Comprehension: Non-Fiction Set 13
Comprehension: Non-Fiction Set 13 is another complete non-fiction reading task in the GL Assessment and CSSE style, giving further practice at reading a short factual or explanatory passage and answering questions on retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context and the writer's use of structure and language to inform.
Method
- Read the title and any headings first, since non-fiction extracts usually announce their topic and structure before you reach the detail.
- Read the whole passage once for the main idea of each paragraph, rather than trying to remember every fact on a first read.
- For retrieval questions, scan back to the paragraph most likely to contain the fact, using key words from the question as a guide.
- Distinguish between a fact stated directly in the text and an inference you must work out from clues, since the two need different kinds of answer.
- Notice structural features such as topic sentences, examples introduced by 'for instance', and connectives like 'however' or 'as a result', which link ideas together.
- When asked about the writer's purpose, decide whether the passage aims mainly to inform, explain, describe or persuade, since non-fiction can do more than one of these.
Worked example
Extract: 'Honeybees are far more than just honey-makers. A single bee will visit hundreds of flowers in one day, transferring pollen from bloom to bloom as it feeds. Without this pollination, many of the fruits and vegetables we eat would struggle to grow at all.' Question: Explain how the writer shows that honeybees are important, referring to the whole extract. (3 marks)
- Identify the writer's main claim, stated in the first sentence: bees are 'far more than just honey-makers'.
- Note the supporting detail given: a bee visits 'hundreds of flowers in one day', which shows the scale of its activity.
- Identify the explanation of why this matters: pollen transfer between flowers is called pollination, and the text links this directly to the growth of 'fruits and vegetables we eat'.
- Notice the structure: the passage moves from a general claim to a specific example (hundreds of flowers) to a wider consequence (food supply), building the argument step by step.
- Final answer: The writer shows bees are important by first correcting a common assumption (that they are only honey-makers), then giving a specific fact about how many flowers one bee visits, and finally linking this directly to the food we eat, building from claim to evidence to consequence.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1According to the extract, how many flowers might a single bee visit in one day?Show answer
Answer: Hundreds of flowers.
Q2'A single bee will visit hundreds of flowers in one day, transferring pollen from bloom to bloom as it feeds.' What is this process called?Show answer
Answer: Pollination.
Q3True or False: according to the extract, honeybees are useful only because they produce honey.Show answer
Answer: False (the extract states they are 'far more than just honey-makers').
Q4What does the writer suggest would happen to fruits and vegetables without bee pollination?Show answer
Answer: They would struggle to grow.
Q5Explain in one sentence why the writer opens with 'Honeybees are far more than just honey-makers' rather than starting with a fact about pollination.Show answer
Answer: Opening this way corrects a common assumption the reader might have, which makes the surprising true importance of bees more striking once it is explained.
Q6Give one word from the extract that signals the writer is about to explain a consequence or result.Show answer
Answer: 'Without' (introducing the consequence of no pollination), or a similar connective identified with reasoning.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Extract: 'A single bee will visit hundreds of flowers in one day, transferring pollen from bloom to bloom as it feeds.' Find and copy the phrase that shows how many flowers one bee might visit, and explain what this tells you about a bee's daily activity. (2 marks)
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Extract: 'Honeybees are far more than just honey-makers. A single bee will visit hundreds of flowers in one day, transferring pollen from bloom to bloom as it feeds. Without this pollination, many of the fruits and vegetables we eat would struggle to grow at all.' Explain how the writer builds an argument for the importance of bees across this extract. (4 marks)
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Extract: 'Not all pollinators are bees. Hoverflies, moths and even some beetles carry pollen between plants, though scientists estimate they are individually far less efficient at it than a honeybee. Still, in areas where bee populations have fallen, these lesser-known pollinators can make a real difference, sometimes taking over much of the pollination work bees once did.' Explain what this extract adds to the reader's understanding of pollination, referring to its structure and language. (5 marks)
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the comprehension: non-fiction set 13 worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 27 of 11+ English Workbook 1, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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