Reading Comprehension of Literary Texts
What the questions test
Literary passages on this exam are short stories, novel excerpts, poems, or fables. You will be asked about plot (what happens and why), character (traits, motives, how a character changes), setting (time and place and how it shapes events), conflict (person vs. person, self, nature, society), theme (the life lesson or big idea), and point of view (first person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient).
Traps to watch for
- Theme vs. topic. A topic is one word (friendship, courage). A theme is a full sentence about that topic, such as "True friendship requires honesty." Answer choices that are single words or clichés are usually wrong.
- Character change. Do not assume a character changes. Some characters stay the same while the reader learns something. Look for a turning point and compare the character at the start and end.
- Feeling vs. trait. "Nervous before the recital" is a temporary feeling; "anxious by nature" is a trait. Match the evidence to the right category.
- Point of view. First person uses I/we and gives only the narrator's knowledge. Third-person limited follows one character's thoughts. Omniscient moves into several minds.
Rule of thumb: the evidence test
Every answer about character, theme, or motive must be supported by a specific detail in the text, not by your own opinion or by what usually happens in stories. If you cannot point to a line, the choice is probably a distractor.
Worked example
A passage shows a boy refusing to share his lunch, then quietly giving half to a new student who is crying, and finally sitting alone so the new student can join a group. Asked for the theme, choose "Kindness sometimes means putting others first" over "Lunch is important" (too narrow) or "The boy is hungry" (a detail, not a theme).