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SAT Reading & Writing
4. Reading Question Types 4-8, Information and Ideas
Written by: Pranav I
Formatted by: Pranav I
Formatted by: Pranav I
Retrieval
Ask us what the text says that would be an answer to the question
🔥 The RETRIEVAL Basic Approach
- Read the Question
- Identify the Question Type: “according to the text” or “based on the text” The answer for these questions can definitively be found in the text each time
- Read the Text: Look for details about the person, place or thing in the question
- Highlight What Can Help: (straightforward) Find what the text offers as an answer to the question- Read carefully and avoid useless highlighting
- Use POE: Recycled Language ; Could Be True ; Extreme Language
- Do not use outside logic/reasoning
- Directly compare your highlights with the answer choices while applying POE
- Text + Question Right Answer!
Main Idea
- Task: Find the single sentence or idea that is the core focus of the text
- Mostly the first or last sentence in the text, around which all of the other sentences are connected to
- Key question: “Which sentence do all of the other sentences build to or build off of?”
🔥The MAIN IDEA Basic Approach
- Read the Question
- Identify the Question Type: “main idea” Single sentence or Summary of the text
- Read the Text: Focus on the idea (person, place or thing) that each sentence focuses on
- Highlight What Can Help: DO NOT focus on a single detail; consider all the sentences
- Use POE: Right Answer, Wrong Question ; Recycled Language ; Could Be True
Claims
- Task: Identifying the claim made by the author in the text, and find the answer that best illustrates, supports or weakens the respective claim
🔥 The CLAIMS Basic Approach
- Read the Question Identify whether the question asks you to illustrate, support or weaken a claim
- Identify the Question Type: “illustrate”, “support”, “weaken”, “claim”, “hypothesis”, “argument”, “prediction” OR Quotations as answer choices
- Read the Text: Long text The claim is part of the main idea Short text Preceding the colon and the blank in the text/question stem
- Highlight What Can Help: Highlight the claim referenced by the Question
- Use POE: Half right, ; Opposite ; Extreme Language ; Could Be True
- The support or weaken answer choices would support or weaken the claim in the text if true
Charts
- Task: Identifying the claim made by the author in the text, and find the answer that best illustrates, supports or weakens the respective claim based on the text and the data chart
- Required to read information from a table or a graph
🔥 The CHARTS Basic Approach
- Read and understand the Question: Identify whether the question asks you to illustrate, support or weaken a claim
- Read the title, key/legend, variables and the units from the table or graph: Prevents us from forming conclusions and helps us hunt for the information in the chart in the text
- Read the Text and look for the same information you saw in the table or graph Look for references of variables and values from the table
- Highlight the Claim made by the Text regarding the same information: Find and highlight the claim (mostly at the end of the text) If the text is longer Write a short text summary in the Annotations Box
- Use POE: Right Answer, Wrong Question ; Half-Right ; Opposite
- Strictly stick to the claim and do not use any outside logic/reasoning
- The correct answer ought to be consistent with both the text and the chart
Conclusions
- Task: Completing the text
- The correct answer choice will be consistent with the main claim and any of the author’s opinions towards the claim
🔥 The CONCLUSIONS Basic Approach
- Read the Question
- Identify the Question Type: “which choice most logically completes the text”
- Read the Text: The claim may be followed up with positive/negative evidence
- Highlight What Can Help: Highlight the Claim and the Additional Information regarding the claim
- Use POE: Recycled Language ; Right Answer, Wrong Question ; Could Be True
- Understand the difference between the usage of “may” and/or “will” in answer choices
- These questions require more highlighting
- Eliminate answer choices that are inconsistent with your highlights
🔥 Tip
Do not forget to implement your POOD for all the reading questions. Please establish your POOD while taking Practice Tests.
