Passaged-Based Reading: Short Passages

1. Passaged-Based Reading:Short Passages

2. Brief paragraph (150 words or less) followed by two questions OR • Pair of short passages followed by three or four questions

3. Strategy • Read questions first. Know what you are looking for. • Only read what you need.

4. Three Main Types of Questions • Information retrieval • Inference • Main idea

5. Information Retrieval • Find specific information in the paragraph • Use line references to jump to the appropriate part of the passage • If there’s no line reference, use lead words (name, date, other term that stands out) to look for as you skim • Locate the appropriate spot in the passage and read a few lines before and after it until you find the answer

6. Inference • A statement that must be true based on the information provided • Stick to the facts!

7. Main Idea • If possible, do these after information retrieval and inference • Eliminate answers that are too broad or too specific • Read the first and last line of the paragraph and start eliminating what doesn’t match

8. Other Question Types • Structure: how does this sentence function? Read the sentence in question and one or two sentences before and after it. Ask “What does this sentence do?” • Vocabulary-in-context: use context clues. Remember that words have more than one meaning! • Argument: strengthen/weaken one of the author’s points. First step: determine what the author’s exact claim is. *These are difficult and good questions to skip, if needed.

9. Guessing and Pacing • Do all information retrieval, inference, and main idea questions • If you can’t point to particular support for your answer, it’s wrong • Use process of elimination • Be aggressive! Eliminate answers that aren’t mentioned or that use extreme language (ie: all, always, never, impossible, only) • The answer is in the passage; find it!