SLE Reading cheat sheet

Main idea = topic (who/what the text is about) + author's controlling point about that topic; it must cover the whole passage, not one paragraph.

Test a candidate main idea by asking whether every paragraph supports it; if one paragraph is irrelevant to it, the statement is too narrow or off-topic.

Too-broad trap: a statement that is true of the world but not specifically supported by this passage (e.g., 'education matters') is not the main idea.

Too-narrow trap: a statement that restates a single supporting detail or example is a detail, not the gist.

Gist questions often use phrasing like 'primarily concerned with', 'mainly discusses', 'best expresses the main point'; treat these as whole-text questions.

In a problem-solution or claim-evidence passage, the main idea usually sits in the thesis sentence and is restated or implied in the conclusion.

For narrative passages, the gist is the central conflict and its outcome or significance, not a chronological summary of events.

Titles and headings are clues, not proof; verify the main idea against body paragraphs because headings can be ironic or narrower than the text.

Explicit-detail answers are directly stated in the text; if you must add a logical step to reach it, it is an inference item, not a detail item.

Locate the keyword from the question stem, then read the sentence before and after it; answer choices often distort nearby but different information.

Watch for scope words in choices: all, only, never, primarily, first - a single counterexample in the text eliminates the choice.

Distinguish quantities, dates, names, and units exactly; a swapped number or reversed direction (increase vs. decrease) makes a choice false.

'Except' and 'NOT' questions require three true statements and one false one; verify each choice against the text rather than picking the first true one.

Sequence questions: build a quick order of events from transition words (before, after, then, once) rather than from paragraph position alone.

When the passage gives a list, check whether the question asks for the complete list or one member; partial lists are common distractors.

Answers paraphrasing the text are usually correct; answers copying exact wording from an unrelated sentence are usually traps.

A valid inference is necessarily true given the text plus common knowledge; if it is merely plausible or possible, it is not supported.

Inference = stated evidence + minimal assumption; the smaller the assumption needed, the stronger the inference.

Attitude and emotion inferences come from word choice, punctuation, and qualifiers (admittedly, unfortunately, surprisingly) more than from explicit statements.

Predictions about what the author would agree with must follow from the author's stated position, not from a quoted opposing view.

Reject choices that go beyond the text's scope: predictions about the future, absolute claims, or causes the passage never links.

Implied cause-effect requires a stated correlation or mechanism; mere co-occurrence in the passage does not establish causation.

For 'most likely' items, rank choices by strength of textual support; the correct answer is the best-supported, not the only conceivable one.

Tone-and-implied-meaning items: check whether the author treats a topic neutrally, skeptically, or approvingly, then match the choice to that stance.

Context determines meaning: the same word can shift sense within a passage, so substitute each choice back into the original sentence and reread.

Use surrounding contrast and cause signals (but, although, because, therefore) to infer whether a word is positive, negative, or neutral.

A common trap is the word's most familiar dictionary sense when the passage uses a secondary or technical sense.

Look for appositives, dashes, and definitions in the same sentence; these often restate an unfamiliar term directly.

For figurative language, translate the image into a literal claim and check that the choice preserves the comparison's point.

Match part of speech and grammatical role: a verb choice cannot replace a noun in the sentence, even if the meaning is close.

Connotation matters: two choices with similar denotations differ in tone (e.g., 'thrifty' vs. 'stingy'); pick the one matching the author's attitude.

Pronoun and reference items ('it', 'this', 'such') require identifying the nearest grammatically consistent antecedent, not the nearest noun.

Common structures: cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution, chronological, claim-counterclaim-rebuttal, and general-to-specific.

Structure questions ask how ideas relate, not what they say; answer with the relationship (e.g., 'illustrates', 'concedes', 'qualifies') rather than a topic summary.

Function of a paragraph: identify what it does for the argument - introduces, supports, concedes, rebuts, or transitions.

Cohesion is carried by transitions, pronouns, and repeated key terms; a sentence that breaks the pronoun chain or repeats a term awkwardly is out of place.

Sentence-insertion items: check both the preceding and following sentence for logical and grammatical fit before choosing a position.

Transition logic: 'however' signals contrast, 'thus' signals conclusion, 'for example' signals illustration, 'indeed' signals emphasis or intensification.

Paragraph-order items: find the topic sentence with no backward references, then follow pronoun and transition cues to the next paragraph.

A concluding sentence typically restates or generalizes; a sentence introducing a new subtopic belongs earlier, not at the end.

Purpose = the author's goal (to inform, persuade, critique, entertain, explain, or warn); tone = the emotional stance; attitude = the author's view of the subject.

Ask 'why did the author write this?' - the answer is a verb phrase (to argue, to describe), while a topic phrase answers 'what is it about?'

Tone words are precise: 'cautionary' differs from 'alarmed', and 'objective' differs from 'indifferent'; choose the most accurate label.

Hedging words (may, suggests, tends to) signal a measured or cautious tone; absolute words (always, never, proves) signal a forceful or dogmatic tone.

Irony and sarcasm: praise that contradicts the surrounding criticism signals a mocking or critical tone, not approval.

Purpose can differ from the passage's surface content: a passage describing a policy may aim to criticize it through selective framing.

Audience matters: purpose items may ask whom the author addresses (specialists vs. general readers), inferable from jargon level and assumed background.

The author's attitude toward an opposing view is often signaled by concession words ('granted', 'admittedly') followed by a 'but' that limits the concession.

Argument = claim + evidence + assumption; identify the unstated assumption linking evidence to conclusion before evaluating strength.

Weaken an argument by attacking the assumption or the evidence's relevance; strengthen it by supplying the missing link or adding corroborating evidence.

Correlation is not causation: an argument inferring cause from co-occurrence is vulnerable to alternative explanations and reverse causation.

Generalization from a sample is weak if the sample is small, unrepresentative, or self-selected; check who was studied and how they were chosen.

Ad hominem, appeal to authority, false dilemma, slippery slope, and circular reasoning are common flaws; match the flaw to the argument's actual structure.

Sufficient vs. necessary conditions: 'if A then B' does not license 'if B then A'; reversed-condition errors are frequent distractors.

Evaluate the strength of evidence by source, recency, specificity, and independence - not by whether you personally agree with the conclusion.

For 'which claim is best supported' items, prefer the claim with direct textual evidence over broader claims requiring extra assumptions.