Reading Comprehension - Informational Text
What informational text asks you to do
Informational text teaches facts about a real topic. When you read it, your job is to pull out the central idea, the supporting details that prove it, and the text features that organize it. Pay attention to headings, captions, bold words, diagrams, timelines, and glossaries; each one is there to help you find information fast.
Concepts to master
- Topic vs. central idea: the topic is what the text is about ("volcanoes"); the central idea is the point the author makes about it ("volcanoes shape the land and can be predicted").
- Supporting details: facts, examples, statistics, or quotations that back up the central idea.
- Text features: titles, subheadings, bullet lists, labels, maps, and sidebars. Ask yourself why the author chose each one.
- Author's purpose: to inform, explain, or persuade. Informational text can still try to convince you.
Traps to watch for
- A true statement that is not the main idea (a detail dressed up as the main idea).
- A choice that matches your own knowledge but is not stated or implied in the passage.
- A caption or sidebar detail mistaken for the whole passage's point.
- Extreme words like always or never when the text says often or some.
Rule of thumb
Cover the answer choices, state the central idea in one sentence, then match that sentence to the choice. If a choice is only true of one paragraph, it is probably a detail, not the main idea.
Worked example: A passage explains that beavers build dams, dams slow rivers, and slow rivers create wetlands where fish and birds live. The central idea is beavers change their environment in ways that help other animals, not beavers build dams, because the dam is only a supporting detail.