Reading Comprehension Strategies 2: dissecting paragraphs, common phrasing for incorrect answers, traps

Reading Comprehension - Detail question stem tips

*Details stems give you clues where to look for detail needed *Many stems include specific words or phrases *Some stems include a highlight phrase/portion of the passage *Using these clues selectively reread passage - read sentence before and after detail to understand context.

Basic Principles - Look for opinions/theories/points of view - especially from the author

*Distinguishing between factual assertions and opinion is key as most questions are based around opinions *Differentiate the author's voice from other people's opinions *Use keyword identification to anticipate where author is heading

Read passage strategically - Passage Map tips

*It should take no more than 4 minutes to read passage and create map *Create it paragraph by paragraph but not while you are reading *Summarize main points and structure - only include details if a keyword indicates that it is important *One or two lines is generally enough for each point *Try using arrows in passage map to link topic, scope, purpose to visually confirm structure.

Basic Principles - Don't obsess over the details

*You waste time from focusing on big picture, wrong answers are mostly distortions of the details, don't want to lose the big picture in the details

Reading Comprehension - Detail question stems

*according to passage, which of the following is true of X *the author states *the author mentions which of the following in support of X

Reading Comprehension - Global question stems

*main idea of the passage *author's primary purpose *best describes the organization of the passage *appropriate title for this passage would be

Reading Comprehension - Logic Question stems

*the author mentions X most probably in order to *which best describes relationship of 2nd paragraph to rest of passage *what is primary purpose of 3rd paragraph

Reading Comprehension - Inference question stems

*which of the following is suggested about X *can be reasonably inferred by passage *author would most likely agree

Reading Comprehension - Basic Principles

1. Look for the topic and scope 2. Get gist of each paragraph and understand structural role 3. Look for opinions, theories, points of view - especially the author's 4. Don't obsess over the details

KAPLAN Method

1. Read the passage strategically 2. Analyze the stem question 3. Research the relevant text 4. Make a prediction 5. Evaluate the answer choices

Read passage strategically - how to create passage map

1. Start by identifying topic, scope, where the author is heading, and role of the first paragraph 2. As you finish each paragraph, jot down short note about structure and role 3. When you finish reading the passage, double check your topic and scope and note the author's overall purpose.

Evaluate answer choices - Wrong answer traps

Common wrong answer traps by question type: Global - answer misrepresents scope/purpose and focuses too heavily on detail from one part of the passage Detail - Answer distorts the context or focus on wrong details entirely Inference - answer that include extreme language/exaggerates author's statements/distortions of passage meaning - could include exact opposite of what is inferred Logic - answers that get the specifics right but purpose wrong.

Kaplan Method - Read the passage strategically

Create a passage map that includes the topic, scope, purpose, and summary of structure and role of each paragraph

Reading Comprehension - Detail question types

Detail questions ask you to identify what the passage explicitly says. They test whether you understand that detail in context of the passage. Never pick an answer choice for a Detail question just because it sounds familiar - wrong answer choices are often distortions of fact in passage. All information needed to answer Detail questions is in the passage.

Strategic Reading tool

Focus on reading just the subjects, verbs, and for keywords in a passage to understand the big picture structure, the details can always be reread if necessary

Kaplan Method - Research relevant text

Focus on research by question type as follows: Global - answer will deal with passage as a whole. you should review your passage map and topic, scope, purpose Detail - use specific reference in the question stem to research text. Look for the detail to be associated with a keyword Inference - research passage based on clues in question stem for question with a specific reference. For open ended, refer to topic, scope, purpose Logic - use specific reference in question stem, use keywords to understand passage structure - purpose of specific paragraph in passage map could be the answer

Reading Comprehension - Inference - Solve by type

For the first type of Inference question - find the relevant detail from the question in the passage and consider it in context. For the second type of Inference question - eliminate answer choices that contradict the big picture and then investigate the remaining choices by 1. proving them right, 2. proving them wrong, 3. not proved right but not proved wrong. If you can't find info in passage that makes an answer choice wrong then don't eliminate it! Most wrong Inference question choices use extreme language or exaggerate views expressed.

Kaplan Method - Make a prediction

Form prediction based on question type as follows: Global - use passage map, topic, scope, purpose as basis for prediction Detail - predict answer based on what context tells you about detail Inference - right answer must be true based on the passage - beyond that the prediction could hinge on one detail Logic - predict answer that focuses on why paragraph/detail was used not on what it says

Reading Comprehension - Global Question Types

Global question as you to consider a passage as a whole. Your answer will be consistent with the topic, scope, purpose, structure. Often answer choices to Global questions asking for purpose will begin with verbs - you can scan answer for incorrect verbs not consistent with author's view. Common wrong answers misrepresent neutral author by using opinionated verbs

Kaplan Method - Evaluate answer choices

Hunt for the answer that matches your prediction. If you can't pick a match, then evaluate each answer choice looking for errors. Knowing how to eliminate 4 wrong answer is just as good as picking the correct answer. Look for out of scope answers or "half right/half wrong" answers (mostly due to one or two words). Some answers are tempting with correct details and scope but include "not" or "doesn't" which flips the meaning.

Analyze the question stem - Other questions

In addition to the four main types of questions outlined, you can run into rare questions that ask for paraphrasing or analyzing specific points of reasoning in the passage. They are similar to Critical Reasoning questions.

Reading Comprehension - Inference questions

Inference questions ask you to find something that must be true based on the passage but not mentioned explicitly in the passage. Inference questions come in two types - those that use key phrases/highlight to specific part of passage. The second type does not make any inferences at all instead asks what can be inferred from passage as a whole.

Reading Comprehension - Logic Questions

Logic questions ask why the author does something, why he cites a source, why he includes a certain detail. these questions ask for the purpose of part of the passage. Most Logic questions can be answered correctly with your passage map. Answer choices that focus too heavily on specifics are usually wrong - it's not content, its motivation of the author that is key.

Reading Comprehension - Global Wrong answers

Most wrong Global answers will: *Have the scope wrong - it will be too narrow or too broad *Misrepresent the author's view *Be wary of answers based on details from 1st/last paragraph - they are usually traps designed to catch people looking for the topic and concluding sentence

Reading Comprehension - Other question types

Other question types include Critical reasoning, parallelism, and application.

Read passage strategically - Purpose

Purpose is what the author is seeking to accomplish by writing the passage. When making a purpose statement, pick an active verb. It helps set you up for picking the correct answer - as many correct answers contain an active verb - but also forces you to consider the author's opinion.

Kaplan Method - Analyze the question stem

Read and create passage map, then read and identify the question stem. Most common question types are Global, Detail, Inference, Logic. In addition to identifying question type, be sure to focus on EXACTLY what the question is asking.

Basic Principles - Get the gist of each paragraph and it structural role in the passage

Read the first paragraph very carefully - then you can go on to understand what role each additional paragraph plays - ask questions such as: *why did author include this, what is different from paragraph before, what bearing does paragraph play on main idea of author* making a passage map of each paragraph through keyword identifications helps you identify roles.

Read passage strategically - Scope

Scope is the narrowing of the topic, if author expresses and opinion it is about the scope. When you are identifying the scope, you want to shoot for it being as narrow as possible but still reflecting the entire passage as a whole. The scope statement should answer the question - what about this interests the author?. Many wrong answers are outside of the scope - this is why it is critical to identify

Reading Comprehension - Other types - Application

These questions ask you to identify an example application of something described in the passage. They ask you to apply information directly within the same subject area rather than analogy.

Reading Comprehension - Other types - Parallelism

These questions ask you to take ideas from the passage and apply them through analogy to a new situation. The questions are more concerned with structure instead of substance - same subject matter answer choices are usually traps

Reading Comprehension - Other types - Critical Reasoning

These questions refer to arguments usually refer to just one paragraph versus passage as a whole. To solve, research portion of the passage that includes argument referenced by question stem. Idetitfy conclusion and relevant evidence and use central assumption to predict the answer

Basic Principles - Look for the topic and the scope

Topic - it is the first big idea that comes along, it is usually the first sentence, it is too big of an idea to discuss in a small passage such as in the GMAT Scope - is the narrowing of the topic, it is an idea reasonable to focus on in the length of the passage, critical to find the scope to answer questions correctly!

Read passage strategically - Topic

Topic is the first big idea to come along, almost always appears in the first sentence. You need to identify a general idea here, no need to obsess over details.

Read passage strategically - Purpose verbs

Verbs of a neutral author - describe, explain, compare Verbs of an opinionated author - advocate, argue, rebut, analyze