HESI A2 Reading cheat sheet

Reading Comprehension

• Main idea = the point the whole passage supports; it must cover every paragraph, while a detail covers only one sentence or example.

• Topic vs. main idea: the topic is a word or phrase ("urban bees"); the main idea is a full statement about the topic ("urban beekeeping is growing because cities offer longer bloom seasons").

• Supporting details answer who, what, when, where, why, or how; if a choice is true but does not back the main idea, it is a detail, not the answer to a main-idea question.

• Stated detail questions: locate the key word from the question stem in the passage, then read one sentence before and one after it; the answer is the paraphrase of that sentence, not a memory of the topic.

• Paraphrase test: the correct answer restates passage meaning with different words; an answer that copies the passage's exact wording is often a trap drawn from a different sentence.

• Inference = a conclusion the passage forces but never states. Valid inferences need textual evidence; a plausible real-world guess with no supporting line is wrong.

• Sequence questions: scan for time markers (first, then, after, by 1990, before) and build an order list; do not rely on the order in which ideas appear in the answer choices.

• Vocabulary-in-context: replace the target word with each answer choice and reread the full sentence; the correct choice keeps the sentence's logic, even when the word has other common meanings.

• Tone and purpose: purpose verbs describe the writer's job (to explain, to persuade, to compare, to warn); tone words describe attitude (neutral, skeptical, enthusiastic, critical).