What this section tests
Reading questions test what the author actually says or implies. Your outside knowledge cannot replace evidence. A correct answer may paraphrase the passage without repeating its words.
Question types
For a main idea or title, combine the whole passage. For a detail, find its exact sentence. For an inference, choose the smallest conclusion supported by the evidence. For purpose or tone, look at the author’s wording, not your own feelings.
Vocabulary and reference
Read the target word in its full sentence and the neighboring sentence. Replace it with each candidate: both meaning and part of speech must fit. For it/they/this/which, identify the noun or earlier idea and check number and meaning; the nearest noun is not automatically the referent.
Precision and negative questions
Underline NOT, EXCEPT or FALSE before comparing options. Distinguish some from all, may from must, and before from after. A choice can contain a true phrase but still be wrong because its subject, cause or quantity changes.
Worked example
The text gives both the initial problem and the eventual result. Only the second claim below preserves both. The first confuses the first year with the whole project.
Passage: “The first trial failed, but a revised design reduced water use in the following year.”
Incorrect: The project never saved water.
Correct: Changes to the design eventually reduced water use.
Final checklist
- Can I point to the supporting sentence?
- Does my choice answer this exact question?
- Have I checked every qualifier and negative?
- Have I rejected options that add an unsupported claim?