PSLE Paper 2 Comprehension: The 8 Question Types (and the Formula for Each)

Ask most PSLE students what makes Paper 2 comprehension hard and they will say the same thing: “You never know what they’ll ask.” Here is the secret that changes everything — you do. Examiners draw from the same eight types of question every year. Only the passage changes. Learn to name the type, and you know the shape of the answer before you write a word.

The eight question types

1. Literal — Who/What/Where/When. Find the stated fact and reframe it in your own words, keeping key details exact.
2. Sequencing — Before/after/first/finally. Circle the time words and mirror the question’s time logic.
3. Inference — “Why do you think…” State your conclusion first, then support it with the clue from the passage.
4. Vocabulary in context — “What does X mean here?” Cover the word and let the sentence tell you the meaning.
5. Language for impact — “Why did the writer use X?” Quote the exact word, then explain that exact word’s effect.
6. True/False with evidence — Verdict first, evidence second. Always both.
7. Cause and effect — One clean because-sentence linking action to result.
8. Applied/opinion — Your view plus a reason anchored in the passage, never in your own life.

Why naming the type matters

Each type has a different full-mark answer shape. An inference answered like a literal question loses marks even when the child “knows” the answer — because the conclusion arrives without its clue. Train one habit this week: before answering any practice question, say the type out loud. Parents, this is also the single most useful question you can ask when marking at home: “Which type is this one?”

Get the one-page version, free

We’ve put all eight types — the tell-tale wording and the formula for each — on a single page your child can keep beside every practice paper: download the free PSLE Comprehension Question-Type Cheat Sheet. It comes with an exam-day checklist that stops the classic mark-losers.

For AI-marked writing practice, Mentora Compass gives instant, teacher-style feedback on essays — the first one is free.

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