DAT Reading Comprehension flashcards
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33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Explicit detail question
- A question asking for information stated directly in the passage. The correct choice paraphrases the text; the wrong choices add claims, reverse cause and effect, or change quantities and scope.
- Scope shift distractor
- A wrong answer that changes the passage's qualifiers, converting some into all, often into always, or a specific group into a general population. The stated claim no longer matches the choice.
- Line-reference strategy
- When a question cites specific lines, read the sentence before and after as well. The tested detail often depends on context outside the cited line, and answers may hinge on adjacent sentences.
- EXCEPT question rule
- A negatively phrased question asks which choice is not supported. Three choices will be verifiable in the passage; the remaining one is either contradicted or absent, and it is the answer.
- Sequence markers
- Words such as first, then, after, and subsequently that establish order. Detail questions frequently test the order of events, so track these markers while reading the passage.
- Main idea definition
- The topic plus the author's specific claim about it. A choice naming only the topic is too broad; a choice covering one paragraph is too narrow. The whole passage must support it.
- Too-broad answer trap
- A main-idea distractor that extends beyond the passage's scope, claiming more than the text supports. It may sound important but is not defensible from the passage as written.
- Too-narrow answer trap
- A main-idea distractor that accurately restates a single paragraph or detail but does not capture the passage's overall claim. Supporting evidence is not the main idea.
- Purpose verbs
- Verbs describing what the author does: describe, explain, argue, compare, criticize, reconcile, or evaluate. Matching the passage's structure to the right verb identifies the primary purpose.
- Thesis placement
- The main claim usually appears in the first paragraph and is restated or refined in the last. The concluding sentence often reveals the author's overall aim most clearly.
- Two-view main idea
- When a passage presents two competing positions, the main idea usually concerns their relationship, such as which is stronger or how they can be reconciled, not either view alone.
- Valid inference test
- An inference must follow necessarily from stated evidence plus minimal common knowledge. If a choice merely could be true, it is not supported strongly enough to be correct.
- Qualified vs. absolute
- Choices using likely, suggests, or may usually reflect defensible inferences. Choices using always, never, or proves usually overstate what the passage supports and can be eliminated.
- Contrast-marker implication
- Words such as however, although, and yet often carry an implied point the author stops short of stating. The unstated contrast is a frequent target of inference questions.
- Author's assumption
- An unstated belief that must be true for the author's argument to hold. Inference questions may ask what the passage implies about this necessary condition.
- Unsupported extrapolation
- An inference distractor that extends the passage's claim beyond its stated time frame, population, or setting. The original evidence does not cover the new situation described.
- Predict before choosing
- Formulate the likely answer from the passage before reading the options. Inference distractors often reuse passage wording in a false relationship, so prior prediction reduces their pull.
- Tone calibration
- Attitude choices differ in degree: skeptical is milder than dismissive, and cautious optimism is milder than enthusiasm. Select the choice matching the passage's actual level of evaluation.
- Evaluative language
- Adjectives, adverbs, and judgment verbs such as flawed, promising, merely, or unfortunately reveal attitude more reliably than factual nouns or neutral descriptions of events.
- Neutral tone indicator
- When an author reports findings without evaluative words, the correct tone is objective or detached. Assuming advocacy where none is expressed produces a wrong answer.
- Hedging signals
- Words such as seems, appears, and tends to indicate caution rather than certainty or rejection. Hedged passages support a tentative or qualified tone, not a confident one.
- Speaker vs. author attitude
- The author's attitude toward a subject may differ from the attitude of a researcher quoted in the passage. Tone questions about the author require separating the two voices.
- Style descriptors
- Labels for how a passage is written: technical, conversational, polemical, detached, or ironic. Style questions target diction and sentence structure rather than the passage's content.
- Substitution test
- Insert each answer choice into the original sentence and check both grammar and logic. The correct option must fit the sentence's syntax and preserve its meaning.
- Secondary meaning trap
- The tested word often carries an uncommon secondary meaning, while the most familiar meaning is offered as a distractor. Context, not frequency, determines the correct sense.
- Context clue types
- Nearby signals that fix a word's meaning: restatement (that is, in other words), contrast (but, rather), example (such as), and cause-effect relationships within the sentence.
- Connotation contrast
- Synonyms can differ in evaluative charge, as thrifty differs from stingy. The correct vocabulary answer matches the passage's attitude, not just the dictionary meaning.
- Part-of-speech check
- Determine the tested word's grammatical role in the sentence. If it functions as a noun, verb-only options are automatically wrong regardless of meaning.
- Structural map
- A mental outline of the passage: thesis, evidence, counterargument, rebuttal, and conclusion. Organization questions are answered by locating a detail within this map.
- Transition logic
- Transition words encode relationships: however and yet signal contrast, therefore and thus signal conclusion, and for example signals illustration. These words reveal how ideas connect.
- Paragraph function
- The rhetorical job a paragraph performs: qualifying a claim, conceding a point, illustrating with evidence, or rebutting an objection. Function questions ask for this role, not the content.
- Why-mention questions
- Questions asking why the author mentions something require its rhetorical function, such as providing evidence or introducing a counterexample, rather than a summary of what it is.
- Concluding paragraph role
- The final paragraph typically extends, qualifies, or applies the thesis rather than introducing a wholly new topic. Structural questions often target this closing move.