Reading Question Types

Comprehension Type Questions

*** For these types of questions, everything can be found in the text. You just have to look for it.

Factual  Confirm/complete information directly in the passage

 Asking for a specific answer.
 “According to paragraph X…”
 “Paragraph X answers which of the following?”
 ALWAYS in that specific paragraph

Negative Factual  Determine what is NOT mentioned in the passage

 “Not”
 “Except”
 Check to see which ones are true + are present in the
passage. The one that isn’t there is the correct answer.
Vocabulary  Understanding the meaning of a word IN CONTEXT of the
passage
 Look at context clues! Read sentence before and after the
one containing the vocabulary word
 Does the word have a prefix, suffix, or root word?

Reference  Connect a pronoun/abstract noun to a more specific noun

that it replaces/refers to
 “it’s” “they” “one of” “them” “this”
 What is it they’re referring to and what is the meaning?
 Read framing (surrounding) sentences
 Read all possible answers and look for context clues
Critical Thinking Type Questions
Insert Text  You are given a new sentence and asked where it fits best in
the text.
 Usually the sentence will have a clue (transition word) that
should relate this sentence the one before it. (i.e.
Furthermore, Finally, On the other hand…etc.)
 You don’t choose from a list of 4 choices – instead you will
click on 1 of the 4 black squares within the paragraph to
insert the text in the paragraph.
 What is the purpose/main idea of the paragraph? Look to see
how the new sentence can help with the paragraph’s main
idea.
Sentence  Choose a sentence with the same basic meaning as a
Simplification sentence in the passage.
 Look for synonyms/antonyms in the new sentence  will
help you narrow down answer
 Will use phrase “essential information” or “essential
meaning”
 Can be difficult because all the answer choices will contain
words/phrases that are similar to the given sentence
Inference  Inference = conclusion based on evidence and reasoning
 Identify the topic of the question. Find information in the
passage based on that topic.
 Eliminate any clearly wrong answers and select answer if you
find evidence
 Use information from passage to make an assumption about
an argument that’s not mentioned in the passage.
 Example Question wording: “infer” “suggest” “imply”
 “Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1
about X?
 “The author of the paragraph implies that X…”
 “Paragraph X suggests which of the following about Y?”
Purpose  Have to think like the author and decide why they included a
specific idea or fact.
 “Why does the author…”
 “The author mentions X in order to…”
 “The author of the paragraph implies that X…”
 “Why does the author include the information that…”
 To illustrate, to explain, to refute, to note, to support, to
contrast
Prose Summary  You have 6 choices – you must pick 3 choices that have the
most important ideas from the passage. Be able to distinguish
 between major and minor ideas.
 The 3 incorrect options will contain inaccuracies or be minor
points from the text
 Where do we find the main ideas in a reading passage?
At the beginning and towards the end of the passage

Fill-In Table  Similar to prose summary questions but you have to choose
answer choices that best fit into a category. There will always
be at least 1 incorrect answer.
 If you get this question after a passage, there will only be 9
questions for that passage
 Read each category’s headline carefully
 Scan and find each headline in the passage and determine
major details for each
 Eliminate the wrong choices and place the rest in correct
categories
 Can rely on previous question to help you determine answer