Levels of Reading Comprehension

Copyright 2005 by 1ames H. Berry, SC4

Introduction
Reading is a thinking activity. By now you have read this several times...is it sinking in?
This process involves getting meaning Irom the printed word or symbol. College instructors will expect
that you, as a college student, will be able to read at all levels oI meaning or comprehension. In this case,
LEVELS mean diIIerent depths oI understanding, diIIerent analysis oI what is meant. In other words,
you will be expected to read at diIIerent levels oI comprehension. These three diIIerent levels oI
comprehension can be called the literal level, the interpretive level and the applied level. Let`s examine
what each means brieIly.
Literal Level
The Iirst level oI comprehension can be called the literal level Ior the sake oI wording because it
is the most simple. At this level the reader or student can attempt to answer the question: Question:
What did the author say?
At this level, you would not have to understand the true meaning oI a paragraph, however, you
could memorize the inIormation. Instructors might ask you to read a chapter dealing with dates or
speciIic Iacts. At the literal level, you would memorize these dates and Iacts. However, even though you
have memorized these Iacts, this does not mean that you necessarily understand their Iull meaning or see
the implication oI these dates and Iacts applied to other situations. At the literal level, you are looking at
what was written by an author at 'face value`, little interpretation is needed.
Let`s suppose you are taking a history course to satisIy a humanities credit...say, HIS 101 or HIS
102 (Western Civilization). Let`s Iurther suppose that an instructor asks you this question: What year did
King Henry the JIII ascend the throne of England?
Now let`s examine this more careIully. II you memorized that King Henry VIII ascended the
throne of England in 1509...knowing this date does % make you a historian! On the contrary, all
through our lives we have memorized various dates and speciIic Iacts. The memorization oI these Iacts
does not make us an expert necessarily, but it does allow us to recall inIormation. Let`s take another
example at the literal level. This time, let`s use mathematics as the example. At some point in you school
career, you probably were exposed to this math Iormula: r
2
A This is stated: pi r squared Area.
II you do not know what it means, you could memorize that the symbol (pi) stands Ior the 16
th

letter oI the Greek alphabet representing the value Iound by dividing the diameter oI a circle into its
circumIerence. Now iI that is not conIusing enough, suppose that your instructor said, 'Memorize the
Iormula, never mind what it exactly means! You would be Iorced to memorize it and be able to put the
numerical values into the Iormula to Iind the solution to 'A. Oh by the way, this Iormula is used to Iind
the area of a circle! The point oI all oI this is that at the literal level oI comprehension, you are at the
most basic oI levels. You are building your knowledge but you do not necessarily have command oI it.
When we Iirst approach brand new inIormation, we are at the literal level oI comprehension. We
are unIamiliar with the inIormation and must simply report on: 'What was said on page 68? We haven`t
spent enough time building dendrites on that subject to Ieel like we could 'explain it. We probably
wouldn`t see the implications oI the inIormation...meaning we probably couldn`t yet see how that
inIormation was connected to other inIormation.
Interpretive Level
The second level oI comprehension is called the interpretive level. At the interpretive level the
reader or student can attempt to answer this question: Question: What was meant by what was said?
At this level, you are attempting to understand what the author meant by what s/he said in the
story, paragraph or textbook. It is presumed that you have already memorized certain Iacts at the literal
level and now you are attempting to see the implications oI the author`s words. At this level, you are
attempting to 'read between the lines.` as they say. At this level, you are attempting to understand that
which you memorized at the literal level oI comprehension.
Instead oI looking at the Iacts concerning hen King Henry VIII ascended the throne oI England,
perhaps now you are attempting to understand the social implications and the political implications oI
his ascension to the throne. Perhaps a teacher might ask you,


2
How did King Henry JIII wield his power as King of England?"
This question is decidedly more complex than the previous one, where you are ONLY asked to
report hat year he became King. This new question about 'how he wielded his power would Iorce you
to understand more than the date that he became King. Do you see this dramatic diIIerence?
Knowing the how`s and why`s behind this level oI understanding is obviously a much deeper or
proIound level oI thinking. Interestingly, it is this level oI comprehension that college instructors will
most likely expect you to get to in their courses. OI course they want you to 'memorize dates, Iacts,
details, but they also want you to be able to understand how that inIormation relates to and is connected to
the 'bigger picture oI what you are studying.
Now, reIer to the math Iormula problem Irom the literal level section again. At the interpretive
level, you would be able to understand this Iormula 'pi r squared and know how it could be proven or
perhaps be aware oI its implication to you the math student. The levels oI reading comprehension have
implications Ior learning that stretch across disciplines, across ways oI learning, and can allow us access
to inIormation when we are trying to build our 'learning curve.
Your ability to address the question Irom the King Henry VIII problem is hinged on your ability
to make your learning curve grow! As you study and learn the Iacts, then and only then, can you
'explain yourselI when it comes time Ior a test or an exam. Then and only then, can you see the
implications about a certain concept. Then and only then, can you prove that pi times the radius squared
does indeed equal the area oI a circle!
Understanding the implications oI an idea is like 'reading between the lines, as has already been
mentioned. Seeing hat the author has implied in his/her ritten ork or hat the instructor has
said is like trying to understand hat they meant even though they did not directly state it! This last
sentence is MOST important. Re-read it again!
pplied Level
The last level is called the applied level. At this level the reader or student can attempt to answer
this question: Question: How would the author's message apply to other situations given what you
memorized and understood at the other two levels?
At this level, you are attempting to elevate or raise your thinking one more 'notch or level to a
more critical, analyzing level. This presumes that you have already reached the previous two levels. At
this level, you are 'reading between the lines and then examining the message Irom the author and
attempting to apply that message to other settings.
For example, still Iollowing the ideas about King Henry VIII, what iI the history proIessor
lectured on 'power, the power that monarchs have, assume, take control oI, etc. In that discussion, iI
s/he asked you to consider this question, think about how you would respond:
How does power affect a person?
In this pretend scenario Irom history, a student started at the literal level memorizing dates Irom
history. At the interpretive level, the student would have examined the implications oI those dates...what
else was going on, what impact King Henry might have had on England, on the politics oI the time, etc.
At the applied level, the student has now spent a Iair amount oI time building his/her learning curve and is
now more able to see the larger implications oI people who either are born 'powerIul by their lineage oI
birth or have assumed power like someone elected into oIIice. Either way, iI an instructor asks you to
write an essay explaining how people are aIIected (controlled or inIluenced) by power and you responded
appropriately...you would be at the applied level oI comprehension.

For a more thorough discussion of each of these topics, please consider enrolling in RD 75 (Study Skills). It is a 1
credit hour course that meets at various times throughout the year. Please consult your current Schedule Planner on
the WAJE for dates and times. Or contact Professor 1ames Berry at SC4. jberrysc4.edu or 810-989-5559
(www.sc4.edu)