Comprehension
Core concepts
Comprehension questions ask you to locate, link and judge information. Distinguish main idea from supporting detail, and recognise stems that target inference (a conclusion the text implies but does not state), purpose (why the writer wrote it: to inform, persuade, entertain, warn), tone (the writer's attitude), sequence, and cause and effect. Track referents - what this, they or the former points back to - and keep the writer's view separate from the views of people quoted. Fact versus opinion is another frequent target.
Traps
- An option that is true according to the passage but does not answer the question asked (look for mainly, the writer suggests).
- Over-inference: a conclusion that needs knowledge from outside the passage.
- Extreme wording (always, never, proves) where the text hedges (often, may, tends to).
- Mistaking a supporting example for the main point.
Worked example
A passage says new cycle lanes "cut traffic injuries by a fifth, though shopkeepers reported fewer passing customers." Question: What is the main idea? "Cycle lanes reduce injuries" is accurate but is only one detail. "Cycle lanes had mixed results, improving safety while worrying traders" accounts for both halves of the sentence and matches the balanced tone. Answer: mixed results.
Rule of thumb
Answer from evidence. Find the sentence that decides the question and underline it; predict an answer in your own words before reading the options; reject any option you cannot tie to a specific line.