Extended reading is the habit of reading a longer text with a purpose, so you can find evidence, judge it and explain it. This chapter covers four skills that build on each other.
It sits inside SPM English and follows reading short texts. Your school sets the order of chapters, so use this page as a map of how the skills depend on one another.
What does this chapter cover?
- Locating supporting evidence efficiently: find the lines that answer a question without rereading everything.
- Distinguishing fact, opinion and inference: decide what the text says, what someone thinks and what you can reasonably conclude.
- Tracking references across paragraphs: follow words like “this” and “they” back to what they mean.
- Understanding writer attitude without over-interpreting: judge tone from evidence, not from a guess.
A fifth set of lessons, reading decisions when distractors look plausible, shows how to reject tempting wrong answers.
How do the four skills meet in one paragraph?
Here is an original paragraph. “The council closed the footbridge in May. It said the planks were unsafe, although residents thought the decision was hasty. This led to a petition.”
To find evidence you locate “May” and “unsafe”. The council’s reason is a claim, while “hasty” is residents’ opinion. “It” means the council, and “This” means the closing, or the disagreement over it. The word “although” hints that the writer is showing both sides.
All four skills worked on three sentences. In a long passage they work the same way, only with more text in between.
Who should start where?
If you often circle an answer that looks right but is not, start with locating evidence. If you find the right lines but choose the wrong meaning, begin with fact, opinion and inference.
When you finish the lessons, try the extended reading practice set and log wrong answers in the mistake log and paper-error review. For a teacher to read with you, see online one-to-one English tuition.