Comprehension X-Ray
Highlight only the sentences that show this is true. Then show the examiner.
This engine’s own main skill is Inference & Evidence. It practises retrieve an explicit detail alongside it.
Evidence is not "the bit that mentions it" - it is the bit that could not be true unless the statement were true. Maya turning at the fork without checking the signpost, and warning the others about a loose step she has never been shown, both need her to have been here before. The other sentences fit the scene beautifully, but a first-time visitor could have produced every one of them.
What to say if they get stuck
- A sentence is only evidence if the statement would fall apart without it.
- Some sentences are about the lighthouse, or about the weather. Being on the same topic is not the same as being proof.
- Look for things Maya does that she could only do if she already knew the path.
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Inference Iceberg
Sort each statement: written on the page, hidden underneath, or floating rubbish.
This engine’s own main skill is Stated vs inferred. It practises retrieve an explicit detail alongside it.
Reading well means holding three piles apart. STATED is anything you could underline: the words are physically there, like the coins being counted twice. INFERRED is what the clues force to be true even though the writer never wrote it: patched patches, counted coins and choosing between bread and a candle only add up one way, so being short of money is locked in without ever being said. UNSUPPORTED is the guess that feels sensible but has no clue behind it, like going hungry tonight, when in fact she bought the bread. The test that separates the last two is simple: name the clue. If you can point at the words that force your idea, it is an inference and you can defend it in an answer. If you cannot, you have imagined it, and in an exam it costs you the mark.
What to say if they get stuck
- For STATED you must be able to put your finger on the words. If you are joining two clues together, it is not stated.
- For HIDDEN, ask what the detail is doing there. Nobody counts coins twice, or chooses between bread and a candle, unless money is tight.
- For the bin, ask what clue would have to exist. Nothing in the passage says what happens after she leaves the shop, so anything about tonight is a guess.
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Question Forge
Three questions, three lines they were forged from. Hammer each pair together.
This engine’s own main skill is Question types. It practises retrieve an explicit detail alongside it.
Three question types, three kinds of line, every single paper. Retrieval comes from a line that states a fact, so you copy it out. Reading between the lines comes from a line that shows without telling, so you read the clue and say what it means. Vocabulary in context comes from a line with one hard word and enough around it to work the word out. When you meet a question, name its type first. The type tells you what sort of line to hunt for and what sort of sentence to write.
What to say if they get stuck
- Start with the easy weld. One question asks for a number, so it can only come from the line that states one.
- A vocabulary question needs a hard word sitting in the line, with clues around it to work the meaning out.
- That leaves reading between the lines, which always comes from the line that shows a person doing something without ever telling you why.
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Unreliable Witness
Three witnesses, one true account. Work out who can be trusted.
This engine’s own main skill is Summarising & accuracy. It practises retrieve an explicit detail alongside it, and covers most of it rather than all.
A good summary keeps three things exactly as they were: the size of what happened, the reason it happened, and the details that were actually written. Distortions almost always attack one of those three. Making it bigger is exaggeration, so "clung on halfway" becomes "fell all the way to the ground" and the whole meaning flips, because a boy who holds on is brave and a boy who falls is unlucky. Swapping the reason is the sneakiest, because "the kite was stuck" becomes "his sister dared him", which invents a motive the passage never offered. Adding a detail is the easiest to miss, since invented facts sit quietly among the real ones. So when you check a summary, including your own, test each claim against the exact words: if you cannot find the line, take the claim out.
- Step 1. Honest. Which witness retells the passage without bending it?
- Step 2. Lies. Now catch each liar. Tap the exact words they twisted.
What to say if they get stuck
- Do not ask which retelling sounds best. Ask which one you could match to the passage line by line.
- A distortion is usually one phrase, not a whole sentence. Look for a word that has been made bigger, or a reason nobody actually gave.
- The passage says he clung on, and it never gives a reason for the climb beyond the kite being stuck. Anything else has been added.
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