Big picture
An informational passage explains a topic using facts, descriptions, reasons or evidence. It may be a report, an article, a set of instructions or an argument. Reading it well means understanding both what it says and how its information fits together.
A notice about water use, a science explanation and a survey report require slightly different reading habits. In all three, you must identify the main point, read qualifications carefully and avoid turning a limited observation into a universal claim. The examples in this lesson use invented classroom data for practice, not findings from an actual research study.
Learning goals
Identify the main idea, supporting details, purpose and audience.
Distinguish checkable statements from opinions and recommendations.
Recognise comparison, sequence, cause and effect, and problem–solution structures.
Interpret a table using labels, totals, units and a stated sample.
Draw supported inferences while recognising limits of evidence.
Infer vocabulary and write brief notes and summaries.
Core ideas
1. Main idea and supporting information
The main idea states what the whole passage explains or argues. A supporting detail gives an example, reason, measurement or description that develops it. In a paragraph explaining how shaded school spaces help pupils use outdoor areas, the main idea concerns the usefulness of shade; a particular tree beside a bench is supporting detail.
Read opening and closing sentences for clues, but check the middle too. Writers sometimes build towards a final conclusion rather than announce it first. A title should cover the whole selection. “The Red Bench” is too narrow for an article comparing several ways of improving a playground.
2. Purpose and intended audience
Purpose is what the writer wants the passage to achieve. Audience is the group addressed. A passage can have more than one purpose: a report may inform readers of a problem and recommend a response.
Purpose | Clue | Original example |
|---|---|---|
Inform | Explains observations | The covered area remained usable during light rain |
Instruct | Gives ordered directions | Rinse the bottle before refilling it |
Persuade | Gives reasons for a position | The school should repair existing taps first |
Evaluate | Weighs strengths and limits | The device saves effort but requires maintenance |
A message beginning “Dear parents” identifies its audience directly. An article explaining terms in simple language may target general readers. Do not assume an article is written for scientists merely because its topic is scientific.
3. Facts, opinions and recommendations
A factual statement is checkable against evidence. “The survey included 80 pupils” is checkable. An opinion expresses a judgement: “The garden is the finest part of school.” A recommendation proposes action: “The school should add another shaded seat.” Recommendations may be sensible without being reported facts.
Numbers do not guarantee truth; they make a claim measurable. Likewise, the word “I” does not automatically make a sentence an opinion: “I counted eight broken tiles” reports a checkable observation. When a question asks “according to the passage”, report the passage's claim accurately while retaining any stated qualification.
4. How information is organised
Text structure helps you identify which details belong together. Chronological order follows time. A process explains stages. Comparison examines similarities and differences. Cause and effect links reasons and consequences. Problem–solution writing explains a difficulty and possible responses.
Signal | Likely relationship | Example |
|---|---|---|
First, next, finally | Sequence | First sort the books; next label the shelves |
Because, therefore | Cause or result | The lid was loose; therefore water leaked |
However, whereas | Contrast | The route is shorter; however, it has more traffic |
For example | Illustration | Several items can be reused, for example cloth bags |
Read the relationship rather than memorising the signal alone. “Since” can mean time or cause. “Since Monday, the gate has remained shut” gives time; “Since the gate is damaged, use another entrance” gives a reason.
5. Original case-based passage
A school reading club wanted to understand how its lending system was working. During a four-week period, members asked 80 pupils from Classes 7 and 8 to identify the main source of the last book they had read. Each pupil selected one source. The responses appear in the table below.
Club volunteers also kept a separate count of school-library visits. They recorded 45 visits in the first week and 60 in the fourth week. Some pupils visited more than once, so these figures count visits, not different people. During the same period, the library introduced a lunchtime opening and displayed pupil-written book recommendations near the entrance.
The club suggested keeping the lunchtime opening for another month. Several pupils said that it made borrowing more convenient. However, the volunteers could not tell whether the changed hours, the display, an approaching reading event or a combination of these factors explained the extra visits.
The report recommended asking pupils who had not used the library what prevented them from visiting. It also warned that responses from this small group should not be treated as a description of every school. The purpose was to improve a local service, not to rank pupils by how many books they owned.
Main source of last book | Pupils |
|---|---|
School library | 32 |
Home collection | 24 |
Borrowed from a friend | 16 |
Other sources | 8 |
Total | 80 |
6. Read data with its labels intact
Start with what is counted. The table records pupils classified by the main source of their last book. It does not record all books read, all sources used or reading ability. Because each pupil chose one category, the category counts can be added without double-counting pupils.
Worked example: library share. The library category contains 32 pupils out of 80. Fraction = 32 ÷ 80 = 0.4. Percentage = 0.4 × 100 = 40%. This is a share of the surveyed pupils, not a share of all books in the school.
Worked example: comparing sources. Home and friends together account for 24 + 16 = 40 pupils. School-library responses exceed friend responses by 32 − 16 = 16 pupils. The ratio of library to friend responses is 32:16 = 2:1.
Worked example: visits over time. Increase = 60 − 45 = 15 visits. Percentage increase = increase ÷ original × 100 = 15 ÷ 45 × 100 = 33⅓%. Dividing by the final value would answer a different question. The figures do not establish that 15 additional pupils visited because repeat visits are allowed.
7. Distinguish observations, explanations and limitations
An observation reports what was noticed or measured. An explanation proposes why it happened. Library visits rose; that is an observation. Longer opening hours caused the whole increase; that is an explanation not established by the report.
When two changes occur together, they may be associated without one being the sole cause of the other. The display and upcoming event are alternative explanations. A sound inference is that lunchtime access may have helped some pupils, since several said it was convenient. A stronger claim that it definitely caused every extra visit exceeds the evidence.
A sample is the group studied. This sample covers 80 pupils from two classes at one school. Generalising to every school would ignore different resources, schedules and pupils. Limitations do not make the report useless: local evidence can still help improve the local service.
8. Work out vocabulary and reference words
In “borrowing was more convenient”, convenient means easy or suitable for the pupils' arrangements. It does not necessarily mean cheaper. In “the report recommended asking pupils”, recommended means suggested as a useful action, not proved by calculation.
A reference word points to an earlier idea. In “The club suggested keeping the lunchtime opening. It helped pupils borrow during a break”, “it” refers to the opening arrangement. Match meaning and grammar; the nearest noun is not always the intended reference. In contrast questions, reread both sides of however or whereas before selecting an answer.
9. Worked answers, notes and summary
Prompt | Evidence-based answer |
|---|---|
What is the report mainly about? | How evidence about reading sources and visits can improve a school lending service |
Why retain lunchtime opening? | Several pupils found it convenient, so the club proposed continuing it while gathering more evidence |
Why ask non-users? | Their responses could reveal barriers not represented by current visitors |
Does the table measure reading skill? | No; it records the source of the last book, not comprehension or ability |
What is an important qualification? | Visit counts include repeat visits, and the sample cannot represent every school |
For notes, group key phrases under useful labels: “Survey: 80 pupils; one source each”; “Visits: rise, repeat visits possible”; “Action: retain opening, ask non-users.” Notes may be phrases, but a summary should use connected sentences.
Model summary: “A school club surveyed book sources and recorded increased library visits. It proposed continuing lunchtime access and asking non-users about barriers. However, several changes occurred together, repeat visits were possible, and the small local sample could not represent every school.” The summary preserves the central finding, proposed action and limitations without copying every number.
For a short answer, use the requested detail and relevant qualification. If asked for two reasons, supply two distinct reasons rather than repeat one idea in different words. Unless the question asks for evaluation, personal preferences about libraries do not answer a comprehension question.
A reliable approach to questions
Read the title, paragraph openings and table labels for the overall subject.
Identify whether the question asks for a fact, inference, comparison or judgement.
Locate the supporting sentence or relevant table cells.
For calculations, write the operation and preserve the unit and denominator.
Reject options that confuse visits with people or a possible cause with a proven one.
Check that your final answer retains important limits and answers the exact command.
Connections that matter
Data handling supplies the fractions, percentages and comparisons needed for case-based reading.
Science distinguishes observations from possible explanations and tests competing causes.
Discursive writing uses claims, supporting evidence and qualifications to build a fair argument.
Common mistakes
Treating any statement with a number as proven: ask what evidence supports the measurement.
Naming one detail as the main idea: choose an idea covering the whole passage.
Dividing a percentage increase by the final amount: use the original amount as the denominator.
Turning a small survey into a universal claim: retain its sample and stated limitations.
Revision checklist
I can identify the main idea, audience and purpose.
I can distinguish a fact, opinion and recommendation.
I can explain a contrast or cause-and-effect relationship.
I can calculate and label a share, difference and percentage increase.
I can recognise an unsupported generalisation.
I can produce brief notes and a balanced summary.