Answer the questions based on the text 1.
Who thought that he was important? Answer: A little Fly
2.
The word he in paragraph 2 refers to ...
Answer: The Bull
2.2.2 Inferential Comprehension
Inferential comprehension deals with comprehending the substance or the gist of the implied meaning of the text. Based on Fairbairn and Winch 1996:15,
inferential comprehension skill refers to the reader ’s ability to understand the
implied meaning that is not stated in the text. Moreover, McWhorter 1989:254 explains that inferential comprehension much concerns on the skill of guessing or
predicting the given information in the text. Further, Hennings 1997:269 says that inferential comprehension includes comprehending about the lines,
generating information and ideas which are not directly stated, so that the students have to create their inferences.
From the explanations above, it can be concluded that inferential comprehension needs more thinking because the information is provided
implicitly, so that the reader should think and predict the context by using this prior knowledge rather than
depending only on the writer’s information. To know the inferential comprehension skill of the students, the teacher
may give questions related to implied message to the students. According to Mohamad 1999:12, in the learning activity, teachers may ask more challenging
questions such as asking the students to do the following tasks. • Re-arranging the ideas or topics discussed in the text.
• Explaining the authors purpose of writing the text. • Summarizing the main idea when it is not explicitly stated in the text.
In this research, inferential comprehension was also used as one of the indicators of reading comprehension. Here are the examples of inferential
comprehension:
Instruction: Read the text carefully
The Fly and the Bull There was once a little Fly who thought he was very important. He
felt proud of himself. One sunny morning, he flew around looking for someone to talk to. He saw a bull grazing in a field. He decided to fly
down to talk to him. The little Fly fl
ew down and buzzed around the Bull’s head. The Bull did not bother him. He went on chewing grass.
The Fly buzzed right inside the Bull’s ear. The Bull continued
chewing grass. The Fly thought, “What a stupid animal” Now, the Fly decided to land
on one of the Bull’s horns to make the Bull notice him. He waited for the Bull to say something, but the
Bull kept quiet. The Fly then shouted angrily, “Oh, Bull, if you find that I am too
heavy for you, let me know and I’ll fly away” The Bull l
aughed and said, “Little Fly, I don’t care if you stay or leave. You are so tiny that your weight does not make any differences
to me, so please be quite and leave me alone ”.
Taken from Angels’s Moral Story in Widyaningsih, 2013:26
Answer the question based on the text 1.
What is the main idea of paragraph 2? Answer: The little Fly flew down to talk to the Bull
2.3 Reading Comprehension Achievement
