ISEE Upper Level Reading Comprehension

A comprehensive guide to mastering reading comprehension skills for the ISEE Upper Level exam.

Understanding Passage TypesMain Idea and Supporting DetailsInference and Drawing Conclusions
Author’s Purpose and ToneVocabulary in ContextAnalyzing Structure and Organization
Applying Comprehension in SchoolComprehension Beyond the ClassroomPreparing for Group Discussions
Active Reading TechniquesTime Management on Test DayElimination and Guessing Strategies
Understanding Passag...Main Idea and Suppor...Inference and Drawin...Author’s Purpose and...Vocabulary in Contex...Analyzing Structure ...Applying Comprehensi...Comprehension Beyond...Preparing for Group ...Active Reading Techn...Time Management on T...Elimination and Gues...
Advanced Topics

Author’s Purpose and Tone

Uncovering Why and How Authors Write

Understanding the author’s purpose means figuring out why the passage was written. Is it to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain? The tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject, which can be serious, humorous, critical, or enthusiastic.

How to Identify Purpose

  • Look for key words that signal intent (e.g., "the aim is," "in order to persuade").
  • Check if the passage is mostly facts (inform), opinions (persuade), or stories (entertain).

Recognizing Tone

  • Notice word choice and sentence structure.
  • Ask: "Does the author sound excited, sad, or neutral?"

Why It’s Useful

Many ISEE questions will ask you to identify the purpose or tone, which can help you better understand the passage as a whole.

Pro Techniques

  • Mark words that show feeling or opinion.
  • Summarize the passage in one sentence and describe how it feels.

Examples

  • A passage using playful language and telling jokes has a humorous tone.

  • If the passage presents statistics to convince you, the purpose is to persuade.

In a Nutshell

Figure out why the author wrote the passage and how they feel about the topic.

Key Terms

Tone
The author's attitude toward the topic.
Purpose
The reason the author wrote the passage.
Next
Vocabulary in Context