Court officers need to have the ability to read—pure and simple. They also need to be able to understand what they are reading. Reports, procedures, forms, petitions, and many other documents are regularly referred to in the court officer profession. This chapter provides tips and exercises that will help you improve your reading comprehension and improve your test score in this area. The reading comprehension portion of the written test is designed to measure how well applicants understand what they read. The tests are usually multiple choice and will likely have questions based on brief passages, much like the standardized tests offered in schools. This chapter focuses on the specifics you will need to know to ace the reading comprehension questions on your exam. Once you are armed with the strategies that are explained in this chapter, you will be better able to understand what you read. Be sure to spend plenty of time with this chapter so that you can accurately assess your reading comprehension ability and increase your level of skill in this area.
Types of Reading Text, Tables, Charts, and Graphs Questions You have probably encountered reading comprehension questions before, where you are given a passage to read and then have to answer multiple-choice questions about it. This kind of question has two advantages for you as a test taker:1. Any information you need to know is right in front of you.2. You're being tested only on the information provided in the passage.
The disadvantage, however, is that you have to know where and how to find that information quickly in an unfamiliar text. This makes it easy to fall for one of the incorrect answer choices, especially since they're designed to mislead you. The best way to excel on this passage/question format is to be very familiar with the kinds of questions that are typically asked on the test.
Questions most frequently fall into one of the following four categories:1. fact or detail2. main idea or title3. inference or interpretation4. vocabulary definition In order to succeed on a reading comprehension test, you need to understand each of these four types of questions thoroughly.
Fact or Detail Facts and details are the specific pieces of information that support the passage's main idea. Generally speaking, facts and details are indisputable—things that don't need to be proven, like statistics (18 million people) or descriptions (a green overcoat). While you may need to decipher paraphrases of facts or details, you should be able to find the answer to a fact or detail question directly in the passage. This is usually the simplest kind of question; however, you must be able to separate important information from less important information. The main challenge in answering this type of question is that the answer choices can be confusing because they are often very similar to each other. You should read each answer choice carefully before selecting one.
Main Idea or Title The main idea of a passage is the thought, opinion, or attitude that governs the whole passage. It may be clearly stated, or only implied. Think of the main idea as an umbrella that is general enough to cover all of the specific ideas and details in the passage. Sometimes, the questions found after a passage will ask you about the main idea, while others use the term title. Don't be misled; main idea and title questions are the same. They both require you to know what the passage is mostly about. Often, the incorrect answers to a main idea or title question are too detailed to be correct. Remember that the main idea of a passage or the best title for a passage is general, not specific. If you are lucky, the main idea will be clearly stated in the first or last sentence of the passage. At other times, the main idea is not stated in a topic sentence but is implied in the overall passage, and you will need to determine the main idea by inference. Because there may be a lot of information in the passage, the trick is to understand what all that information adds up to—what it is that the author wants you to know. Often, some of the wrong answers to main idea questions are specific facts or details from the passage. A good way to test yourself is to ask, 'Can this answer serve as a net to hold the whole passage together?' If not, chances are you have chosen a fact or detail, not a main idea.
Inference or Interpretation Inference or interpretation questions ask you what the passage means, implies, or suggests, not just what it says. They are often the most difficult type of reading comprehension question. Inference questions can be the most difficult to answer because they require you to draw meaning from the text when that meaning is implied rather than directly stated. Inferences are conclusions that we draw based on the clues the writer has given us. When you draw inferences, you have to be something of a detective, looking for clues such as word choice, tone, and specific details that suggest a certain conclusion, attitude, or point of view. You have to read between the lines in order to make a judgment about what an author was implying in the passage. A good way to test whether you've drawn an acceptable inference is to ask, 'What evidence do I have for this inference?' If you can't find any, you probably have the wrong answer. You need to be sure that your inference is logical and that it is based on something that is suggested or implied in the passage itself—not by what you or others might think. Like a good detective, you need to base your conclusions on evidence—facts, details, and other information—not on random hunches or guesses.
Vocabulary Definition Questions designed to test vocabulary are really trying to measure how well you can figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word from its context. Context refers to the words and ideas surrounding a vocabulary word. If the context is clear enough, you should be able to substitute a nonsense word for the one being sought, and you would still make the correct choice because you could determine meaning strictly from the sentence. For example, you should be able to determine the meaning of the following italicized nonsense word based on its context: The speaker noted that it gave him great terivinix to announce the winner of the Outstanding Leadership Award. In this sentence, terivinix most likely means a. pain. b. sympathy. c. pleasure. d. anxiety. Clearly, the context of an award makes choice c, pleasure, the best choice. Awards don't usually bring pain, sympathy, or anxiety. When confronted with an unfamiliar word, try substituting a nonsense word and see if the context gives you the clue. If you're familiar with prefixes, suffixes, and word roots, you can also use this knowledge to help you determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word. You should be careful not to guess at the answer to vocabulary questions based on how you may have seen the word used before or what you think it means. Many words have more than one possible meaning, depending on the context in which they're used, and a word you've seen used one way may mean something else in a test passage. Also, if you don't look at the context carefully, you may make the mistake of confusing the vocabulary word with a similar word. For example, the vocabulary word may be taut (meaning tight), but if you read too quickly or don't check the context, you might think the word is taunt (meaning tease). Always make sure you read carefully and that what you think the word means fits into the context of the passage you're being tested on.
Now it is time to practice answering the four types of reading comprehension questions.
Practice Passage 1 The following is a sample test passage, followed by four questions. Read the passage carefully, and then answer the questions, based on your reading of the text, by circling your choice. Note under your answer which type of question has been asked. Correct answers appear immediately after the questions. In the last decade, community policing has been frequently touted as the best way to reform urban law enforcement. The idea of putting more officers on foot patrol in high crime areas, where relations with police have frequently been strained, was initiated in Houston in 1983 under the leadership of then-Commissioner Lee Brown. He believed that officers should be accessible to the community at the street level. If officers were assigned to the same area over a period of time, those officers would eventually build a network of trust with neighborhood residents. That trust would mean that merchants and residents in the community would let officers know about criminal activities in the area and would support police intervention. Since then, many large cities have experimented with community-oriented policing (COP) with mixed results. Some have found that police and citizens are grateful for the opportunity to work together. Others have found that unrealistic expectations by citizens and resistance from officers have combined to hinder the effectiveness of COP. It seems possible, therefore, that a good idea may need improvement before it can truly be considered a reform.1. Community policing has been used in law enforcement since a. the late 1970s. b. the early 1980s. c. the Carter administration. d. Lee Brown was New York City police commissioner. Question type:2. The phrase a network of trust in this passage suggests that a. police officers can rely only on each other for support. b. community members rely on the police to protect them. c. police and community members rely on each other. d. community members trust only each other.3. The best title for this passage would be a. Community Policing: The Solution to the Drug Problem. b. Houston Sets the Pace in Community Policing. c. Communities and Cops: Partners for Peace. d. Community Policing: An Uncertain Future?4. The word touted in the first sentence of the passage most nearly means a. praised. b. denied. c. exposed. d. criticized.
Tips for Improving Your Reading Comprehension Score Before the test: - Practice, practice, practice! • Working with a friend or family member, select paragraphs from an article in the newspaper and have your partner create questions to ask you about it. • Read short passages from articles or books and make up questions for yourself.
During the test: • Read the questions first, before you read the passage, so you will know what words and ideas to look out for. • Focus your attention; don't let your mind wander during the reading of the test passages. • If one part of a passage confuses you, just read on until you are finished. Then go back and look at the confusing part again. • Look at each one of the multiple-choice answers, then compare each with the passage to see which ones can be eliminated. • Focus on the main idea of the text. What is the passage mostly about? • Don't skip any sentences when reading the passage. • Don't let your own knowledge of the subject matter interfere with your answer selection. Stick with the information that is given in the passage. • Read the passage actively, asking yourself questions about the main idea and jotting down notes in the margin.
Answers Don't just look at the correct answers and move on. The explanations are the most important part, so read them carefully. Use these explanations to help you understand how to tackle each kind of question the next time you come across it. 1. b. Question type: 1, fact or detail. The passage says, 'The idea of putting more officers on foot patrol in high crime areas, where relations with police have frequently been strained, was initiated in Houston in 1983 under the leadership of then-Commissioner Lee Brown.' Do not be confused by the opening phrase, In the last decade because the passage does not include the current date, so you have no way of knowing which decade the passage is referring to. This information doesn't help you even if you know that a decade is a period of ten years. Don't be misled by trying to figure out when Carter was president. Also, if you happen to know that Lee Brown was New York City's police commissioner at one time, don't let that information lead you away from the information contained in the passage alone. Brown was commissioner in Houston when he initiated community policing. 2. c. Question type: 3, inference. The network of trust referred to in this passage is between the community and the police, as you can see from the sentence where the phrase appears. The key phrase in the question is in this passage. You may think that police can rely only on each other, or one of the other answer choices may appear equally plausible to you. But your choice of answers must be limited to the one suggested in this passage. Another tip for questions like this: Beware of absolutes! Be suspicious of any answer containing words like only, always, or never. 3. d. Question type: 2, main idea. A good title usually expresses the main idea. In this passage, the main idea comes at the end. The sum of all the details in the passage suggests that community policing is not without its critics and that therefore its future is uncertain. Another key phrase is mixed results, which means that some communities haven't had full success with community policing. 4. a. Question type: 4, vocabulary. The word touted is linked in this passage with the phrase the best way to reform. Most people would think that a good way to reform something is praiseworthy. In addition, the next few sentences in the passage describe the benefits of community policing. Criticism or a negative response to the subject doesn't come until later in the passage.
Practice Passage 2 Answer the questions that follow this passage. Circle the answers to the questions, and note under your answer which type of question has been asked. Then check your answers against the key that appears immediately after the questions.
There is some evidence that crime rates are linked to social trends, such as demographic and socio-economic changes. Crime statistics showed a decline in the post-World War II era of the 1940s and '50s. Following the Vietnam War in the 1970s, however, reported crimes were on the rise again, only to be followed by lower numbers of such reports in the 1980s. One of the reasons for these fluctuations appears to be age. When the population is younger, as in the 1960s when the baby boomers came of age, there is a greater incidence of crime nationwide. A second cause for the rise and fall of crime rates appears to be economic. Rising crime rates appear to follow falling economies. A third cause cited for the cyclical nature of crime statistics appears to be the ebb and flow of public policy decisions, which sometimes protect personal freedoms at the expense of government control. A youthful, economically disadvantaged population that is not secured by social controls of family and community or by government authority is likely to see an upswing in reported crimes.
1. Crime statistics seem to rise when populations are a. younger. b. older. c. veterans. d. richer.2. The main idea of the passage is that a. times of prosperity show lower crime statistics. b. when the economy slows, crime statistics rise. c. incidence of reported crime is related to several social and economic variables. d. secure families are less likely to be involved in crime. a. Wars and Crime Statistics. b. Why Crime Statistics Rise and Fall. c. Youth and Crime Statistics. d. Poverty and Crime Statistics.4. Crime statistics show that crime is a. random. b. cyclical. c. demographic. d. social.
1. a. Question type: 1, detail. This is a fairly clear example of how you can look quickly through a passage and locate a clearly stated detail. The word young appears in relation to the baby boomers; the idea is also suggested in the last sentence by the word youthful. 2. c. Question type: 2, main idea. The other answer choices are details—they're all in the passage, but they're not what the passage is mostly about. Choice c is the only one that combines several details into a statement that reflects the first sentence, which is also the topic sentence, of the paragraph. 3. b. Question type: 2, main idea. Each of the other choices expresses a detail, one of the reasons listed in the passage for fluctuation in crime rates. Choice b is the only one that expresses the sum of those details. 4. b. Question type: 1, detail. The passage mentions the cyclical nature of crime statistics. Other phrases that suggest this answer include fluctuations, rise and fall, and ebb and flow.
Practice Passage 3 In recent years, issues of public and personal safety have become a major concern to many Americans. Violent incidents in fast-food restaurants, libraries, hospitals, schools, and offices have led many to seek greater security inside and outside of their homes. Sales of burglar alarms and high-tech security devices such as motion detectors and video monitors have skyrocketed in the last decade. Convenience stores and post offices have joined banks and jewelry stores in barricading staff behind iron bars and safety glass enclosures. Communities employ private security forces and encourage homeowners to keep trained attack dogs on their premises. While some people have sympathy for the impetus behind these efforts, there is also some concern that these measures will create a siege mentality leading to general distrust among people that could foster a dangerous isolationism within neighborhoods and among neighbors.
1. The passage suggests which of the following about community security? a. Communities are more dangerous today than they were ten years ago. b. Too much concern for security can destroy trust among neighbors. c. Poor security has led to an increase in public violence. d. Isolated neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods.2. The word foster in the last sentence of the passage most nearly means a. adopt. b. encourage. c. prevent. d. secure.3. The author believes that a. more security is needed to make neighborhoods safer. b. people should spend more on home security. c. people should not ignore the problems created by excessive safety concerns. d. attack dogs and high-tech devices are the best protection against violent crime.4. In the last sentence, the phrase siege mentality means a. hostility. b. defensiveness. c. fear. d. corruption.
1. b. Question type: 4, inference. The key word here is distrust, which implies that neighbors become suspicious of each other if they are too worried about safety. 2. b. Question type: 3, vocabulary. The first answer choice is meant to confuse you if you associate the word foster with foster care and, by extension, with adoption. Foster means nurture or help to grow. Look again at the sentence. What could a general distrust (the thing that fosters) do to a dangerous isolationism (the thing being fostered)? A general distrust could encourage a dangerous isolationism. 3. c. Question type: 4, inference. By using phrases like dangerous isolationism, the author suggests that he or she doesn't approve of the shift toward heavier use of security devices. The other answer choices all indicate the author's approval of the trend being discussed. 4. b. Question type: 3, vocabulary. The key word here is siege. People who perceive themselves to be under attack tend to stick together in the face of a common enemy. They become quick to defend themselves against that enemy.
Create Your Own Questions A good way to solidify what you've learned about reading comprehension questions is for you to write the questions. Here's a passage, followed by space for you to create your own questions. Write one question of each of the four types: fact or detail, main idea or title, inference or interpretation, and vocabulary definition. A. you create your own questions and answers, you will have the chance to understand how multiple-choice questions work. Typically, incorrect answers are incorrect because the reader has misunderstood, has a predisposition, uses unsound reasoning, or is only casually reading the passage. Knowing how multiple-choice questions work gives you a definite advantage when taking your written exam. In recent years, law enforcement officers have welcomed the advent of a number of new technologies that have aided them greatly in their work. These include long-range eavesdropping devices and computer scanners that allow police to identify possible suspects by merely typing a license number into a computer in the patrol car. The scanner allows instant access to motor vehicle and criminal records and gives officers the opportunity to snare wrongdoers, even when they are not involved in criminal activity at the time. Police departments have praised the use of the computers, which they say help them get criminals off the streets and out of the way of honest citizens. Not all of those citizens agree with this attitude, however; some believe that arrests made solely on the basis of scanner identification constitute an invasion of privacy. They regard the accessing of records as illegal search and seizure. In New Jersey, Florida, and Arizona, lawsuits have been filed by citizens who believe that their constitutional rights have been violated. They believe that much computer-generated information is inaccurate and vulnerable to hackers who invade computer databases. Some believe that such information from scanners could be used to charge innocent citizens with crimes, or to target particular neighborhoods for harassment.
1. Detail question: a. b. c. d. 2. Main idea question:3. Inference question:4. Vocabulary question:
Possible Questions Following is one question of each type, based on the passage. Your questions may be very different, but these will give you an idea of the kinds of questions that could be asked. 1. Detail question: Computer scanners allow police to a. identify suspects. b. access computer databases. c. locate wrongdoers. d. all of the above 2. Main idea question: Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? a. New technologies are available to police officers. b. Police are skeptical of new policing technologies. c. New technologies raise questions of privacy. d. New technologies may be discriminatory. 3. Inference question: The writer implies, but does not directly state, that a. computer technologies must be used with care. b. high-tech policing is the wave of the future. c. most citizens believe that high-tech policing is beneficial. d. most police officers prefer using the new technologies. 4. Vocabulary question: In this passage, the word snare means a. question. b. interrupt. c. capture. d. free.
Answers1. d.2. c.3. d.4. c.
Reading Tables, Graphs, and Charts Court officer exams may also include a section testing your ability to read tables, charts, and graphs. These sections are really quite similar to regular reading comprehension sections, but instead of pulling information from a passage of text, you will need to answer questions about a graphic representation of data. The types of questions asked about tables, charts, and graphs are actually quite similar to those about reading passages, though there usually aren't any questions on vocabulary. The main difference in reading tables, charts, or graphs is that you're reading or interpreting data represented in tabular (table) or graphic (picture) form rather than textual (sentence and paragraph) form.
Tables Tables present data in rows and columns. The following table is a very simple table that shows the number of accidents reported in one county over a 24-hour period. Use it to answer question 1.
Time of Day - Number of Accidents 6:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. - 11 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. - 3 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. - 5 3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. - 7 6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. - 9 9:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. - 6 12:00 a.m.–3:00 a.m. 3:00 a.m.–6:00 a.m.
1. Based on the information provided in this table, at what time of day do the most accidents occur? a. noon b. morning rush hour c. evening rush hour d. midnight The correct answer is b, morning rush hour. You can clearly see that the highest number of accidents (11) occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
Graphs Now, here's the same information presented as a graph. A graph uses two axes rather than columns and rows to create a visual picture of the data.
If English Isn't Your First Language When nonnative speakers of English have trouble with reading comprehension tests, it's often because they lack the cultural, linguistic, and historical frame of reference that native speakers enjoy. People who have not lived in or been educated in the United States often don't have the background information that comes from reading American newspapers, magazines, and textbooks. A second problem for nonnative English speakers is the difficulty in recognizing vocabulary and idioms (expressions like chewing the fat) that assist comprehension. In order to read with good understanding, it's important to have an immediate grasp of as many words as possible in the text. Test takers need to be able to recognize vocabulary and idioms immediately so that the ideas those words express are clear.
The Long View Read newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals that deal with current events and matters of local, state, and national importance. Pay special attention to articles that are related to law enforcement. B. alert to new or unfamiliar vocabulary or terms that occur frequently in the popular press. Use a highlighter pen to mark new or unfamiliar words as you read. Keep a list of those words and their definitions. Review them for 15 minutes each day. Though at first you may find yourself looking up a lot of words, don't be frustrated—you will look up fewer and fewer words as your vocabulary expands.
During the Test When you are taking your written exam, make a picture in your mind of the situation being described in the passage. Ask yourself, 'What did the writer mostly want me to think about this subject?'
Locate and underline the topic sentence that carries the main idea of the passage. Remember that the topic sentence—if there is one—may not always be the first sentence. If there doesn't seem to be one, try to determine what idea summarizes the whole passage.
Here you can actually see the time of the greatest number of accidents represented by a line that corresponds to the time of day and number. These numbers can also be represented by a box in a bar graph, as follows.
When reading graphs, the key is to be sure that you know exactly what the numbers on each axis represent. Otherwise, you're likely to misinterpret the information. On the bar graph, you see that the horizontal axis represents the time of day, and the vertical axis represents the number of accidents that occurred. Thus, the tallest box shows the time of day with the most accidents.
Practice Like regular reading comprehension questions, questions on tables, charts, and graphs may also ask you to make inferences and maybe even do basic math using the information and numbers presented on the table, chart, or graph. For example, you may be asked questions like the following on the information presented in the preceding table, line graph, and bar graph. The answers follow immediately after the questions.2. What is the probable cause for the high accident rate between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.? a. People haven't had their coffee yet. b. A lot of drivers are rushing to work. c. There is a glare from the morning sun. d. Highway construction is heaviest during those hours.3. What is the total number of accidents? a. 48 b. 51 c. 49 d. 53
Answers2. b. A question like this tests your common sense as well as your ability to read the graph. Though there may indeed be sun glare and many drivers may have not yet had their coffee, these items are too variable to account for the high number of accidents. In addition, choice d is not logical because construction generally slows traffic down. Choice b is the best answer, because from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. there is consistently a lot of rush-hour traffic. In addition, many people do rush, and this increases the likelihood of accidents.3. c. This question, of course, tests your basic ability to add. To answer this question correctly, you need to determine the value of each bar and then add those numbers together if you are given the bar graph. If you are given the table, you merely add up the column of numbers to find the total.
Charts Finally, you may be presented information in the form of a chart like the one that follows. Here, the accident figures have been converted to percentages. In this figure, you don't see the exact number of accidents, but you see how accidents for each time period compare to the others. Try the following questions to hone your skill at reading tables, graphs, and charts.
Answer questions 1 and 2 on the basis of the following pie chart. Causes of household fires 3. At what point does the rate of increase of sick days change? a. one year of employment b. four years of employment c. three years of employment d. nine years of employment4. During what years of employment is the number of sick days equal to double the number of years of employment? a. 1, 4, and 12 b. 13, 14, and 15 c. 1, 2, and 15 d. 2, 4, and 10
Answers1. d. Of the causes presented in the chart, both cigarettes (26%) and matches and lighters (32%) are related to smoking. But not all match fires are necessarily smoking related. Thus, the best answer allows for a range between 26% and 58%.2. c. Fires from cigarettes, heaters, irons, and matches and lighters—82% in total—are generally the result of carelessness. Only 5% of fires are arsons, so choice a cannot be correct. Electrical, heater, and explosion fires may be the result of fire safety code violations, but even so, they total only 31%. Finally, there" /> 3. c. In the first two years of employment, employees gain an additional two sick days. In the third year, employees gain only one additional day, that is, from four to five days.4. c. In the first year, the number of sick days is two; in the second, four; and not until the 15th year does the number of sick days (30) again double the number of years of employment.
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