Paragraph Comprehension: mixed review

The topic is the subject in a word or phrase (night shifts). The main idea is a full statement of what the passage says about that subject, answering 'so what?'

Check each choice against every sentence. If a sentence would be left out, the choice is too narrow; if it brings in things no sentence mentions, it is too broad.

Too broad: describes a bigger subject than the passage covers (fire safety everywhere). Too narrow: repeats one detail, often accurately, and ignores the rest. The answer matches the passage's size.

A choice that is true in real life but not stated or supported by the passage. The question asks what this passage supports, not what is generally correct.

The answer must keep the passage's strength. 'Can reduce rust' does not mean prevents all rust; choices with always, never, all or only, or that turn 'linked to' into 'causes', usually go too far.

Ask what conclusion all the details share, then pick the choice that states it without exaggerating. Cracked planks, missing railings and warning signs imply the pier is unsafe.

The main idea is what the passage says (the new method shortened learning time). The purpose is why it was written: to inform, explain or persuade. Read which one the question asks for.

When stuck between two choices, prefer the one that needs fewer unstated facts or steps to be true. The best answer can be defended using the passage alone.

A specific piece of stated information that backs up the main point: a name, date, place, amount, step, reason or example. Detail questions often start with who, what, when, where, how many or 'according to the passage.'

1) Pin down exactly what kind of answer is asked for (time, person, number, reason). 2) Locate the sentence holding that fact. 3) Check each choice against it word by word: subject, action, numbers and conditions must all match.

Yes. Correct answers are often paraphrases. Accept a reworded choice if its meaning is identical, with nothing added, dropped or changed in strength.

A wrong choice borrows exact words from the passage but changes the fact, e.g. 'repaired' becomes 'replaced.' Reward matching meaning, not matching vocabulary.

A choice adds exactness the passage lacks, such as 'exactly seven days' for 'about a week,' or 'three hours' for 'up to three hours.' Keep the passage's level of precision.

No. Reversing an if-then statement makes a claim the passage never made; the event could move indoors for other reasons. Keep conditions in their stated direction.

Check that each number, its unit and the thing it describes stay together (e.g. 15 nurses vs 9 doctors; per day vs per week). A correct number on the wrong subject is wrong.

The passage. If the text gives a fact (say, a bridge built in 1932) that differs from what you remember, or a choice is true in general but not stated, answer from the text alone.

A conclusion the passage supports without stating it outright. It is not a hunch, a wish, or a fact known from outside the text.

Evidence (a specific detail in the passage), a bridge (a common-sense connection almost anyone accepts), and the conclusion that follows. No evidence means it is only a guess.

'Suggests,' 'implies,' 'most likely,' 'it can be inferred' ask for one step past the text; 'according to the passage' or 'the author states' ask for a fact you can point to.

It stays on the passage's rung or steps down, never up. If 'many' volunteers returned, 'some returned' is safe; 'most' or 'every volunteer' is unsupported.

Not by itself. Correlation shows an association only; other factors could be responsible unless the passage states the cause.

The negated reversal (contrapositive): if B did not happen, A did not happen. Seeing B does not prove A, since B could have another cause.

Count the extra facts each one needs and choose the one that requires none, i.e. the narrowest conclusion that stays at the passage's level of evidence.

No. Absence is not contradiction; label it 'not addressed.' Silence counts as evidence only when the passage claims to be complete (e.g. 'the only ingredients are...').

Not necessarily. Writers may open with a result or use flashbacks. Rebuild the real timeline from time words, dates and verb tenses rather than sentence position.

Only the step directly adjacent to it on the timeline. If a cook chops onions, heats oil, then adds onions, heating the oil came immediately before adding them.

The action finished before another past moment. 'By the time the bus arrived, Omar had already left' means Omar left first and the bus came second.

A cause explains why something happened (because, since, due to). A purpose is what someone intended (to, in order to, so that) and says nothing about whether it worked.

P is a necessary condition: without P, Q cannot happen. It does not guarantee Q when P is present, since other requirements may be missing.

Necessary: must be present but may not be enough (a ticket to board a train). Sufficient: enough by itself to produce the result. A requirement is not a guarantee.

The passage does not say so. 'After' shows order only; treat it as cause only if the text adds because, as a result or similar. Correlation also does not prove causation.

Words like only, solely or entirely overstate partial evidence. If the passage lists factors such as frost and also a worker shortage, each merely contributed.

As an action verb plus the topic: 'to explain how solar panels make electricity.' A topic alone ('solar panels') is not a purpose.

Informative passages present facts and let readers decide. Persuasive passages push toward a belief or action, often with should, must, ought or a clear judgment.

The attitude the writing expresses, shown by diction (word choice) and framing (what is emphasized). Point to the exact feeling words; if none appear, the tone is likely neutral.

Not necessarily. It is the mayor's view. The author's stance appears in unattributed judgments or in an evaluation of the quote, such as calling it convincing or doubtful.

Skeptical: questions a claim and wants better evidence but stays open. Dismissive: rejects the claim as unworthy, often with scornful words like absurd or nonsense.

Writers often grant the other side a point, then give their own view after the turn. In 'Although it saves fuel, it strands night workers,' the main stance follows the turn.

A question asked for effect, not information, e.g. 'How long must commuters wait?' meaning they have waited too long. It usually signals a persuasive purpose.

No. That confuses intent with effect. The passage shows a purpose to persuade, not a result; reject choices claiming outcomes the text never reports.

Find the target; reread its sentence plus the ones before and after; note clue types (contrast, cause, examples); predict a plain meaning; pick the choice that matches and keeps the sentence's claim.

Substitute your chosen meaning for the original word and reread the sentence. If it sounds natural and the claim, tone and qualifiers are unchanged, keep it; otherwise reject it.

The word means roughly the opposite of the contrasted idea. 'Unlike his chatty brother, Omar was reticent' makes reticent mean quiet or reserved.

Commas, dashes, parentheses, and phrases like 'that is' or 'known as' often rename and explain the term beside them.

A fixed phrase whose meaning differs from its separate words, like 'hit the books' (study hard). Judge it from how the passage uses it, not by decoding each word.

Picking the meaning you learned first instead of the one the passage uses. In 'The pilot will bank left,' bank means tilt, not a place for money. Test the familiar sense in the sentence.

Keep them. 'May delay' is a possibility, not 'will delay'; 'most' is a majority, not all; 'no longer' places the fact in the past. Dropping a qualifier changes the claim.

No. Confirm with context: invaluable means extremely valuable (not worthless), and inflammable means able to burn. Un-, in-, dis- and non- often, but not always, reverse the root.

One column per subject, one row per feature. Fill a cell only with stated facts. Matching rows are similarities, differing rows are differences, empty cells are unknowns.

Nothing. B's status is unknown; silence is not evidence the feature is missing, so do not treat it as a difference.

It lines up the same dimension on both sides (weight with weight, battery life with battery life) and, for changes over time, the same period for each subject.

A comparative ranks one item against another ('faster than the bus'); a superlative ranks one above all in a group ('the fastest'). Accept a superlative only if the passage supports it.

It rose 10 percentage points (50 minus 40), but the relative increase is $\frac{10}{40}=25\%$. The two terms are not interchangeable.

It marks an exclusive feature: 'Only the second shelter has a backup generator' means the others lack one. Without 'only,' generators elsewhere are not ruled out.

Each option gains something and gives something up (warmer jacket but harder to pack). Avoid choices naming one option better overall; judge 'better' only by a stated criterion.

A choice gives subject A's feature to subject B, e.g. the north well is deeper, but the choice says the south well is. Check each choice against your grid.

The topic is what a passage is about; the pattern is how its ideas are arranged and connected. Two wildfire passages can share a topic yet one traces a single fire hour by hour while another lists general causes.

Time order (chronological), process steps, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, and definition or classification. Real passages often mix them.

Cause-effect explains why something happened. Problem-solution centers on a response to a difficulty, and sometimes its result. Why a bridge rusted is cause-effect; hiring a crew to stop the rust is problem-solution.

Block: everything about item A, then everything about item B. Point-by-point: compare A and B feature by feature (cost, then size, then speed).

The claim states what the writer believes; evidence supplies facts, data or observations (often numbers); reasoning explains why the evidence supports the claim (e.g. 'this shows').

It is a single case that does not fit a general rule, so it limits or disproves the claim rather than supporting it (e.g. liquid mercury against 'all metals are solid at room temperature').

No. 'First' can introduce the first reason, example or most important point. If the listed items are reasons or features, the passage is not chronological.

$\frac{40-30}{40}=25\%$ fewer complaints. It shows only that fewer people complained, not that customers are happier. A number supports only what it measured.

The shortest piece of the passage (usually a single sentence or clause) that settles the question. Locate it, read it carefully, then test every choice against it.

No. Once you submit an answer and move on, you cannot return to it, so verify your choice against the evidence before submitting.

Yes, within the current subtest only if time remains, never to earlier subtests. Fill in remaining answers if time runs out, since there is no guessing penalty on paper.

Make a real effort on remaining items instead of random rapid clicking. CAT penalizes unanswered items, and a string of random guesses at the end can be penalized heavily.

CAT-PC: 10 scored items in 27 minutes (up to 75 minutes when tryout items are given). P&P-PC: 15 items in 13 minutes. Always verify current official instructions.

Supported, contradicted, or not mentioned. Only an option in the supported bin can be the answer.

Does it contradict the text, add a claim, drop a condition or qualifier, shift the scope, or answer a different question? A yes to any one eliminates it.

No. Length is not evidence; a long option has more parts that can be wrong. Judge every choice by support from the passage.