How to Answer Reading Questions

The answer to the question in the title may be dependent on what type of reading question it is, for what purpose (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, exams, etc.), in what format the question is presented and many others. Reading comprehension section in TOEFL, for instance, investigates a bunch of areas like main idea, details (stated or implied), paragraph structure, vocabulary, etc. The questions in this section will be then designed in various formats depending on their objectives. Irrespective of different types of questions, formats, and etc., however, I happened to find some general (quite practical though) tips for handling questions with reading passages from http://www.eduplace.com.

First

• Concentrate. Put aside your worries and distractions. Get ready to get down to business!
• Don't rely too much on prior knowledge. Although you may know about the subject, the information that is presented will be the source from which your answer should come.

Second

• Read the question first. Why read the question before the passage? Because it saves time to know what you are reading for!
• Make sure you understand the question. What kind of information will you need to gather when you read? Will you be looking for facts? Or will you be using the passage to come up with your own answer?
• Read the passage. Read the passage as quickly as you can. Look for the answer as you read. When you find it, take notice of it, but -- and this is important -- don't stop reading yet! Read to the end. That way you can be sure that your answer is the best, most complete answer possible. If you are reading the passage in order to provide a written response, read more carefully. Make sure you understand everything.
• Providing the answer. Feel free to look back at the passage to double-check your answer.

If You Didn't Find the Answer

• Try again. Reread the question and the passage. Be sure you know what you are being asked to think about, before you reread.
• Skip the question. If you still can't find or figure out the answer, skip the question. You can come back to it after you've finished the rest of the test.

I'm hoping that you can try to apply some or even all of those and see if they work for you.
Good luck with answering reading questions.