How to Approach an Unseen Passage
The NIOS English paper has an unseen comprehension passage (a passage you have never read before) followed by 4-6 questions. This section is pure skill — if you follow a strategy, you can score full marks every time.
Key Points
- 1Step 1: Read the questions FIRST (before the passage) — you know what to look for
- 2Step 2: Read the passage once quickly (skim) — get the main idea, note key words
- 3Step 3: Answer as you read the second time — match question keywords to passage sections
- 4Step 4: Write complete sentence answers (not single words) — always use full sentences
- 5Step 5: For vocabulary questions, use context clues — read the full sentence around the word
- 6For "find meaning of" questions: guess from context, then check if it matches one of the options
Pro Tip
Never write one-word answers in comprehension. Even if the answer is one word ("India"), write it as a sentence: "The story is set in India." Full sentences always score higher than fragments.
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