Finding information (retrieval)

Retrieval means finding information in a text: facts and details that the text tells you directly. The answer is in the words of the text, so you don't have to guess: you have to find it. Good readers use the question to know what to look for.

Key facts

  • Read the question first and find its key word: a name, a place, a number or a time.
  • Look for that key word, or a word that means the same, in the text.
  • Read the sentence around it carefully: the answer is usually there.
  • ⟦Find and copy⟧ means use the exact word from the text and spell it as the text does.
  • Check your answer against the text: does it answer the question that was asked (who, where, when, how many)?

Worked examples

Example 1

Read: ⟦Lerato has a little cat called Pip. Pip is black with white feet.⟧ Question: ⟦What colour are Pip's feet?⟧

  1. The key word in the question is ⟦feet⟧.
  2. The text says: ⟦Pip is black with white feet.⟧
  3. So the feet are ⟦white⟧. (⟦black⟧ is the colour of the rest of the cat.)

Answer: ⟦white⟧

Example 2

Read: ⟦The oldest pupils carried water up the steep path in buckets.⟧ ⟦Find and copy one word that tells you the path was hard to climb.⟧

  1. A path that is hard to climb goes up sharply.
  2. The word in the text that tells us this is ⟦steep⟧. Copy it exactly.

Answer: ⟦steep⟧

Example 3

Read: ⟦The library first opened in 1907. In 1962 it moved to Station Road.⟧ Question: ⟦When did the library first open?⟧

  1. There are two dates in the text.
  2. The question asks about the first opening: ⟦first opened in 1907⟧.
  3. ⟦1962⟧ is when it moved, so it doesn't answer this question.

Answer: ⟦in 1907⟧