Learn more about how to study and prepare for the ASVAB paragraph comprehension exam – and what you need to do to achieve the highest possible score.
10 Questions
22 Minutes
15 Questions
13 Minutes
To score high on the ASVAB paragraph comprehension test, candidates must adapt to understanding how
paragraphs are put together and how to take away an accurate understanding of words, phrases, and the
overall context of the piece.
Often, you are not asked to directly interpret the meaning of a paragraph but are asked to infer some meaning from the paragraph. In these cases, the meaning is not so clear, but it has sufficient information for you to use to infer what is likely to be going on. This tests a candidate’s analytical skills, which is why this exam is used to calculate a candidate’s AFQT score.
In these questions, you will be asked about a certain word or phrase. You must then interpret the correct meaning of that word or phrase within its wider context. In these cases, you must read the sentence before and the sentence after this word or phrase and try to establish what it means. Often, the answers will supply trick answers which you must be keen to avoid.
These kinds of question are sometimes the easiest, but not always so. You will be asked to farm the correct answer to a specific question. Be careful not to rush, though, because often the paragraph will include multiple sets of information and so you must take the time to ensure that you are choosing the correct piece of data. Sometimes the paragraph is about an abstract or difficult concept, making this kind of question that little bit more challenging.
In context questions, the candidate is asked to interpret the entire, overall meaning of the paragraph. You will be provided with four possible titles of the paragraph and challenged to choose which is the most accurate and appropriate title that reflects the general meaning of the paragraph. These ASVAB test questions can be difficult at times because each title may reflect the meaning of at least some part of the paragraph.
As it is one of the four subtests used to calculate
your AFQT score!