VISA ENGLISH ACADEMY

BRIANA SONGER

2014

SHORT PASSAGE-KEY

POINTS There are five types of questions in this

section:

1. Big Picture

2. Little Picture

3. Vocabulary-in-Context

4. Function

You will learn how to identify and

answer each question type.

Question Types Introduction

The short and long reading passages cover humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and fiction.

To do well, you must actively read and analyze the information provided (we will discuss what active/analyze means later)

Almost more than 50% of the test is composed of Little Picture and Inference questions.

Fewer than 30-40% of the test is Big Picture, Function and Vocabulary

Strategy for Answering Reading

Comprehension Questions

Step 1: Read the question stem. Rephrase the question to check for understanding.

Step 2: Locate the material you need.

Step 3: Predict the answer.

Step 4: Select the best answer choice.

*Knowing the question types will help you locate the information more quickly and choose the best answer.

1. Big Picture Key Words

Tests how well you understand the passage as a whole. They ask about: Main point of passage/paragraph

The passage is primarily concerned with…..

What is the main idea of the passage?

Author’s tone/attitudeWhat is the author’s attitude toward…..

Author’s argument (logic)Based on the passage, the author would most likely describe….

The author suggests that….

Relation of ideasThe author compares _________ to _________ in order to

Big Picture questions are often located at the end, so try to answer the Little Picture questions first

Practice a sample passage and question on the next slide. Remember to read the question stem first.

Big Picture Question

Example

Based on the passage, the author would most likely describe goose bumps on humans as

(A) an unnecessary and unexplained phenomenon

(B) a harmful but necessary measure

(C) an amusing but dangerous feature

(D) a useless but interesting remnant

(E) a powerful bus infrequent occurrence

Answer Explanation

Step 1: Question-

What does the author think about goose bumps?

Step 2: Locate Material-

Big Picture as it’s based on the passage as a whole; however it’s asking only about

goose bumps, so scan for goose bumps, while keeping the overall passage in mind.

Step 3: Predict

Last sentence-author describes goose bumps as an obsolete response (obsolete-

outdated, not needed)

Step 4: Select the Best Answer

A) Unnecessary (yes), unexplained (not)

B) Never describes goose bumps as harmful

C) Nor dangerous

D) Correct-remnant means left over, but it serves no purpose for humans

E) Out of scope because the passage never mentions the frequency with which

goose bumps occur.

Practice with

Big Picture Questions

Teachers Shows Narrative Perspective-

Author’s Point of View Power Point

Homework: Identifying Narrative

Perspective POV Worksheet

Study popular tone/attitude words:

Quizlet-http://quizlet.com/46034090/sat-

tonemood-words-flash-cards/

2. Little Picture

About a 1/3 of the test consists of Little Picture questions asking about specific facts and details from the passage.

These questions often give a line reference: a clue to where in the passage to look for the answer.

Be careful with answer choices that seem to reasonably answer the question in the stem but that don’t make sense in the context of the passage.

Be careful with answer choices that are true but refer to a different section of the test.

Tests how well you understand the details of the passage. They ask about:

Whether you understand significant information that’s statedAccording to the passage…..

Ability to locate information

Ability to differentiate between main ideas and specific detailsIn lines 12-16, what does the author say about…..

Ability to differentiate between main ideas and specific detailsIn line 6, “the empty night” is symbolic of

Little Picture Key Words

Little Picture Example Question

According to the passage, which is true about the bridge?

(A) It was originally constructed by New York State.

(B) It opened to the public in 1916.

(C) It was necessitated by inadequate ferry services.

(A) Statement II

(B) Statement III

(C)Statements I and II

(D)Statements I and III

(E) Statements II and III

Answer Explanation

Step 1: Question-

What is true (or false) about the bridge?

Step 2: Locate Material-

Small picture are usually simple detail questions, based on facts in the passage.

Don’t let the Roman numerals confuse you..

Step 3: Verify/Rule Out

What is true? What’s false? Start by ruling out each answer that doesn’t fit.

Step 4: Select the Best Answer

A) Is a distortion. The Park opened in 1916, the date of the bridge was later. You

can thus eliminate C and E.

B) Correct Answer.

C) Already eliminated.

D) Is also a distortion. Statement III is true, but I is false. N.Y. State didn’t build the

bridge, a private company did. It was turned over to the state at a later time.

E) Already eliminated.

Practice with Little Picture

Questions

Read the Power Point- How to Identify Supporting Details

Practice reading short passages and identifying supporting details: http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073123587/student_view0/chapter9/supporting_details__exercise_1.html and http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073123587/student_view0/chapter9/supporting_details__exercise_2.html

3. Inference Questions

To infer is to draw conclusions based on evidence and reasoning. The answers are not directly stated, but expressed through signs and emotions that the author states.

Pay attention to the overall feeling of the passage (tone) and specific details and word choice that are used.

For example, if the author states that a particular idea was perceived as revolutionary, you might infer that he doesn’t think it was truly revolutionary, only seen (perceived) that way.

Try not to let your background knowledge of a topic get in the way of your judgment. Stick to the what is presented in the text. Stay away from answers that are far-fetched (illogical conclusions).

Some answers may be true outside of the text, so be careful with your answer choice.

Inference Questions Key Words

May be worded as

It can be inferred from the passage that…..

The phrase __________implies that…..

The description of _______primarily

suggests that…..

Inference Practice Example

Question

Lines 10-13 (“My mother…heating supply company”) suggest that the author’s mother regarded the cold of the

American Midwest as

(A) more drastic that that of Vietnam

(B) an opportunity for economic success

(C) an obstacle to familial happiness

(D) symbolic of other challenges and problems

(E) unimportant to the family’s future

Answer ExplanationStep 1: Question-

The word suggests indicates that it’s an inference question. What do these lines say

about his mother’s view of the cold in the Midwest?

Step 2: Locate Material-

After reading the lines, you should see that the mother helped the family profit form

the cold by selling heat.

Step 3: Predict

So look for an answer that says she “profited or made money” from it. Other answers,

even if true, are irrelevant.

Step 4: Select the Best Answer

A) Although A is certainly true, it is not specifically referred to in the lines cited.

B) Correct answer

C) There was no mention of the cold being an obstacle.

D) Author doesn’t say anything about the cold being symbolic.

E) Author doesn’t say the cold was unimportant to the family (quite the opposite)

Practice with Inference

Read the Power Point: How to Make

Inferences

Complete the exercises in the Pearson

Inference Packet.

Practice on Quia:

http://www.quia.com/pop/43335.html?AP

_rand=414280809

4. Vocabulary-In-Context

Asks about the meaning of a single word. these questions do not test your ability to define hard words like archipelago and garrulous.

Instead they test your ability to infer the meaning of a word from context.

The words in this section are fairly common words with more than one definition, but only one word will work in context.

Sometimes one of the answer choices will jump out at you, and is the most common meaning, but it is RARELY the right one. It’s the obvious choice.

Use these obvious choices to your advantage by eliminating them if you get stuck.

Use the same strategies as Sentence Completion questions.

Vocabulary-In-Context Key

Words

They may be worded as:

As used in line 8, ________most

nearly/closely means…..

The term ________most likely refers to…..

Vocabulary-In-Context Example

Question

As used in line 7, “effect” most nearly means

(A) imitate

(B) result

(C)cause

(D)disturb

(E) prevent

Answer ExplanationStep 1: Question-

As used in line, refers to a specific word and indicates vocabulary in context.

Remember to focus on the word effect, which is both a noun and a verb, so you must

look at its use in the sentence to determine the meaning.

Step 2: Locate Material-

Go to the line indicated and reread from the beginning of the sentence, focusing on

the phrase “to rise up and effect a change”.

Step 3: Predict

Replace the word “effect” with a sensible meaning, like “make”

Step 4: Select the Best Answer

A) Imitate-to copy. There is nothing to copy, so that’s out.

B) You may be tempted to choose result, but this is a noun, and the context

suggests a verb.

C) Cause can be a noun or verb, but in this case, it makes sense as a verb and

substitute for make, so it’s the correct answer.

D) Disturb does not relate to the context.

E) Prevent is the opposite meaning of the correct answer.

Context Clues Practice

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_licklider

_vocabulary_2/0,6658,416421-,00.html

http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0

073123587/student_view0/chapter3/cont

ext_clues__exercise_1.html

5. Function Questions

These Why? questions are a little tricky because they require you to take an extra step beyond the What? of the passage.

To answer these questions effectively, you must put yourself in the author’s place.

Function questions will ask you: Why include this detail?

Why include this word?

Why include this sentence?

Why include this quote?

Why include this paragraph?

Your job is to look back in the passage using the line reference or other hints in the question stem. You have to read around the lines.

Function Question Key

Words These questions are easy to spot, and are worded

as follows: The _________mentioned in lines 4-5 serves primarily

to…..

The author uses the description of _____in lines 5-7 mainly to…..

The second paragraph primarily serves to…..

The author cites ______in lines 8-9 in order to…..

is meant to…..

is used to…..

function as…..

Be careful going through the answers. Sometimes you’ll see an answer that is really a Big Picture answer, but it’s not the answer to a Function question.

Function Example Question

In line 1, the author invokes the Beat Generation in order to

(A) detail an earlier movement in music

(B) introduce the topic by illustrating a similarity

(C) imply the insignificance of grunge

(D) recall an important time in American cultural history

(E) emphasize grunge’s influence upon today’s music

Answer Explanation

Step 1: Question-

The words in order to indicate a function question. Remember to focus on the why?

not the what? So why does the author refer to the Beat Generation?

Step 2: Locate Material-

In this case, the question can be answered by referring to the first couple of lines.

Like the is a key phrase that a comparison is being made to the grunge musicians.

Step 3: Predict

The author wants to show that both groups were disgusted by the outcome of their

writing/music (in mainstream).

Step 4: Select the Best AnswerA) is a distortion. The first sentence clearly establishes that the Beats were writers, not musicians

B) is the correct answer.

C) is out of scope/opposite idea. The author never implies that the grunge movement was insignificant. By

invoking the Beats, the author is recalling an important time in cultural history.

D) but this is not the purpose for the author’s doing so.

E) is out of scope. The author never mentions grunge’s influence upon mainstream culture of the early 90’s.

Function Practice

Complete these e-reading worksheets. To complete the task: Click on the link

Click on the play symbol

Click on the title of the story and enter your name.

The story will open in a new window. The questions will be in the previous window.

Read the questions and scan for the answers.

Stories to choose from:

1. Submarines-http://ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/reading-test-1-submarines/

2. Tigers-http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/reading-test-2-tigers/

3. Gutenberg-http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/reading-test-4-gutenberg/

Practice with all Skills

You will now look at some S.A.T.

practice questions and identify which

type of question it is.

Teacher show pages Test Practice page.