of the Greek language, the English

language is able to evolve into a more expansive language.

The word hermeneutics is derived from Hermes. The Merriam-Websters Collegiate dictionary (11thedition) defines

hermeneuticsas the method or principle of interpretation.

Interpreting means explaining, or showing how you would

understand a text. To comprehendsimply means to

understand.

Information is communicated day-to-day, eitherverbally (using words) or non-verbally. The author in a

Comprehension exam communicates information via the

passage, and the student receiver tries his best to

comprehend. Now recall an instance when someone told you

something, but you were unable to comprehend him/her fully.

How did you feel? And what did you do as you attempted to

comprehend that persons verbalization better?

As we study further, we will realize that ones ability

to comprehend is influenced by a number of factors, as well

as how one could develop the skill of becoming a better

interpreter. Lastly, we will learn how to answer the questions.

Hermeneutics, like other skills, is both a science and an artseemingly commonsense, yet a laborious process to refine.

Joelson Tang


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The real-life scenario would serve as a good

illustration why answers given by candidates in this section

concur or differ. Only one conclusion can be drawn: Each

student employs a personalised brand of hermeneutics. And sodoes everyone else!

Lets now look at several factors that affect a students brand of

hermaneutics. (The reader is advised here to refer to the

Johari window model to better understand the phenomenon of

factors 2 and 3.)FACTORS AFFECTING ONES HERMENEUTICS

1. Prior Knowledge of the topic

One mans meat is another mans poison. We all have a

preference for particular subjects. No one passage is

comprehensive enough to provide a complete

comprehension about a topic, except a fragment of it.

However, a reader who encounters a familiar topic would

be able to better appreciate the content of the passage

especially the key terminology present.

2. Personal Experience

This refers to ones unique perception of the world.Perception leads to the development of ones self-concept,

along with the formation of ones value system and beliefs.

As humans, we are part of the ecology of the physical,

social, cultural, institutional, political and virtual milieu,

which constantly shape our inner being. Ones ability to

comprehend is definitely filtered in accordance to onespersonal bias.


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3. Attitude of the reader

Upon seeing who the author is, a reader might

unconsciously be stumbled by the self-fulfilling prophecy

syndrome, thus obscuring his ability to objectivelycomprehend. Thus, one who regards authors character as

controversial might chose to read the content of the

passage with a mind of skepticism.

4. Acquaintance with syntax

Syntax broadly refers to the rules of grammar. A studentnew to the English language needs to understand the use

of various punctuation, tenses, style employed by the

author, paragraphing etc. Knowing the syntactical aspects

of the English language would greatly help the reader in

identifying the structure of the authors thoughts.

5. Level of Vocabulary

This excludes the knowledge of any technical jargons used.

A reader who is unfamiliar with the meaning of just less

than 5% of the words in the passage would most likely find

himself/herself unable to comprehend the key emphases of

the authors piece of writing. Worst still, he/she might

misinterpret or misrepresent the authorsnarration/viewpoint.

6. Method of reading

People have different intrinsic cognitive and processing

abilitiessome are born with better neural circuitry! This

means that everyone is able to retrieve from memory adifferent quantity of information read. There are some

readers who chose a cursory glance of the key parts of the

passage, while others read the passage more than once.


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7. Method of Interpretation

The method(s) employed by a student are divided into

these broad categories: Rationalistic, Allegorical, Literal,

Egocentric, All-embracing or even a combination of anyhence different conclusions are conceived, and dissimilar

answers are given to the same questions. More is

discussed in the following section.

PRINCIPLES TO CORRECT HERMENEUTICS

1. Determine the nature of the textIs the text a discussion, an argument, a factual topic,

narration, a statute, a poetic work, or even an

advertisement. Put yourself in the shoes of the author -

what is his/hers motive? Who was the intended audience?

2. Assume perfect concord

The reader should not presume the authors thoughts

contradictory one with another. Rather, seek to harmonize

all parts of the text. Bear in mind that one does not have

perfect knowledge of the authors perspective. When in

doubt, give the author the benefit of the doubt!

P.S. Human authors however excellent, are still fallible!

3. Use ONLY the Rationalistic and Literal Method

The following methods SHOULD NOT be employed:

Allegoricalcharacters and events are represented

symbolically

Egocentricthe reader regards his/hers interpretation to bethe only correct interpretation

All-embracingevery persons interpretation is correct


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The following methods SHOULD be employed:

Rationalisticthis is also known as the Scientific method. In

the natural realm, logic will guide ones reasoning!

Literalthe readers understanding is in accordance to the

context and syntax of the text. Meanings are understood,

conclusions are derived, and explanations are based solely

from the text. The text SAYS WHAT IT MEANS, and MEANS

WHAT IT SAYS

Evaluation of the above methods:

The Allegorical method would allow the reader to symbolise

the aspects of the text as much as the limits of his imagination

allows.

The Egocentric method would obscure the reader from trying

to understand the differences from the authors unique

perspective expressed.The All-embracing method would allow the reader to accept

several seperate meanings thought of. In other words, such an

interpreter would create his/her own rule of hermeneutics!

The Allegorical, Egocentric and All-embracing methods result

in eisegesis (giving meaning to the text according to onesideas).

In contrast, the Rationalistic and Literal method results in

exegesis (obtaining the meaning of a text according to the

authors ideas). This method does not exclude the possibility of

metaphors (figures of speech) but as according to the context.

Any attempt to combine any other method with the Rationalistic

and Literal method would raise the question: Which parts

should be taken Literally, and which parts taken figuratively?


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4. Analyse the syntax and context

Note of the main theme of the text, as well as supporting

themes and details.

Pay attention to the grammatical aspects:Paragraphing

Each paragraph conveys only ONE idea. It consists of:

1) A topic sentence; 2) supporting sentences; 3) a

concluding sentence.

The topic sentence helps the reader to understand the key

idea of the paragraph. It is usually the first sentence,though not always.

Punctuation

Be familiarised with full stops, commas, semi-colons,

colons, exclamations, open-inverted commas, apostrophes,

parentheses (words in brackets) and dashes.

Linguistics

It would be helpful to appreciate the authors use of verbs,

adverbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, conjunctions,

prepositions, definite and indefinite articles and types of

sentences.

Style of writing

Note the style of the author: Showy, emotional, plain

statements or informal.

The style used would help the reader obtain some

understanding about the motive of the author.

Choice of Vocabulary

Try to link the general meaning(s) of words or phrase to the

context, which decides its intended meaning.


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5. The ONE meaning principle

Consistent with the Rationalistic and Literal method, the

author intended to communicate to the receiver ONE

meaning. For example, a subject (noun or pronoun) statedcannot refer to more than one thing.

6. Be Open-minded

Exclude, as much as possible, your preconceived notions

about the authors character and the topic expressed by the

author.

7. Greater clarity supercedes ambiguity

In comparison of 2 or more parts of the text describing the

same point, the portion which is described with greater

clarity should be used to understand that point.

For example, it would be impossible to understand the text

well by examining only the introduction.

In the situation of attempting a comprehension passage, it

would be foolish to begin answering the questions without

first reading the entire passage.

References and useful resources:Adler, M, J. & Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a Book: The

Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading.New York: Simon and

Schuster Inc.

Conner, K. & Malmin, K. (1983). Interpreting the Scriptures.

Portland: Bible Temple Publications.

Skinner, J. V. (1967). Reading and Reasoning. London: OxfordUniversity Press.

Warner, A. (1961).A Short Guide to English Style.London:

Oxford University Press.


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That was so much for the Hermeneutics of Comprehension

texts!

We shall now attempt to answer the questions, for the open-ended section. The types of questions encompass the

following categories, in order of difficulty:

1) Direct Question (using the words of the text)

2) Direct Question (requiring use of your own words)

3) Vocabulary Question

4) Language Appreciation Question

5) Comparative Question

6) Inferential Question

A practical step-by-step method that follows will be especially

beneficial to a weak student. I term it the plucking method.

STEPS TO ANSWERING QUESTIONS

1. Read all the QUESTIONS firstPractically speaking, marks are awarded only to correct

answers to questions. Know whats important in the text

and what isnt! Highlight/underline the KEY WORDS.

Most questions test about knowledge. Pay attention to

words like who, what, why, when, where and how.

(Do not be bothered by others who have begun reading thetext, or even those who have begun answering the

questions!)

Take no more than 2 minutes to do this.


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2. Read the text

One could choose to do this either of 2 ways:

Reading for clarity

The reader reads the text diligently the first time, perusingthe portions which are less easily understood. For instance,

the reader may want to better comprehend figurative

usages of words and phrases.

If this method is employed, use no more than 7 minutes.

Speed ReadingThe reader skims through the text, obtaining a sketch of the

text. Upon doing so, he/she would grasp the key ideas, but

not the details. Use about 2-3 minutes.

3. Match the KEY WORDS

Look for the key words you have highlighted/underlined for

the questions, then look for the exact words used in the

text.

Sometimes, however, synonymous terms in the text need

to be identified. At other times, one needs to infer the

concept of phrases and sentences in the text, then match

that inference with the key words in that question. For

instance, an Inferential Question might require the reader toread between the lines.

This gives some idea to the art of comprehension, which is

a difficult skill to master.

4. Attempt the Questions

Be specific in answering. For example, you could choose toanswer in 2 sentences if 2 points are needed.

Pluck the answers accordingly. In the worst scenario, if the

answer cannot be identified, skip that question!


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5. Edit your answers

Do not underestimate this step! It could save you many

marks!

Never leave any question unanswered. Go back to thepassage, and keep searching for the answer! Imagine that

you are unable to find an item you are looking for in a box

containing many other objects. The item is definitely inside!

You would be able to find that missing object if you

examined every item. Likewise, identify the

EMBELLISHMENTS and the HELPFUL phrases in the text.If you have managed to answer all the questions, revisit

your answer to each to check for any grammatical and

spelling mistakes. You must feel convinced that you have

answered according to the requirements of the question!

P.S. The above method that I have suggested is recommended

for one who does poorly, especially in the open-ended

Comprehension section. A more competent student may

choose to skip a few steps of the suggested method.

Lastly, the inept student should attempt to increase his/her

Vocabulary, which will help him/her develop competency in

Comprehension texts, as well as in many other aspects ofthe English language.

How could one build up his/her Vocabulary?

Recommendation:

1) Read good texts, from the Straits Times to Newsweek and

Times to Readers Digest to biographies etc.2) Keep a Vocabulary notebook. Record new words learnt with

its corresponding meanings, and construct a sentence.

3) Revise regularlywhenever you have any free time.


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