GLOBAL

PICK A TITLE

"Which of the following titles best describes the passage as a whole?"

INFERENCE

WHAT COULD COME NEXT?

"Which of the following statements could most logically follow the last sentence of the passage?"

Eliminating Wrong Answer Choices - the new sentence won't:

1.  relate to a subject discussed in another part of passage
2. be out of scope

LOGIC

PURPOSE OF DETAIL

"The author mentions _____ in order to demonstrate:"

The correct answer will explain why the author included that detail--what purpose it serves in the text

Look to keywords in the indicated sentence for clues

e.g., "By tracing harmless, ineffective mutations, called "markers"...the geneticists have determined..."

"By" is telling you that the purpose of including the detail was to show how something is done, i.e., the geneticists determined...through the use of markers

READ ME BEFORE EVERY R.C. QUESTION :)

1. Recognize what type of question you're being asked
2. Spot wrong answer traps--don't be afraid to eliminate!
3. Predict answer whenever possible

REASONING

EXPLAIN QUESTIONS

"Which of the following, if true, would help explain the findings of the scientist?"

"Which of the following, if true, does the most to resolve the apparent paradox?"

"Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the seeming discrepancy described above?"

1. Look for the contradiction
2. Come up with one or two possible resolutions

Look out for Out of Scope and 180 answer choices!

REASONING

PARALLELISM

"Which of the following most closely resembles the situation described in the first sentence of the last paragraph?" 

1. The correct Answer Choice will almost always be about a subject matter that's different than that discussed in the passage
2. Clues in the Question Stem are usually very specific: refer directly to the part of the passage that's cited
3. Focus on the structure of the passage: you're looking for a point-for-point match with the correct Answer Choice

REASONING

BOLDED STATEMENTS

1. Associated passages are almost always arguments: find conclusion, evidence, and any statements associated with an opponent's position
2. Use verbs in the Answer Choices to select and eliminate
3. Keywords!

LOGIC

Challenging Logic Questions

"Select the sentence that provides evidence for the veracity of the model discussed in the passage"

Stay focused on the author: where did she mention the validity of the model within the passage?

The evidence (and thus, your answer) can't be far away! 

IF YOU GET STUCK...

GAME PLAN FOR CHALLENGING QUESTIONS

1. Make and refer back to your passage map
2. Actively seek out key words
3. Paraphrase -- putting things in your own words really helps!
4. Anticipate the direction of the text: where is the author going next?
5. Skim over details!

INFERENCE

Something not explicity stated in the passage, but which must be true based on what the passage says

Look out for:

1. Extreme language
2. Unsupported assumptions/conclusions about the main idea or the author's position

GLOBAL

PRIMARY PURPOSE

If 1 or more (or none) of the Answer Choices seem to work...

Ask yourself:

What is the author spending the most time talking about? 

The majority of the sentences in this passage are devoted to a discussion of what?

GLOBAL

PRIMARY PURPOSE

Compare the verbs in the answer choices to the purpose in your passage map: do they agree? 

Compare tone and emphasis: examine the points the author makes to support the opinions in the passage -- if she is discussing the results of a study, e.g., eliminate ACs with strong verbs, such as "dispute", "assert", "argue", etc.

GLOBAL

MAIN IDEA

What to look out for!

Watch out for Answer Choices that are:

1. too detailed
2. Out of Scope

LOGIC

"What is the purpose of (detail)...?"

Remember: passages are often ordered in the following way:

1. Statement/opinion; followed by
2. Details/support/example/quotation

When asked for the purpose of particular details, read the part of the passage that immediately precedes them: the claim the author needed support for!

LOGIC

Purpose of including a certain detail or particular reference

What to look out for

Watch out for:

Answer choices that warp the passage's logic

LOGIC

What's being asked of you

Logic questions aren't testing your understanding of the passage's content. Instead, they're looking to determine if you know why the author included it

Watch out for Answer Choices that are heavily focused on specifics -- chances are, they're wrong

REASONING

Finding the Conclusion

1. Actively look for keywords 
2. Use the one sentence test
1. Which sentence would the author not want to part with?
3. Check the question stem
1. It will often contain the conclusion! 

REASONING

Be deliberate in finding the assumptions!

What is the unstated information that must be true to go from the evidence to the conclusion?

DETAIL

NEVER attempt to answer from memory!

Answer choices are designed to betray your recollections

DETAIL

Why keywords are important

Detail questions almost always test on the details associated with:

• Opinions
• Points of view
• Arguments 

DETAIL

Questions about something explicitly mentioned in the passage

Take these questions very seriously: they often present tempting traps

Look out for misused or distorted details