Tugas 6 : Reading Comprehension Level

Name : Ferbawanti. S (47)

According to Berry (2005), there are three different levels of reading comprehension. These three different levels of comprehension can be called as the literal level, the interpretive level and the applied level.

1.      Literal Level

            The first level of comprehension can be called the literal level for the sake of 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 of a paragraph, however, you could memorize the information.  Instructors might ask you to read a chapter dealing with dates or specific facts.  At the literal level, you would memorize these dates and facts.  However, even though you have memorized these facts, this does not mean that you necessarily understand their full meaning or see the implication of these dates and facts 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.

2.      Interpretive Level

            The second level of 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, the readers 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 facts at the literal level and now you are attempting to see the implications of 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 of comprehension.

3.      Applied 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 from the author and attempting to apply that message to other settings. 

From the passages above, can be concluded that :

There are three levels of reading comprehension, literal, interpretive and applied level. Literal level is a level in which the readers are trying to understand what did the author say in the text. Interpretive level is a level in which the readers are trying to understand the implications of the text or what the author meant in the text. And applied level is a level in which the readers already reached the previous two levels and they are trying to apply the author’s message to other settings.

Reference : Berry, James.H. (2005). Levels of Reading Comprehension. Retrieved from: (http://www.google.co.id/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=reading+comprehension+level&source)