General Strategies for Reading Comprehension, by Stephen Bolton

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Try to read the whole text of the passage once, if possible. Many people thin yo! sho!ld "!st s im the passage or read the first lines of e#ery paragraph, and not to read the passage. $e belie#e this is an error% if yo! mis!nderstand the main idea of the passage, yo! will certainly get at least some of the &!estions wrong. Gi#e the passage one good read, ta ing no more than ' min!tes to read all of the text. (o not read the passage more than once ) that wastes too m!ch time. *f yo! ha#e not !nderstood it completely, try to answer the &!estions anyway. +ote% this point of reading the whole passage is important for test,ta ers whose first lang!age is not -nglish, pro#ided that they can read the passage in ' min!tes or less. Ma e brief notes on the text on yo!r scrap paper. /s we will see below in greater detail, yo! sho!ld write down a co!ple of words on /0 the Main *dea or 1rimary 1!rpose, B0 2rgani3ation4Str!ct!re of the passage, and C0 the Tone or /ttit!de of the a!thor 5if applicable0. 6o! "!st need a few words for each of these areas, and altogether it sho!ld not ta e longer than '7 seconds to write down. Remember that the tone or attit!de of the passage is !s!ally respectf!l and moderate, ne#er going to extremes of praise nor criticism. -TS obtains its Reading Comprehension passages from real articles abo!t real academics and professionals. So the tone of the articles, e#en when there is criticism in the passage toward an academic or her wor , is always balanced and moderate. *n the same #ein, articles that deal with minorities or ethnic gro!ps are almost always positi#e and sympathetic. 9oo o!t for str!ct!ral words that tell yo! the important ideas or transitions in a passage.

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Continue the Idea Words Similarly Moreo#er /dditionally *n the same way 9i ewise Conclusion Words Th!s Therefore :ence So *n s!mmary *n concl!sion Contradiction or Contrast Words

+e#ertheless +onetheless :owe#er B!t /ltho!gh Tho!gh -#en tho!gh +otwithstanding 6et (espite *n spite of 2n the one hand;on the other hand $hile <nli e

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Go bac to the text of the passage for the answers. Many test,ta ers fail to ret!rn to the text of the passage to loo for the correct answers. They rely solely on their memories and !nderstanding of the passage after ha#ing read or s immed it. $rong. -TS is co!nting on that. Go bac to the text to loo for information to answer the &!estions. +ine times o!t of ten, the answer lies within the passage.

2f the > most important types of &!estions for Reading Comprehension, we will first loo at Main *dea41rimary 1!rpose ?!estions, and the strategies we can !se to answer them. Main Idea/Primary Purpose Questions Many people belie#e there is no difference between the main or central idea of the passage and the primary p!rpose of the a!thor of the passage. This is simply not tr!e. 9et@s ta e a loo at the s!btle b!t important difference between them% Main Idea The &!estion might loo something li e this% A$hich of the following best states the central idea of the passageBA A$hich of the following most acc!rately states the main idea of the passageBA A$hich of the following is the principal topic of the passageBA AThe main topic of the passage is....A Primary Purpose The &!estion might loo li e this% AThe primary p!rpose of this passage is to...A AThe primary p!rpose of the passage as a whole is to...A AThe primary foc!s of this passage is on which of the followingBA AThe main concern of the passage is to...A A*n the passage, the a!thor is primarily interested in....A AThe passage is chiefly concerned with...A Strategy: Main *dea% 9oo in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. /ny concl!sion words li e therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that yo! see are most li ely introd!cing the main idea. The

correct answer will say the same thing as it says in the text, b!t !sing different words. The Main *dea is not always stated explicitly in the passage ) in fact, more li ely than not, it is not stated explicitly. Therefore, in order to answer this type of &!estion when it is more implicit% Re,read the first line of e#ery passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This sho!ld gi#e yo! the general str!ct!re or o!tline of the arg!ment, with which yo! can answer the Main *dea &!estion. .. /fter determining the general str!ct!re or content of the arg!ment, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beyond the content of the passage, or that deal with content only disc!ssed in one paragraph of the passage. '. Ma e brief notes ) a co!ple of words, regarding the Main *dea on the text on yo!r scrap paper while yo! read. 1rimary 1!rpose% $hat is the a!thor trying to doB $hat is his intentionB *f he is e#al!ating a theory, then the answer co!ld be something li e A(isc!ss an interpretationA. +ote that the correct answer wo!ld deal with Aan interpretationA, beca!se the a!thor is only dealing with one theory. *f the 1rimary 1!rpose is to critici3e . new boo s, then his intention or his primary p!rpose might be to ACriti&!e new st!diesA. /gain, as in Main *dea &!estions, re,read the first line of e#ery passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This sho!ld gi#e yo! the general str!ct!re or o!tline of the arg!ment, with which yo! can answer the 1rimary 1!rpose &!estion. +ote% / good main idea or primary p!rpose does not go beyond the scope of the passage, nor does it limit itself to disc!ssing only one part of the passage. $hat is the primary p!rpose of this passageB disc!ss the importance of the tele#ision program Star Tre for the /0 international space program disc!ss important theoretical wor concerned with faster,than,light space B0 tra#el. explore a disp!te among theoretical physicists regarding the !ses of space C0 flight (0 describe the possible !ses of space,warping material -0 explain how a space,warping b!bble wo!ld wor in the real world -xplanation This is a 1rimary 1!rpose &!estion, so we ha#e to determine what the a!thor is trying to do or say in this passage. So, let@s read the first and last lines of the passage in order to get an idea of the primary p!rpose. The first line says AGreat news for Star Tre fans% warp dri#es that can propel starships aro!nd the Galaxy faster than the speed of light may be possible after all,,with a little help from (r $ho.A The last line is a &!ote by a physicist that says A2f co!rse, there are still some basic &!estions,,li e how does one go abo!t constr!cting this Tardis space,time,,b!t it p!ts the concept of space warps bac on the agenda.A Crom both these sentences, we get the idea of space tra#el, faster than light tra#el and space warps ) maybe this is a disc!ssion of faster than light space tra#el. (oes that match what yo! ha#e already readB 6es, basically this is a disc!ssion of the theoretical state of play in the area of faster,than,light space tra#el. (o any of the = answer choices match thatB 6es ) B, e#en if the wording is somewhat different from how we are wording it, the idea is almost exactly the same. B is the answer. /nother way of getting to the answer is thro!gh elimination of ob#io!sly incorrect answer choices. $e can eliminate / beca!se the a!thor mentions the pop!lar science fiction program Star Tre merely to introd!ce the idea of faster,than,light tra#el, and nothing more. C is a stronger possibility beca!se the second paragraph of the passage does disc!ss some 1.

disagreement among physicists abo!t the possibility of creating a warp,dri#e, b!t in the same paragraph the theoretical dilemma seems resol#ed. Moreo#er, since the a!thor only disc!sses this in one paragraph, it cannot be the primary p!rpose of the entire passage. $e can eliminate ( beca!se the a!thor does not go into detail disc!ssing the !ses of space,warping material. /nd we can discard - beca!se the a!thor does not really go into how the space,warping b!bble wo!ld wor in the real world. Title Questions by Stephen Bolton, .7th /!g!st, 1DDD Title &!estions are #ery similar to Main *dea &!estions, tho!gh are less common. Tho!gh some of the example passage we !se in this t!torial and in the 1ractice Section are from the +ew Scientist, and therefore ha#e titles, the passages in the real GM/T will not ha#e titles. The &!estion might loo li e this%

A$hich of the following titles best s!mmari3es the passage as a wholeBA Strategy% Treat this as a Main *dea &!estion. / good title s!ms !p the central idea of a passage. Therefore, in order to answer this type of &!estion% 1. 9oo in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. /ny concl!sion words li e therefore, th!s, so, hence, etc. that yo! see are most li ely introd!cing the Main *dea4Title. The correct answer will say the same thing as it says in the text, b!t !sing different words. .. Re,read the first line of e#ery passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This sho!ld gi#e yo! the general str!ct!re or o!tline of the arg!ment, with which yo! can answer the Title &!estion. '. Ma e brief notes ) a co!ple of words, regarding the Title on the text on yo!r scrap paper while yo! read. 8. /fter determining the general str!ct!re or content of the arg!ment, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beyond the content of the passage, or that deal with content only disc!ssed in one paragraph of the passage. $hat wo!ld be an appropriate title for this passageB /0 Constr!cting The Tardis B0 :ow To Ma e Space,$arping Material C0 B!bbles *n Space,Time (0 Caster,Than,9ight Tra#el% / 1ossibilityB -0 (ebate 2n The <ses of Space Tra#el -xplanation This passage act!ally already has a title, A$arp Cactor 2neA. B!t we ha#e to loo for another title possibility, one that wo!ld be most li e the Main *dea of the passage. $e loo at the first and last paragraphs, and since the Main *dea is that researchers now feel that faster,than,light tra#el maybe more than mere fantasy, we can find the correct answer choice. (oes any answer choice corrspond to this ideaB 6es, answer (, which is the correct answer. $e can also find the correct answer thro!gh elimination. There is nowhere in the passage where it disc!sses b!ilding (r. $ho@s Tardis 5pityE0, so we can eliminate /. +or does it tell !s how to ma e space,warping material. -liminate B. $hile b!bbles in space,time are disc!ssed at some

length in one of the paragraphs, we cannot say this is the main concern of the passage, and th!s sho!ld eliminate C. /nd nowhere are the !ses of space tra#el disc!ssed, so discard -. Specific Detail or Target questions are probably the most common types of &!estions, and the easiest to answer. The &!estion might loo li e this%

A/ccording to the passage,....A AThe passage states that ....A Strategy The Specific (etail or Target that we are loo ing for co!ld be a 9ine +!mber, or a +ame or (ate. Go to the 9ine +!mber or +ame or (ate, and then read se#eral lines abo#e and below it. Cind the answer choice that basically says the same thing as in the passage, tho!gh !s!ally with different words or word order. /ccording to the passage, 1fenning and Cord /0 demonstrated concl!si#ely the impossibility of faster,than,light tra#el B0 explored the possibility of b!bbles that warp space C0 s!pported the wor of /lc!bierre wor at of the *nstit!te for Theoretical 1hysics at the Catholic (0 <ni#ersity of 9e!#en -0 s!ggested that a warp dri#e was not physically possible -xplanation This is a Specific (etail4Target &!estion, and therefore we loo for the +ame, 9ine +!mber, or (ate that will help !s. *n this case, the detail consists of the names 1fenning and Cord. $e scan the text, starting from the top of the passage, loo ing for the names 1fenning and Cord. $e find them in only place, at the beginning of the second paragraph. $e read a co!ple of lines abo#e the names, and eep reading !ntil a few lines after the names. *t says AB!t in 1DDF Michael 1fenning and 9arry Cord at T!fts <ni#ersity in Medford, Massach!setts, apparently illed this ingenio!s idea by showing that it needed far more than the entire energy content of the <ni#erse to wor 5This $ee , .> G!ly 1DDF, p >0A. The line after that says the research of another physicist then res!rrected the possibility of CT9 tra#el, negating the implications of the research of 1fenning and Cord. +ow we can answer the &!estion. (o any of the answer choices match the information gi#en aro!nd the target areaB 6es, -. 9et@s also eliminate. *f we re,read what the passage says abo!t 1fenning and Cord, we can eliminate B, C, and (. +one of them are s!pported by the information in the passage, so let@s eliminate all of them witho!t wasting too m!ch time and with a minim!m of f!ss. / is to!gher to eliminate. Crom the sentence that mentions 1fenning and Cord, it seems their wor does r!le o!t the possibility of a space,warp dri#e. B!t if we read the next line, it says another researcher said it was indeed possible. So the 1fenning and Cord co!ld not ha#e Aconcl!si#elyA demonstrated the impossibity of the CT9 dri#e.

This is probably the most diffic!lt type of Reading Comprehension problem. The &!estion might loo li e this%

A*t can be inferred that the a!thor ma es which of the following ass!mptionsBA A$hich is an ass!mption !nderlying the last sentence of the passageBA A$hich of the following, if tr!e, wo!ld most strengthen the hypothesis mentioned in lines 1F,1DBA A$ith which of the following statements regarding chaos theory wo!ld the a!thor be most li ely to agreeBA Strategy% 1. Cirst, treat this type of problem as a Specific Target &!estion. 9oo for a target in the &!estion, find it in the text, and then loo abo#e and below it. 2ften yo! do not ha#e to infer #ery m!ch, the answer remains within the text. .. *f the answer m!st be inferred and is not stated explicitly within the text, then choose the answer choice that can be inferred or ass!med from the information gi#en. /gain, yo! sho!ld not ha#e to infer #ery m!ch ) only one or two logical steps remo#ed from the information in the passage. '. Ma e s!re that the answer choice yo! decide on does not #iolate or contradict the Main *dea of the passage , if it does, the answer choice is probably wrong. *t can be inferred that a ho!se with the properties of the b!bble mentioned in the passage /0 wo!ld be larger on the inside than on the o!tside B0 co!ld mo#e faster than the speed of light C0 might be #ery energy efficient (0 co!ld mo#e thro!gh time -0 wo!ld e#ent!ally fold in on itself and be destroyed -xplanation Cirst, let@s try to deal with this &!estion as a Specific Target problem. *s there a target in the &!estionB 6es ) the b!bble. The b!bble is first mentioned at the end of the second paragraph, and then disc!ssed at length thro!gho!t the third paragraph. Remember, we ha#e to loo abo#e and below that target area 5as well as read the target area again0, so &!ic ly go thro!gh the second, third, and first part of the fo!rth paragraph. $hen yo! are finished, loo at the answer choices. Can any of them be inferred from the information gi#en in the target areaB $ell, we co!ld eliminate C, (, and - for simply not being s!pported by the information gi#en in the passage. B ) maybe, b!t a ho!se mo#ing thro!gh time seems pretty silly. B!t in the fo!rth paragraph the a!thor tal s abo!t the Tardis, Awhich loo ed li e a police box b!t had a spacio!s interiorA. Big on the inside, small on the o!tside. *s that li e o!r ho!seB 6es, answer /. /s well, we can choose / beca!se it does not go against or contradict the Main *dea in this case, which if it had, wo!ld ha#e made it necessary to eliminate. So choose /. The &!estion might loo li e this%

AThe a!thor@s attit!de towards Morgan@s theory co!ld best be described as one of ...A Strategy% 9oo for descripti#e words, ad"ecti#es or ad#erbs, that co!ld tell yo! the a!thor@s attit!de. Cor example, the words unfortunately or flaw s!ggest a negati#e connotation, while strength or valuable emphasi3e the positi#e. Ma e brief notes ) a co!ple of words, regarding the Tone of the text on yo!r scrap paper while yo! read. /dditionally, eep in mind that the a!thor@s

attit!de toward a theory, boo , or ethnic gro!p will almost always be respectf!l, e#en when somewhat critical. The a!thor@s attit!de towards Mig!el /lcibierre@s theory co!ld best be described as one of /0 admiration B0 mild s epticism C0 !nbridled scorn (0 dismay -0 complete ob"ecti#ity -xplanation Since this is a Tone4/ttit!de &!estion, we m!st loo in the passage for descripti#e words that tell !s what the a!thor thin s of /lcibierre and his theory. *n the second paragraph the a!thor call@s /lcibierre@s theory Athis ingenio!s ideaA. This is positi#e, and the only positi#e answer choice is /. / is the correct answer. /s well, if we co!ld not find the tone so easily, we co!ld also eliminate C and ( at the #ery least, for being too extreme. The &!estion might loo li e this%

A$hich of the following best describes the organi3ation of the passageBA A$hich of the following best describes the organi3ation of the first paragraph of the passageBA A2ne f!nction of the third paragraph is to....A Strategy% Re,read the first line of e#ery passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This sho!ld gi#e yo! the general str!ct!re or o!tline of the arg!ment, with which yo! can answer the &!estion. Remember to ma e brief notes abo!t the str!ct!re of the text on yo!r scrap paper. *f yo! are loo ing for the organi3ation of one paragraph, read the first and second sentence of the paragraph. That will gi#e yo! a ro!gh idea of what is the str!ct!re or organi3ation of the paragraph. $hich of the following best describes the organi3ation of the second paragraph of the passageB /0 Two in#estigations that s!pport /lc!bierre@s theory are introd!ced B0 1ossible ob"ections to the !ses of the warp dri#e are present, and then ref!ted /n ob"ection to the practicality of the theory is raised, and then another wor C0 is cited to shore !p the applicability of the original theory / wor of theoretical physics that s!pports /lc!bierre@s theory is raised, and (0 then another that ref!tes it is presented -0 /lc!bierre@s theory is analy3ed by a panel of se#eral eminent physicists -xplanation Read the first sentence of the paragraph% AB!t in 1DDF Michael 1fenning and 9arry Cord at T!fts <ni#ersity in Medford, Massach!setts, apparently illed this ingenio!s idea by showing that it needed far more than the entire energy content of the <ni#erse to wor 5This $ee , .> G!ly

1DDF, p >0A. Then read the second sentence% A+ow Chris Han (en Broec of the *nstit!te for Theoretical 1hysics at the Catholic <ni#ersity of 9e!#en, Belgi!m, has res!rrected /lc!bierre@s proposalA. So if we o!t those two sentences together, and in different words, first the !sef!lness of /lc!bierre@s theory is &!estioned by two researchers, then the theory is #alidated by yet another researcher. $hich of the answer choices is closest to thisB C. +one of the other answer choices follow the organi3ational pattern of the paragraph ) they re#erse it, or are completely dissimilar. C is the only possible answer. 1. Read the whole text of the passage once. Ma e brief notes abo!t the text on yo!r scrap paper. Remember that the tone or attit!de of the passage is !s!ally respectf!l and moderate, ne#er going to extremes of praise nor criticism. 8. 9oo o!t for str!ct!ral words that tell yo! the important ideas or transitions in a passage. =. Go bac to the text of the passage for the answers to specific &!estions. .. '.