RUAE Skills: Comprehension (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note

Before you can analyse or evaluate a text, it is essential that you understand it fully. In reading assessments, “understanding” refers to your ability to identify key information, interpret explicit and implicit meaning, and explain ideas clearly in your own words. 

Strong comprehension is built on close reading: paying attention to detail, recognising how vocabulary shapes meaning, and noticing how ideas connect across a passage. Whether the text is factual, persuasive or narrative, your first task is to grasp exactly what the writer is saying. Once you have a secure grasp of meaning, you are well-placed to analyse techniques or evaluate arguments effectively.

Making inferences: reading for implicit meaning

One of the skills examiners are looking for is your ability to make inferences. This requires you to move beyond what is stated directly and draw reasonable conclusions from clues in the text. Strong inference relies on two things: close attention to detail and a willingness to “read between the lines”.

To develop confident inference skills, use the following approach:

1. Identify the explicit facts first

• Ask yourself: Who? What? When? Where?

• Establishing the basics helps you avoid unsupported or far-fetched interpretations

2. Look for meaningful clues

Writers use descriptive language, figurative imagery, tone and structural choices to suggest attitudes or emotions. Focus on:

• unusual or striking word choices

• contrasts or shifts in tone

• hints about characters’ feelings or motivations

• imagery suggesting atmosphere or tension

3. Draw a logical conclusion

Your inference must be reasonable and rooted in the text. Avoid assumptions that rely on outside knowledge.

Inference skills checklist

Practise by justifying your inference with a short explanation beginning “This suggests… because…”.

Inference and connotations

Understanding connotations strengthens your ability to interpret implied meaning. A writer’s word choice is rarely accidental: single words often carry emotional or cultural associations (deeper meanings) that help you understand the writer’s attitude.

When considering a word’s connotations:

1. Identify the word or phrase carefully

Focus on the most significant word or words. Again, think about unusual or striking word choices.

2. Explore the connotations in context

A word’s associations depend on how it is used in the passage. Consider:

• emotional associations (e.g., fear, admiration, disgust)

• ideas linked to the word (e.g., “fragile” suggesting that something is vulnerable)

• whether the connotations are positive, negative or more ambiguous

3. Link connotations to the writer’s purpose

Explain how the choice of word helps convey a viewpoint, build a mood, or shape a reader’s reaction.

Connotation comparison example

Being sensitive to these differences helps you give precise, well-supported interpretations in your exam answers.

Explaining ideas in your own words

Comprehension questions frequently require you to demonstrate that you truly understand an idea by expressing it independently. This skill shows examiners you can move beyond quotation or paraphrase and accurately restate information in a clear, simplified form.

Try the following techniques for putting ideas into your own words:

1. Identify the key ideas

• Scan the relevant part of the text and underline the essential information

• Strip away examples, descriptive detail, or figurative language unless they are central to meaning

2. Translate the meaning

• Replace the writer’s vocabulary with your own clear, straightforward phrasing

• Avoid using synonyms mechanically:

  • Focus on overall meaning rather than individual words

• A good tip is to ask yourself if you can express the main idea from that part of the text in a single sentence

3. Keep your answer concise

• Examiners reward accuracy and clarity rather than length:

  • One or two well-considered sentences is often enough

Understanding individual words

Vocabulary questions test whether you can interpret the meaning of words “in context”. A word may not carry its usual dictionary definition in a particular passage; instead, its meaning is shaped by nearby words, tone and topic.

To handle these questions effectively:

1. Reread the sentence containing the word

• Check how the surrounding language shapes meaning

• Look for any contrasts, imagery or verbs that hint at how the word is being used

2. Replace the word mentally

Try substituting a simple alternative that fits logically and maintains the tone (e.g. “reluctant” → “unwilling”).

3. Avoid dictionary-style definitions

• Examiners want contextual meaning, not generic definitions

• Think: “What does the word mean here?”

Quick strategy to understanding words in context

• Identify the word

• Identify clues around it

• Offer a clear, simple replacement in everyday English

This approach helps you show accurate, contextual understanding rather than guesswork.

Understanding a longer passage

Beyond individual words or sentences, comprehension requires you to follow the writer’s broader ideas. This means recognising how points connect, how arguments develop and how the tone shifts.

Try the following strategies for understanding whole-passage meaning:

1. Track the writer’s line of thought

Ask yourself:

• What is the writer’s main point?

• How does each paragraph contribute to it?

• Does the writer change tone, perspective or topic?

2. Identify structural signposts

Words like “however”, “therefore”, “in contrast”, “for example” guide you through the argument or narrative. They often reveal shifts in attitude or emphasis.

3. Summarise each section briefly

• Turn each paragraph into a short note of 5–10 words — you can even do this in the margin of the exam paper, or as part of a plan

• This prevents you from getting lost in detail and helps you keep the overall meaning in mind

4. Consider audience and purpose

• A writer trying to persuade will use evidence and reasoning

• A writer aiming to entertain will focus on description and atmosphere

• Recognising this helps you interpret the wider message accurately

Learn more

Discover more SQA National 5 English RUAE exam tips in our expert revision notes: 

• RUAE Skills: Selecting and Using Textual Evidence

• RUAE Skills: Analysing Language and Techniques

• RUAE Skills: Evaluation

• How to Get Full Marks on the RUAE Questions