Reading Comprehension of Informational Texts
Informational texts on the TASC EAL/D Level 3 test ask you to locate, interpret and evaluate ideas in articles, reports, instructions and notices. Begin by identifying the purpose (to inform, explain, persuade or instruct) and the audience, because both shape how evidence is presented. Learn to separate main idea from supporting detail: the main idea is the claim the whole passage advances, while details are examples, statistics, dates or quotations that back it up. Pay attention to text structure - cause and effect, comparison, problem and solution, chronological sequence - because questions often ask how one paragraph relates to another. Signal words such as therefore, however, in contrast, as a result and for example reveal those relationships.
Common traps include choosing a true statement that does not answer the question, confusing the author's opinion with a fact reported in the text, and over-reading beyond what is stated. Another trap is the distractor drawn from one word: an option repeats a keyword from the passage but reverses the meaning. Always return to the lines cited and check the direction of the claim.
Rule of thumb: answer in your own words first, then find the option that matches it. If two options look right, the wrong one usually (a) is too broad, (b) is too narrow, or (c) adds information the passage never gives.
Worked example: A passage says, 'Although recycling rates rose, landfill volumes grew because total waste increased faster.' A question asks for the main idea. The correct answer is that rising recycling did not reduce landfill volume; a trap answer, 'recycling programmes failed', contradicts the text, which says rates rose.